The 4th quarter was the Kyle McAlarney show. The Notre Dame alum scored 34 points, including 14 in the 4th quarter, and the young Rutgers players on the Ned Stevens Gutter Cleaners team just couldn't keep up.
They made a run of it, having an 8 point lead early in the 2nd half and trailing by only 1 at the start of the fourth. But then McAlarney started raining three pointers and that was the end.
But that's not the important part. The important part is how the new guys looked.
Find out after the jump....
Jerome Seagears, Austin Johnson, Derrick Randall and Wally Judge came to play tonight.Seagears showed great court vision and made some great entry passes. He was patient and waited for his shot from 3 point land. If he didn't take that, he was able to get in the lane and either dish or make a lay-up. He was very impressive.
The other two young guards, Elijah Carter and Myles Mack showed the same ability. Carter seems to have a good shot, but with it come and interesting hitch. He was also able to get in the lane and made some impressive lay-ups.
Mack had an off night, scoring only 3 points, but he is fast. When he had the ball, he was the first one down the court. At one point, he tried to lead a fast break, but couldn't find anyone open--he actually had to turn to the backcourt to find a player. Tough to really judge him as he didn't see the floor much in the second half.
Austin Carroll looked good to me. He hit a few tough 3 pointers when RU needed them in the second half to stay close. He was very scrappy and seemed to be the only guard playing any sort of defense.
Couldn't tell much from Malik Kone. Hit a few shots, seemed pretty fast.
Wally Judge impressed me with his athleticism. He seemed to be in on every offense play and was left open for a few dunks. He found himself open for a few dunks, was willing to body some of the opposition's big men. Still seems to need a few go to moves in the post.
Derrick Randall was impressive, the surprise of the night. Reminded me a lot of Austin Johnson. He was willing to go to the hoop and do the dirty work when needed. Pulled down some rebounds, got fouled and hit his free throws.
Austin Johnson looked good as well. Seemed to put on some muscle and was the team leader. Demanded the ball and went to the hoop. Didn't try to use his hook as much as last year. Nice work by Johnson.
Greg Lewis didn't play much, but has a very lean body.
Bottom line, Rutgers has some athletes and team speed coming in. The guards have the potential to be very good, especially if they all get going at the same time. It's hard to tell much from a league like this, as each player wants to get their shots and the team wasn't willing to work the ball around as much. One or two passes and then someone would put up a three or take it to the hoop. Not much looking for the open shot and not much patience. That will come with coaching.
On the defensive end, there's a lot of work to do. The experienced players-McAlarney especially--took advantage of the soft defense of the guards and were able to do what they wished. The scrap that Coach Mike Rice is going to want will have to come in time. This team has a lot of learning to do, and there are going to be mistakes early on.
On the Seton Hall side, Aaron Cosby and Fuquan Edwin were really impressive scoring 21 and 20 points respectively.