Rokas Gustys

[HofstraMathew]

18 points and 11 rebounds in only 28 minutes. He has been dominating in conference play. The improvement he has shown from even the beginning of this season is amazing.

[ProudofPride]

There were NBA scouts at both of his 20/20 games. Obviously they weren't there to watch him at this point, but I'm sure those performances caught their attention. I can't find the tweet, but I remember seeing one about there being scouts for 2 different teams at the JMU game, watching both Green and Ron Curry. And 4 scouts were at the NU game, according to this tweet. https://twitter.com/JakeLFischer/status ... 0940114944

[Wags]

18 points and 11 rebounds in only 28 minutes. He has been dominating in conference play. The improvement he has shown from even the beginning of this season is amazing.

He started slow today (3 pts, 4 reb) at halftime. Looked like it could be a rare off day for him, and he STILL ends up with 18 & 11, and as before, extremely efficient yet again (8/12 fg). That might even say more than the back-to-back 20/20 games. What a signing he's been for Hofstra.

My favorite sequence from him was late, game already long decided, and he gets a jumper at one end, hustles back for an emphatic block on Sheldon, then gets the tip-in down at the other end again on HU's next trip. And he's hustling like that in a 20+ point game in the final minutes. He's been tremendous, and I think his work in the middle has helped Tanskley get back on track and Green take his game to another level of late.

[HofstraMathew]

18 points and 11 rebounds in only 28 minutes. He has been dominating in conference play. The improvement he has shown from even the beginning of this season is amazing.

He started slow today (3 pts, 4 reb) at halftime. Looked like it could be a rare off day for him, and he STILL ends up with 18 & 11, and as before, extremely efficient yet again (8/12 fg). That might even say more than the back-to-back 20/20 games. What a signing he's been for Hofstra.

My favorite sequence from him was late, game already long decided, and he gets a jumper at one end, hustles back for an emphatic block on Sheldon, then gets the tip-in down at the other end again on HU's next trip. And he's hustling like that in a 20+ point game in the final minutes. He's been tremendous, and I think his work in the middle has helped Tanskley get back on track and Green take his game to another level of late.

It's crazy to think that this is an "off day" for him now. If he did this last season or even early this season it would have been a great game for him. Huge Rok fan and glad Hofstra finally has a big inside presence.

And yea that block was a huge play.

[stuball888]

The greatest coach in Hofstra history had a quote that defines what we are seeing in Rokus Gustys. Bill Edwards said eventually the "LIght goes on" and the athlete gets it! It can be in the senior year, the junior year and if we are lucky the sophmore year. We are seeing that now in Rokus. He seems relaxed in the post. His hands have gotten so much better and now green and others have no problem passing into the post. The fact that he passes well out of the post is a bonus.

[daHUPride]

The greatest coach in Hofstra history had a quote that defines what we are seeing in Rokus Gustys. Bill Edwards said eventually the "LIght goes on" and the athlete gets it! It can be in the senior year, the junior year and if we are lucky the sophmore year. We are seeing that now in Rokus. He seems relaxed in the post. His hands have gotten so much better and now green and others have no problem passing into the post. The fact that he passes well out of the post is a bonus.

well said was thinking about how he has improved so much since the beginning of the season - and the term "he gets it" is right - staying out of foul trouble, letting the game (Green) come to him - really impressive

[garyg]

Rokas is forcing the opposition to double team him down low which obviously opens up opportunities for his teammates....

[Polito]

A quality presence down low is a HUGE factor that HU has been missing for years

Let this put to rest the ridiculous notion that quality big men can't/won't come to HU, or that this staff doesn't develop players - both of which I have strongly disagreed with to say the least.

This young man has clearly worked his butt off, and he's also getting some fantastic coaching up - combine that with a group of talented experienced guards and it can be very dangerous - I am STOKED to see him play alongside another bruiser like Sabety, where opponents won't really be able to focus solely on him as much, and still getting beautiful feeds from Buie and Powers

His play forcing opponents to game plan for him and leaving other opportunities on the perimeter is another factor why I believe 100% BB will break out of the funk very soon - can't double him and BB and JG etc. - just too many starting weapons - clear shots will continue to come

I want this guy 1st team, and legit POY candidate next yr - his potential is STILL enormous, just scratching the surface - really proud of him, SO glad to have him at HU, and jacked for his future here - Go Rok Go!!!

