By @RMU_Blogger

The last time I wrote, Robert Morris opened conference play with two ugly road losses. I pinpointed the offense’s performance around the rim, poor bench play, the inability to stop runs, team defense and team identity as issues plaguing the team.

The Colonials now sit at 5-11 and 1-4 in Horizon League action. While we’re seeing some solutions, questions about the talent of the roster and overall roster construction remain.

I’ve been harder on this team than others, but it’s worth noting that this is one of Andy Toole’s least experienced rosters based on Division I experience since 2018, according to KenPom. The coaching staff was tasked with replacing two players who were of all-conference quality, and overall did a pretty fine job in adding Markeese Hastings and Justice Williams.

Returning players, like TJ Wainwright and Steph Walker, are also adjusting to new, increased roles.

Youth and inexperience doesn’t mean everyone gets a season-long pass. Mental and physical mistakes are on display nightly, often on the defensive end. Despite some major roster changes – some of which I underestimated – I was bullish on this Robert Morris team because I thought they would defend the hell out of the ball, especially on the perimeter.

Offensive penetration, starting on the perimeter, has been one of the team’s weaknesses this season. Opponents are constantly cycling Robert Morris perimeter defenders in pick and roll, hunting for mismatches, waiting for miscommunications or both.

Toole has been leaning on junior small forward Chris Ford more, a move I am a fan of.  Ford is one of the lone perimeter players who can guard multiple positions well. His hustle, athleticism, rebounding and defense outweigh his woeful offense, especially in shorter spurts. While Jackson Last is an excellent rebounder for his position, his defense has taken a step back and his shot still isn’t falling.

Wainwright, a sophomore guard, has been battling through leg injuries all season, but also stands out as a top perimeter defender.

Williams is the player I am looking at that can provide a big jolt on the defensive end. Although a small sample size, Williams has a 3.4% steal rate in Horizon League games, good for seventh in the conference. If he can find a balance between playing sound defense and forcing turnovers, it would do wonders for the team. As the program’s highest-rated recruit coming from a high-major program, Williams has the ability to set the attitude and standard more than others.

Even if the perimeter defense does its job, there’s no guarantee the rest of the team will be doing their jobs well.

RMU’s help defense struggles to rotate on time or correctly, often. For as great of an offensive player Kahliel Spears was, his greatest impact came on the defensive end as a help defender and rim protector. While Hastings, Walker and Alvaro Folgueiras are settling into a solid rotation at forward and have the potential to dominate the glass, there are still areas for improvement when it comes to help defense – and the rotations that help defense leads to.

The Colonials are one of the worst teams in the country at defending the 2-point shot, with teams shooting 57.6%, good for 351^st in the country. Thanks to a dominating performance against IUPUI, that number is slightly smaller in Horizon League action at 54.2%, good for eighth.

Not only are teams scoring at an efficient clip inside the paint, they’re getting to the free throw line often. The Colonials rank 289^th in the country in free throw attempts to field goal attempts allowed. Again, against Horizon League action, the Colonials rank sixth in the same category.

Those numbers are the result of a total team failure – failure to contain dribble penetration, to help in the right spots at the right time and to communicate new assignments when the ball does start to move.

Aside from slightly altering the personnel to play Ford more, it was interesting to watch the Colonials blitz IUPUI ball handlers in pick and roll. Frankly, I thought the hard hedge had a lot of work to do and a better team would have made RMU pay for their lack of urgency when rotating, but the process was a welcoming sight.

According to RMU color commentator Jim Elias, the Colonials are also practicing more 1-3-1 zone. Again, anything to give an offense a different look and make them work is fine with me. RMU has had some success in late-game situations with a full-court press, which could be an occasional option.

The defensive inconsistencies are nothing compared to the offensive rollercoaster watched every night. Consider that the Colonials rank 70^th in the country in defensive turnover percentage at 19.7%, but 320^th in offensive turnover percentage at 20.4%.

Turnovers, poor shooting, foul trouble, injuries – RMU has had battled all sorts of different offensive issues.

In steps Folgueiras, the freshman forward who is coming off his most dominating all-around performance of the season against IUPUI. He was rewarded with a season-high 23 minutes.

Folgueiras desperately adds a shooting element to the offense, knocking down 9 of his last 14 3-point attempts during his last four games. For a team that is shooting 32.2% from 3, any outside shooting should be welcome.

Folgueiras’ impact is felt even more by being a forward/center. He can either pull a rim defender out of the paint or make them pay, demonstrated by the multiple corner 3s he made in the past few weeks.

Corbin has a track record as a 3-point shooter, and every team knows it. Aside from the extra scrutiny he receives as a shooter, Corbin has struggled to knock down open shots. He’s missing the tough ones and the easy ones, displayed from a drop in 3-point percentage from 35% to 31%. His game has been extremely streaky, with 38% of all his 3-pointers made on the season coming in the Fairleigh Dickinson and Cornell games. Adding multiple shooters needs to be a priority for RMU this offseason, which of course, is easier said than done.

Playing shaky, inconsistent defense and struggling from the 3-point line is one of the worst formulas a team can have. I think the defense has more potential to improve than the offense, but that’s not to say there’s no hope.

Walker and Hastings makes one of the best frontcourt duos in the Horizon League. Across his last four games, Walker is shooting 69.69% (for real) on 2-point shots and while averaging 6.0 rebounds. His back to the basket game is elite, and his shooting percentage around the rim has climbed to 57%, per Hoop-Math.

Hastings has also been ultra-efficient through four conference games. As a fifth-year senior who averaged double figures at Western Michigan before transferring to Robert Morris, Hastings has a smooth game and has cleaned up on the offensive glass.

While Hastings has been reliable and consistent, Walker still finds himself in foul trouble too often – which is not always his fault, given how persistent perimeter breakdowns are. Still, these two need to find a way to stay on the court together for closer to 30 minutes than 20.

I remain a fan of Justice Williams and think it’s only a matter of time before he has a bigger impact offensively. His scoring is akin to former guard Anthony Myers-Pate; both jump shots struggled the further you got from the rim. Williams needs to embrace his role as a point guard and protect the ball. He turns the ball over far too often as a primary ball handler.

RMU cutting back on offensive turnovers while continuing to force a high number of turnovers feels like an attainable goal to help win games. With upcoming home games against Wright State and Purdue Fort Wayne, we’ll see in what ways the team continues to improve and struggle.