Improvement under Donahue

[BCEagles25]

Raji hasn't regressed. He's getting tons of garbage baskets as usual and is hitting 80% from the stripe this year. He used to be terrible at FTs. He's expanded his range beyond the arc too. To say that he's regressed because he lost his starting spot misses the point entirely. He's been very productive with the minutes he's had, and I'll take those shorter bursts over the long stretches of inactivity that I've seen from him in the past any day of the week.

Word for word how I feel.

Oh -- and Eagledom -- The idea of Sanders being a 1st round isn't so hard to grasp. I don't know about lotto, but if he stayed here and worked hard, the Don's system would have him avergaing 17+ and with his size, probably 5 rebounds too. He liked the shoot the three and he was physical. Loaded with talent and potential. Too bad he left.

[MattTheEagle]

I am confused with any knocks on Raji, he is playing his heart out and is doing quite well at it. I do not know about Sanders but it was his choice to leave when he decided he wasn't going to put in the effort. Some people wanted laid-back practices and effortless minutes...I am glad several players stayed and embraced Donahue and showed a willingness and work ethic to adapt. Raji included. I am not going to look at box scores but after watching most of the games this year, but Raji is definitely looking at least as good as last year. I don't see how you could say otherwise based on seeing the way he plays in contrast to last year. I will give you that Trapani hasn't looked too great (which hopefully changes) but Raji is improved and Reggie (who was very good before), Southern, and Paris are showing significant improvement.

So while these guys were not recruited to fit Donahue's system, most are doing quite well. We definitely need to get better on defense, but overall and without question Donahue has been a very good change for our players.

[twballgame9]

Raji is a good hard working player who doesn't fit at all in Donahue's system. Having said that, I like the guy and I don't get why people keep dumping on him.

TWB likes to dump on him because forever he told everyone that Sanders was a lottery pick in the nba and was told he was an idiot for it...he reacted by deflecting the argument to raji missing layups and has stuck with it ever since.

I'll say this, Rakim came in the most NBA ready recruit we've had in my time watching BC. He had the NBA type body and would play lock down D when motivated. Then he discovered dribbling the ball off his foot and the double cheese steaks.

This. Rakim Sanders still should be a lottery pick in the NBA. I apologize for not knowing that he was a lazy piece of shit after his very good freshman year.

Corey Raji is a very nice player on any team, giving good minutes and coming off of the bench. He is high energy, hustles, plays decent defense on a bad defensive squad, has a knack for rebounds, and is a pretty good athlete that is always about the team. He is also a piss poor shooter, misses too many layups for my liking, lights up crappy competition and has a bad habit in the past of disappearing come the conference schedule, and is way too small for the style of game he plays (in the ACC). All told, I like what he adds when used properly. I proposed him as the 6th man all last season (when the team had 2 more players that were good) and got shit on for bashing him. When the new coach does it after those two guys leave, it is genius. Hmmm.

[RedBaron67]

Raji is a good hard working player who doesn't fit at all in Donahue's system. Having said that, I like the guy and I don't get why people keep dumping on him.

TWB likes to dump on him because forever he told everyone that Sanders was a lottery pick in the nba and was told he was an idiot for it...he reacted by deflecting the argument to raji missing layups and has stuck with it ever since.

Raji does miss a ton of layups...just sayin

he does, he needs to go up stronger.

Raji hasn't regressed. He's getting tons of garbage baskets as usual and is hitting 80% from the stripe this year. He used to be terrible at FTs. He's expanded his range beyond the arc too. To say that he's regressed because he lost his starting spot misses the point entirely. He's been very productive with the minutes he's had, and I'll take those shorter bursts over the long stretches of inactivity that I've seen from him in the past any day of the week.

Word for word how I feel.

Will note that it is the "Corey Raji Memorial 20 ppg" section of the schedule.

Raji and Trapani have gone the other way, Raji's recent heroics against MD notwithstanding.

I disagree on Raji. He hasn't put up numbers, but he makes far fewer mistakes this year, i don't know the stats but i would guess he is turning the ball over less. It's a product of not playing as much. I don't think his skills or knowledge for the game have regressed, just his numbers. Trapani on the other hand has gotten worse ever since his first season. I don't know what is going on but he just doesn't get it. He looks lost on defense and doesn't know what to do on offense. He is losing his shooting touch progressively as well.

TW likes to shit on Raji at any given opportunity. He may not be the most talented guy in the world, but he is a hard worker and is a huge asset on the boards. He hasn't regressed at all. He will give us a shot in ACC games that we wouldn't have without him working the glass. Trapani, on the other hand, has regressed, because he has no outside shot this year.

Unlike Trapani, Raji got benched under your boy and lost minutes. Just sayin'. Seems to be a bit of a conundrum for you in always arguing with me.

a 2 inch taller Raji would start. Unfortunately the fact that he is 6'6 means that he can't get too much time at PF. He's been better than Trapani this year.

