When Wally Judge and Kadeem Jack score a grand total of 2 points and Dane Miller one scores 1 point, a Rutgers fan would have to think they're in trouble. But Myles Mack ran a solid point and scored 16, and then Eli Carter came off the bench and scored 22 and Rutgers tallied a very solid win.
That's not to say Judge and Jack didn't play an important role in this game. Judge in particular has impressed fans with his rebounding. In the past, on the defensive and offensive end, if Rutgers was going to pull down a rebound, the ball would bounce of several hands before a Scarlet Knight controlled it. Not anymore. Judge has been imposing his will on the defensive end, and the opposition has only been getting one chance. That really changes the complexion of games. And when teams are focusing on Judge it opens the game up for Jack and Miller to get boards. Against Princeton, Judge had 7 rebounds. Dane Miller had 5, and Kadeem Jack had 4.
But the game ball goes to Austin Johnson. The senior, who, by all accounts, is a leader behind the scenes stepped in big time Friday night. Not only did he help shut down Ian Hummer, but he filled in well when Judge went to the bench with 4 fouls. Johnson completed an important and-1 to basically ice the game.
A good win for Rutgers that should help put the St. Peter's loss in the rearview mirrors.
Stray Thoughts:
-One of the things to watch for this year is how the guards share the ball. Last night, I felt the guards really looked to make the extra pass and find the open player. Carter still tends to dribble into a lot of double teams, but his vision has improved from last year.
-Jerome Seagears has gotten off to a slow start this year, but the Scarlet Knights are going to need him before the season is out.
-Malik Kone, coming off a knee injury, has been quietly impressive filling in at Power Forward.
-Dane Miller may not have scored much last night, but he'd been tied for the team lead in scoring going into the game.
-Boston University comes to the RAC Tuesday night.