Rutgers is for real this year

[pap49cba]

Solid win over GTech by 19 at home.

 

[bbsamjj]

It was actually on a neutral court in Puerto Rico, but yes it was a solid win over a good GT team. As an RU fan, I have some built in pessimism and can always smell an inexplicable loss around the corner, but I am certainly encouraged by the talent and depth thus far this season.

 

[EricLA]

good win for them. hopefully they stomp tennessee too!

 

[speedoo]

Without Chelsea Lee, who does RU have to play in the post besides Oliver?

 

[EricLA]

Nice numbers today from Sykes. to answer speedoo, freshman Christa Evans is 6'3", and she got 9 minutes today. otherwise, i imagine they'd put Sykes in at the "5" like UCONN did with Moore last year when Dolson was out in big games...

 

[tomcat]

I think Rutgers is underappreciated this year. They are going to take some teams by surprise.

 

[Coler]

Actually for four of the fives games, Laney has started in the post beside Oliver. Today she picked up two early fouls and sat 18 mins of the first half. Sykes also plays in the post. Like another Rutgers fan said on our board....we can't remember when our defense was this good this early in the season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Good win for the Rugsters. Georgia Tech is a decent team.

 

[bbsamjj]

To answer speedo in a different fashion: really no one. if RU is to beat a top, top team, Oliver needs to keep herself in the game. Evans gives good effort and will become valuable, but she's a raw freshman post player. laney and sykes "can" play the post, but they can't be expected to defend a true 5.

fortunately, CVS has corrected the post problem for next year with Hollivay, Butts, and the return of Lee, but this year's it's going to be real thin in the post.

 

[Blakeon18]

When....and where....do you play Tenn.?

 

[pap49cba]

When....and where....do you play Tenn.?

Dec 13th at the RAC

 

[EricLA]

To answer speedo in a different fashion: really no one. if RU is to beat a top, top team, Oliver needs to keep herself in the game. Evans gives good effort and will become valuable, but she's a raw freshman post player. laney and sykes "can" play the post, but they can't be expected to defend a true 5.

fortunately, CVS has corrected the post problem for next year with Hollivay, Butts, and the return of Lee, but this year's it's going to be real thin in the post.

yeah that was a nice haul for you guys! i'm not sure if Butts will be anything more than a serviceable reserve, and that's no insult to her, just an acknowledgment that she may never be a starer over the likes of Oliver, Lee, or Hollivay. but having that kind of depth in the post will be huge for RU and maybe allow them to have a more well rounded offensive game.

i'd forgotten about Butts. IIRC, she was also considering tennessee, and any time you can get 2 recruits away from them, it's no small feat. in fact, getting 1 recruit away from them is big, especially as they went all out for Hollivay.

 

[bbsamjj]

eric--it was a huge (pun intended) haul for CVS this November. It's been a good long while since she brought in two players in one class above 6'2.

RU is historically thin in the post, so even if Butts just turns out to be a "serviceable" backup, it will feel like a luxury. Sometimes, you even just need people with 5 fouls to give...

 

[Coler]

Let's not forget that the Rutgers/Tennessee game has been changed from ESPNU to ESPN.