[ProudofPride]

WRHU did an interview with Rok last night. Very well done, and it's nice to see how well spoken and humble he is.
https://soundcloud.com/hofstrapride/wrhurgtlr11716

[RollPride15]

23/19 tonight, albeit a bad performance at the stripe. Dude has become Shaquille O'Neal...both in his post game and his free throw shooting!

[stuball888]

I know he is only a soph but this off season if he cant shoot free throws at least 60% then he should try underhanded like Rick barry or his son canyon at C of C.

[Wags]

23/19 tonight, albeit a bad performance at the stripe. Dude has become Shaquille O'Neal...both in his post game and his free throw shooting!

Haha! So true, on both accounts! Rok has a better touch. Actually pretty soft, and a nice arc on the shot, it's just off line -- either short, long, or usually to the right. But based on the touch and the arc, and maybe some of the same increased confidence at the line the type of which he says has helped him with the rest of his game, and I think he can turn that around with more work. The last thing we want to see is a 20-20 game from him in the CAA semis or finals wasted in a narrow loss because he shoots FTs like he did tonight. If he can just get that to even a respectable, not so Chris-Dudley-esque level, he'll be unstoppable to the point where even the Hack-a-Rok at the ends of games won't work.

[Flying Dutchmen]

23/19 tonight, albeit a bad performance at the stripe. Dude has become Shaquille O'Neal...both in his post game and his free throw shooting!

Haha, CAA Shaq.

72% from the field in CAA play.

[ProudofPride]

You know the FT shooting is bad when an ESPN insider writer tweets about it. Maybe Stu is right about trying them underhanded. It certainly wouldn't hurt with how poor his percentage is.

John Gasaway ‏@JohnGasaway
The CAA title chase has more or less come down to a coaching decision for Hofstra opponents: Hack-a-Gustys, yes or no?
https://twitter.com/JohnGasaway/status/ ... 3203584000

[joeg1]

I think Rok will respond well to the added pressure. He remained composed in the first half when he received about four really hard fouls. Showed a lot of self control

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[Wags]

I think Rok will respond well to the added pressure. He remained composed in the first half when he received about four really hard fouls. Showed a lot of self control

He said last night that the zone D is helping him a lot and that he has more of a conscious effort to defend well without fouling as much as before, now that Malik is out. Mission accomplished on that front last night.

Just work on the FT shooting more (the touch is soft and the arc is nice; just off line), and he's an unstoppable force that can help lead this team, along with Green, to titles this year.

[daHUPride]

can't say how impressed i am with his improvement - so much on the offensive end - but his rebounding positioning and defense have trended up at the same pace as his O

[Cards]

Does Rok need to improve his FT shooting....of course. But he is not alone in that regard, HU as a team shot poorly last night, and not just at the FT line. To say that if Rok hit his FTs the game would have been won easily is blindly ignoring the rest of the game (turnovers, poor team shooting, etc).

Bottom line is that Rok and JG are carrying the team for the last few weeks.

[Cards]

Latest stats (in conf games only)

Rok - 4th in scoring - 17.9 ppg
Rok - 1st in Rebounding - 13.6 rpg (2nd is at 10.2 rpg)
Rok - 1st in FG% - 72% (2nd is at 57%)
Rok - 4th in Blocks - 1.4 bpg

Oddly enough, the only legit competition (as of today) for POY is JG

JG - 1st in scoring 18.9 ppg
JG - 12th in rebounding - 5.9 rpg
JG - 1st in assists - 7.9 apg
JG - 8th in FT% - 80%
JG - 2nd in steals - 2.1spg
JG - 8th in 3pt % - 38%
JG - 1st in minutes played - 39.6mpg

Guys like Tarpey, Walker, Ford, Flemmings, Curry, King-Davis have good numbers also, but overall, JG and RG dominate the top spots. If things continue like this for the rest of the season, it will likely be two HU players voted as the number one and two for POY. Likely JG because of the clutch play, senior leadership, and that fact that RG is only a soph......all in all, pretty sweet!

[Polito]

fantastic stats!!!

Hey, I wonder if playing against Sabety in practice has also helped - no clue, and just homer hoping on my part that HS is a force next yr alongside RG