Rodney on Moore - Lockdown!

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zipsofakron

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I think an understated part of this game might end up being Rodney's defense on E'Twaun Moore. Seriously, if Moore had even a mediocre game tonight then I don't think we win. His 2-14 from the field went a long way towards Purdue falling short and I think a lot of that credit should go to Rodney who had him on complete lockdown. He kept him frustrated, which ultimately ended up causing Moore to force bad shots, as he's used to scoring a lot.

Not the only factor in the game, but definitely something that should be recognized. Great win!
 

Not to take anything away from the Gophers, but E'Twaun hasn't had his shot for three games now. The defense was good, but I think it was just more what was going on in E'Twaun's head.
 

rcpratt said:
Not to take anything away from the Gophers, but E'Twaun hasn't had his shot for three games now. The defense was good, but I think it was just more what was going on in E'Twaun's head.
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Not to take anything away from E'Twaun but it sure beats E'Twaun finding his stroke against our 6'7" lottery pick, whatever it was.
 

Rodney should be able to stay with E'Twaun. He's 3 inches taller and almost as quick... This is the type of D that Rodney SHOULD be showing game in and game out. He may be on his way.
 

freshtrout said:
Rodney should be able to stay with E'Twaun. He's 3 inches taller and almost as quick... This is the type of D that Rodney SHOULD be showing game in and game out. He may be on his way.
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You're right that he should be an impact defender but tonight is one of the first times I've seen him shut down a really good player. He was able to stay close enough to Moore and it was clear that his length really bothered Moore on several shots. That was really nice to see.
 



Harrison Barnes? Maybe he isn't a really good player yet, but that was a pretty damn good performance against a future lottery pick.

Gophers09 said:
You're right that he should be an impact defender but tonight is one of the first times I've seen him shut down a really good player. He was able to stay close enough to Moore and it was clear that his length really bothered Moore on several shots. That was really nice to see.
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In two games this season Vs. #8 teams, Rodney Williams match up has shot a total 2 of 26 or 8% ... take that stat for what you will
 




Excellent Defense

Rodney was really moving his feet and keeping his hands up. Way to go rodney! I also like the aggressive moves baseline.
 

Rodney has shown a ton of improvement over the past 2-3 weeks.
 

And he such a nice guy. After beatin Jackson's shot to the glass and then promptly adding insult to injury by falling on top of him as they tumbled down, Rodney immediately checked on him to make sure he was okay LOL.

In all seriousness though, the stats may not be huge but I'm loving the way he's been playing these last few games. He's been aggressive at least in spurts, but not just that, it seems to me that he's just making a big impact on games, by either getting a big dunk when the team needs a spark, or a huge block late, or getting tough rebounds and put backs off FT misses, etc.... Especially at home in the IU and Purdue games, but even back in non conference.
 

Rodney's a beast driving baseline. Hopefully teams don't figure out that they should just back off a little and cut it off.
 



Excellent defensive performance by Rodney and a huge key to the win! Moore has been Purdue's leading scorer for three years, so obviously he knows how to get the ball in the hole against every team's best perimeter defender.

Side note: (FICA) As much as I dislike his energy and toughness, RS3 finally D'ed up on Johnson on the last few possessions. He got physical and aggressively forced Johnson off the block, making him catch the ball 4-5' away from where he was catching it all game before then. That's what is needed for 40 minutes!
 

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