He has been better than Trapani, but not much. Note that I shit on Trapani as well. They are the two older guys that have clearly regressed. Paris, Jackson and Southern are thriving. Dunn is Dunn and Elmore looks pretty much the same.

A look at the numbers shows that Raji is in fact considerably improved from last year. His minutes per game are slightly down (26.7 to 24.9), but his points and rebounds per game are slightly up (11.4/5.8 to 11.6/6.1). His FG% is up significantly (.543 to .571), his 2PFG% is up impressively (.549 to .700), and his 3PFG% has gone from nonexistent (.000, 0-3 for the whole season) to respectable (.348, 8-23 already). His FT% is also up impressively (.636 to .800), as is his offensive efficiency (1.31 points/FGA to 1.65 points/FGA). His assist/turnover ratio has skyrocketed (1.0 to 2.8). If this isn't substantial improvement, I don't know what is.

[twballgame9]

Come on, seriously? Have you guys been watching the past 3 years? Comparing Raji's stats during cupcake season to his stats for the whole season, determining that they are slightly better, and then deciding that he is improved is stupid. Beyond stupid. Raji has always been one of the best November/December players that BC has had. The fact that his Nov/Dec stats this season are only a slight uptick over his full season stats last season signals to me regression, not improvement.

Let's see what his stats are after the ACC season. If he drops off like he has the past 3 seasons when he plays players that are both bigger and just as good an athlete as he is, well then, I say that is regression. This is my prediction. If he sustains the level that he is at right now, then I will concede he has improved. But history shows that Raji struggles in the ACC. So the eyes tell me that when that happens this season. his overall numbers will be way off his career averages.

[RedBaron67]

Come on, seriously? Have you guys been watching the past 3 years? Comparing Raji's stats during cupcake season to his stats for the whole season, determining that they are slightly better, and then deciding that he is improved is stupid. Beyond stupid. Raji has always been one of the best November/December players that BC has had. The fact that his Nov/Dec stats this season are only a slight uptick over his full season stats last season signals to me regression, not improvement.

Let's see what his stats are after the ACC season. If he drops off like he has the past 3 seasons when he plays players that are both bigger and just as good an athlete as he is, well then, I say that is regression. This is my prediction. If he sustains the level that he is at right now, then I will concede he has improved. But history shows that Raji struggles in the ACC. So the eyes tell me that when that happens this season. his overall numbers will be way off his career averages.

I doubt that Raji is going to regress to his past performance across the board, but you have a reasonable argument; final judgment will have to be reserved until the end of the regular season.

[Art Vandelay]

Raji is a good hard working player who doesn't fit at all in Donahue's system. Having said that, I like the guy and I don't get why people keep dumping on him.

TWB likes to dump on him because forever he told everyone that Sanders was a lottery pick in the nba and was told he was an idiot for it...he reacted by deflecting the argument to raji missing layups and has stuck with it ever since.

Raji does miss a ton of layups...just sayin

he does, he needs to go up stronger, same thing with trapani. they need to either finish with a dunk or slap it off the backboard and/or go up with 2 hands.

Trapani loves that awful underhand flip shot, ugh.

i don't understand that, he's more athletic and bigger than the other guy. Go up strong for fucks sake.

I agree he should go up strong and he is bigger, but Joe Trapani is not more athletic than anyone. He is average athletically for America East, not the ACC.

[Art Vandelay]

Come on, seriously? Have you guys been watching the past 3 years? Comparing Raji's stats during cupcake season to his stats for the whole season, determining that they are slightly better, and then deciding that he is improved is stupid. Beyond stupid. Raji has always been one of the best November/December players that BC has had. The fact that his Nov/Dec stats this season are only a slight uptick over his full season stats last season signals to me regression, not improvement.

Let's see what his stats are after the ACC season. If he drops off like he has the past 3 seasons when he plays players that are both bigger and just as good an athlete as he is, well then, I say that is regression. This is my prediction. If he sustains the level that he is at right now, then I will concede he has improved. But history shows that Raji struggles in the ACC. So the eyes tell me that when that happens this season. his overall numbers will be way off his career averages.

I agree with this 100%. I like Raji's effort and think he is valuable especially on the boards, but he has always looked better against the weak non conference teams. He would be an excellent player in a mid major conference, but is a role player at most in the ACC.

[Eagledom]

Come on, seriously? Have you guys been watching the past 3 years? Comparing Raji's stats during cupcake season to his stats for the whole season, determining that they are slightly better, and then deciding that he is improved is stupid. Beyond stupid. Raji has always been one of the best November/December players that BC has had. The fact that his Nov/Dec stats this season are only a slight uptick over his full season stats last season signals to me regression, not improvement.

