Penn State game redux and I do not need to repeat my description from that game. In simple terms Rutgers was humiliated on its home court by Maryland. Boys vs Men and you never want to have that description especially if you have a couple guys who have been here for 4-5 years. In other words Rutgers was soft today and didnt particularly care with the exception of a few players. Rutgers came out pretty aimlessly on offense early, going through the emotions while tossing bricks and missing free throws. Maryland did not look much bettter yet it all it took for them to get going was 3 poorly defended 3 pointers that went in and holding an inept anemic Rutgers team scoreless for the final 6 minutes of the half. Lead was 30-18 game over and if you were not convinced the Terp would then run the lead to 43-22 as RU offensive futility reached new lows. RU made a brief rally when Pike finally figured out he needed to shake up the lineup. Oskar, Gavin, J Will brought some spark and noise to the RAC as RU clawed to just down 10 at 47-37. Yet the comeback proved futile and Maryland punched back and RU with starters back in perhaps looked worse than they did in the first half. What you saw is what you got. No need to dwell on the what, whys, whos, and hows it went wrong. Nothing hidden. A listless rudderless performance that RU has shown this year. J Will was a big addition and surprise but the word i out and when you peel the layers off its still the same woefully inept offensive team that has gigantic roster management issues. End game recap. Season over? Well still an outside shot at the NIT however observing this team today, I am thinking they are more packing it in than wanting to play on. I thought an NIT run would be big for these kids, but I think there are too many on the roster that will not have the hunger.
Moving forward now that ANY NCAA talk can now be flushed, it is time to move on and turn the page to next season. Dylan and Ace are coming. Tons of excitement and anticipation to come. Rutgers have not seen this kind of talent here ever. Its a game changer yet it is not guarantee to be successful. How Pike molds the surrounding cast is of the utmost importance. zA team can never have enough talent. Not a fan of Pike's navigation through the portal the last few years. I feel he is too loyal to returning players to do the NECESSARY movement that other coaches do to move ineffective and overmatched players out and move new ones in to compliment the team. Yes Pike was dealt a bad hand with Cam and then with Paul going. Pike had an injured Mag yet he brought in a guy with a NCAA gambling issue/transfer issue looming over him plus two other guys coming off injuries. Pike also chose to bring back Hyatt who automatically would be a starter. To me its just really bad roster management and showing loyalty by refusing to recruit over players.
Now what happens this off season. Is Cliff back? Is Mag back? Do either of them let it be known early they are coming back? Does Pike get strung along and its another Cam/Paul situation? What are the expectations for Simpson? Does Pike feel he needs to recruit another shooting guard as a back up for Dylan. Is Pike committed to Gavin and feels he can produce next year..and I am seeing some promise from GG in his last few. I do not expect Dorstch and Grant to have immediate impact as freshmen. Summerville may have more potential as an impact player but its likely even he will take some time to adjust. Will J Mike be the other starting guard with Dylan. Doesnt it seem like we really need to nail down the Mag and Cliff situations the most. How aggressive will Pike be? Will Chol and Wolf get the talk? Will even another player who has seen major minutes get the talk? Can RU find more NIL money? Is it even realistic? Does the lure of Ace/Dylan attract better talent and then in 2025 to put the program on a stable path after they supposedly are one and done.
The off season roster management will be critical to how far Rutgers can go next year. Sitting on its hands, Rutgers is going to set themselves up for disappointment. Its the biggest portal of Pike's life. Will he be up to the task. No doubt the expecations will be high for next season. You bring guys like this in because you expect a run. The NCAA tourney is the bare minimum. You want to get to the sweet 16 too but things can happen to screw that up. Its a unique challenge for Pikiell and this program and lets face it, they are not headed into next season in a good spot considering the wobbly end to this season.
Moving forward now that ANY NCAA talk can now be flushed, it is time to move on and turn the page to next season. Dylan and Ace are coming. Tons of excitement and anticipation to come. Rutgers have not seen this kind of talent here ever. Its a game changer yet it is not guarantee to be successful. How Pike molds the surrounding cast is of the utmost importance. zA team can never have enough talent. Not a fan of Pike's navigation through the portal the last few years. I feel he is too loyal to returning players to do the NECESSARY movement that other coaches do to move ineffective and overmatched players out and move new ones in to compliment the team. Yes Pike was dealt a bad hand with Cam and then with Paul going. Pike had an injured Mag yet he brought in a guy with a NCAA gambling issue/transfer issue looming over him plus two other guys coming off injuries. Pike also chose to bring back Hyatt who automatically would be a starter. To me its just really bad roster management and showing loyalty by refusing to recruit over players.
Now what happens this off season. Is Cliff back? Is Mag back? Do either of them let it be known early they are coming back? Does Pike get strung along and its another Cam/Paul situation? What are the expectations for Simpson? Does Pike feel he needs to recruit another shooting guard as a back up for Dylan. Is Pike committed to Gavin and feels he can produce next year..and I am seeing some promise from GG in his last few. I do not expect Dorstch and Grant to have immediate impact as freshmen. Summerville may have more potential as an impact player but its likely even he will take some time to adjust. Will J Mike be the other starting guard with Dylan. Doesnt it seem like we really need to nail down the Mag and Cliff situations the most. How aggressive will Pike be? Will Chol and Wolf get the talk? Will even another player who has seen major minutes get the talk? Can RU find more NIL money? Is it even realistic? Does the lure of Ace/Dylan attract better talent and then in 2025 to put the program on a stable path after they supposedly are one and done.
The off season roster management will be critical to how far Rutgers can go next year. Sitting on its hands, Rutgers is going to set themselves up for disappointment. Its the biggest portal of Pike's life. Will he be up to the task. No doubt the expecations will be high for next season. You bring guys like this in because you expect a run. The NCAA tourney is the bare minimum. You want to get to the sweet 16 too but things can happen to screw that up. Its a unique challenge for Pikiell and this program and lets face it, they are not headed into next season in a good spot considering the wobbly end to this season.