Let's see what his stats are after the ACC season. If he drops off like he has the past 3 seasons when he plays players that are both bigger and just as good an athlete as he is, well then, I say that is regression. This is my prediction. If he sustains the level that he is at right now, then I will concede he has improved. But history shows that Raji struggles in the ACC. So the eyes tell me that when that happens this season. his overall numbers will be way off his career averages.

I agree with this 100%. I like Raji's effort and think he is valuable especially on the boards, but he has always looked better against the weak non conference teams. He would be an excellent player in a mid major conference, but is a role player at most in the ACC.

You and TW are confusing the statement that he is a role player with the statement that he has regressed. They are not the same argument.

[Eagledom]

Raji is a good hard working player who doesn't fit at all in Donahue's system. Having said that, I like the guy and I don't get why people keep dumping on him.

TWB likes to dump on him because forever he told everyone that Sanders was a lottery pick in the nba and was told he was an idiot for it...he reacted by deflecting the argument to raji missing layups and has stuck with it ever since.

I'll say this, Rakim came in the most NBA ready recruit we've had in my time watching BC. He had the NBA type body and would play lock down D when motivated. Then he discovered dribbling the ball off his foot and the double cheese steaks.

This. Rakim Sanders still should be a lottery pick in the NBA.

Yup, there's a lot of demand for lazy players that can't dribble and have mediocre shots. Keep sticking to that argument. Gee, I wonder why this NBA lottery pick is now in the MAAC.

[gaelfu]

Point absolutely taken that Raji has lit it up in the past against crappy OOC teams and then had less of an impact in the ACC. But this year, look at the OOC teams we've played, and look at how down the ACC is. He's played in games against Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Cal, Indiana, and @Maryland already. Minus Duke, that right there offers a group of teams that pretty much approximates the kind of competition he'll be facing in the ACC this year (and @Maryland will be one of the harder conference games we play all year). He hasn't lit it up against those teams, but he's shot the ball reasonably well and has provided his steady, stellar offensive rebounding as per usual.

[twballgame9]

Point absolutely taken that Raji has lit it up in the past against crappy OOC teams and then had less of an impact in the ACC. But this year, look at the OOC teams we've played, and look at how down the ACC is. He's played in games against Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Cal, Indiana, and @Maryland already. Minus Duke, that right there offers a group of teams that pretty much approximates the kind of competition he'll be facing in the ACC this year (and @Maryland will be one of the harder conference games we play all year). He hasn't lit it up against those teams, but he's shot the ball reasonably well and has provided his steady, stellar offensive rebounding as per usual.

This is a completely fair point - the OOC competition has been better than in the past and the conference is weaker. Regardless, if he sustains current levels of production, I will concede that he improved under Donahue. As of now, I haven't seen it, and the stat based argument doesn't work for me until he plays the ACC teams.

[Logitano]

Point absolutely taken that Raji has lit it up in the past against crappy OOC teams and then had less of an impact in the ACC. But this year, look at the OOC teams we've played, and look at how down the ACC is. He's played in games against Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Cal, Indiana, and @Maryland already. Minus Duke, that right there offers a group of teams that pretty much approximates the kind of competition he'll be facing in the ACC this year (and @Maryland will be one of the harder conference games we play all year). He hasn't lit it up against those teams, but he's shot the ball reasonably well and has provided his steady, stellar offensive rebounding as per usual.

This is a completely fair point - the OOC competition has been better than in the past and the conference is weaker. Regardless, if he sustains current levels of production, I will concede that he improved under Donahue. As of now, I haven't seen it, and the stat based argument doesn't work for me until he plays the ACC teams.

The best thing I can say for Raji and the new staff is that he basically no showed against Yale and there were consequences. He should have eaten up Yale but we basically were playing down a man when he was in the game. The staff moved him to the bench which was the right call and so far so good on the effort/improved shooting from him.

[twballgame9]

Point absolutely taken that Raji has lit it up in the past against crappy OOC teams and then had less of an impact in the ACC. But this year, look at the OOC teams we've played, and look at how down the ACC is. He's played in games against Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Cal, Indiana, and @Maryland already. Minus Duke, that right there offers a group of teams that pretty much approximates the kind of competition he'll be facing in the ACC this year (and @Maryland will be one of the harder conference games we play all year). He hasn't lit it up against those teams, but he's shot the ball reasonably well and has provided his steady, stellar offensive rebounding as per usual.

This is a completely fair point - the OOC competition has been better than in the past and the conference is weaker. Regardless, if he sustains current levels of production, I will concede that he improved under Donahue. As of now, I haven't seen it, and the stat based argument doesn't work for me until he plays the ACC teams.

The best thing I can say for Raji and the new staff is that he basically no showed against Yale and there were consequences. He should have eaten up Yale but we basically were playing down a man when he was in the game. The staff moved him to the bench which was the right call and so far so good on the effort/improved shooting from him.

I agree that he can be a very productive role player off of the bench. I have been arguing for his 6th man status for several years. He should thrive in that role.