My fears were realized. I know I am not alone here. The messiness could be excused for the Princeton game. It appeared we made some strides in a few of the following game. The St Peters game raised major red flags for me despite winning by 31. Today, the program has a hard cold slap in the face. Coming off of 4 successful years (albeit last year failing to make the NCAA tourney) the program has grown a reputation for being legit and a tough out. The fanbase has come to expect Rutgers to compete night and out with a gritty toughness that leans mainly on defense. We have also had expecations of competing for a NCAA bid this year. I will say some offseason departures have thrown quite the monkey wrench into this and its highlighting a bunch of recruiting miscues that to me is going to have an impact on the ceiling for this season. Next year is next year and it happens when it happens. We have Ace and Summerville coming in and fingers crossed for Dylan. I know Pike is going to get a pass for shaky recruiting this year because of what is coming next year. I get that but the plain fact may remain this team as its currently constructed does not look good enough to contend for a NCAA bid in 2024. Now this is just one game but this team as CURRENTLY constructed with this CURRENT lineup and CURRENT philosophy is not going to get it done.
For starters lost in all this is how good Illinois is. This is clearly a team going places. Illinois is likely a top 4 Big 10 team and shoo in NCAA participant. They have incredible physical presence on the court. Their rebounding philosphy is a thing of beauty. Underwood has them brimming with confidence and you can see that with their purpose offensively to attack and attack and then if they miss attack the glass. There is no shame in losing to Illinois. Its not that we lost or even that we lost by 18. Its that we looked like boys against men. To me that is a bucket of ice water to the balls for the 2023-2024 season. How does Rutgers go from being at the Illinois level and beating them 4 of 5 times to basically being wiped off their own home court by them. Pikiell traded in his big guard philsophy for a bunch of midgets who bounce off and getting swatted away like flies by a bunch of studs. Again recruiting recruiting recruiting and Pikiell has recruited a group of nice players but most of them complimentary players not Big 10 starting level. Would any of our current starting lineup except perhaps Cliff start on Illinois? Yet we keep hearing a small segment of our fans lecture on how Cam and Mulcahy were not huge losses. They were but I do not want to lament that. They are gone and Pike has to win with what he has
I keep hearing stuff how we need Mag back. Well I hope Pike went into the year knowing that Mag might not be back until January or even February. IMO, Pike has had plenty of time dating back to last year to make up for the loss of Mag. Mag is not some miracle vaccine for this team which has multiple ailments. Be prepared to play without Mag. Be prepared for the possibility that Mag does not even come back. I am not saying its going to happen but this program needs to develop with or without Mag. I actually am not happy that Mag tried to cash in and got more money from Rutgers coming off an injury. To me that just did not sit well with me given Rutgers was going to do everything to make sure Mag was well taken care of his with his health and education. So for now there is no Mag and more importantly a 100% Mag is likely needed for this team to reach any lofty goals.
As far as whats going on with court play. The continuation of slow starts has hampered Rutgers almost every game this year. Multiple horrid offensive stretches vs St Peters were realized again vs Illinois. To start the game Rutgers could not buy as basket and what an indictment that the first basket until 13:31 mark of the 1st half. By then RU was already down 14-2 and playing catch up right from the get go. A team cannot spot 15-16 point leads to a team as talented as Illinois and expect a positive result. To Rutgers credit they did not give up and showed some major resilience riding a crest from a press that bothered the bejesused out the Illini and a raucous RAC crowd that was carrying this team on its bad even when down double digits. Its amazing the resilience the RAC crowd showed in the first half. RU would raise hopes getting within 3 late in the first half. Yet it was fools gold really. RU down just 41-36 at half. It seemed like a game yet it appeared that RU had no business being that close. That proved true as RU was not able to mount any serious challenge to Illinois in the first few minutes of the 2nd half going back to its same predictable inefficient starting lineup and forcing offensive plays that have proven not to work. Alas the dam would break over a 6 minute period where Illinois just beat Rutgers down like a drum. An 18-2 run where RU had exactly zero field goals made. It was about as noxious a stretch under a Pikiell coached team as you have ever seen at the RAC and magnifed where Illinios currently sits and how much Rutgers has fallen behind.
Lineups and rotations are a hot topic on the board and they should be. 7 games and Pike still is confused. Players are being forced to do things they simply are not capable for. Perhaps a realization sets in that this year in terms of NCAA may not be in the cards. Youth and promise vs the old tired routine of trying to make something square fit in a round hole. The insistence on trying to feed the ball to Cliff every single game is not working. It did not work vs the weaker schools then why would it work against a team like Illinois. Cliff has regressed. There I said it. Yes he can play defense at time and block shots and had 8 tonight but he is just not cutting it as an offensive threat. Cliff with 5 turnovers, catching air and missing surefire alleyoops. Hyatt is our leading shot taker and our offense is running through him yet on most Big 10 teams he is a 7th player at best. 5-22 fg over the past 2 games. Our 3 small guards going 3-17 fg combined with only 4 assists. Physically totally overmatched vs Illinois. I like Woofolk but he is not starter and starting him with Cliff is killing our offense. They cannot be playing together. He had only 2 rebounds in 23 minutes!
No surprise that our biggest guard had the most impact in this game. Bravo Austin Williams who has had sporadic play all year long. Austin had 9 tonight on 3-6 fg, 4 boards, 3 assists and was almost single handedly responsible for getting RU back into the game offensively in the first half. A case could be made Austin needed to play more and that Pike took him out just as he was getting hot and unfortunately didnt start him in the 2nd. Pike's stubborness of having to play the same starters in the 2nd half is mind boggling. Not one person on this team really except for Cliff should be guarantee a starting spot on the roster. That some players like Hyatt are just given minutes needs to change.
And then we come to Gavin. You know I for one and tired of the he does not play bullshit thing especially when I saw a few small guards give up wide open 3s and get blown by for layups. Lets cut this ridiculous notion that he isnt playing because he is defense is terrible. Gavin needs to start. There I said it. He needs to be a more focal point of our offense. This is one of the highest rated recruits Rutgers has ever had yet somehow on a team that cannot put the ball on the bucket he sits during scoring droughts and when he is inserted his role is to hang out on the perimeter. Pike you need to do better with him. Gavin is part of the future. He will not be if he continues to play limited role. I get why a freshman should not shoulder a large rule. Unfortunately because of how Pike has handled recruiting, this is the situation we find ourselves at. The options are limited and I have seen enough to realize what we are seeing on offense this year is not working
And what is the Rutgers offense? Alot of discussion on the boards about identity and purpose. If RU is not converting off of turnovers it does not look they are comfortable at all in the half court set. I see alot of ill advised hoists and one on one stuff with no one under the boards not to mention Rutgers likely leading the lead in missed bunnies. There was talk in the offseason about this team being the fastest ever and capable of scoring 75 plus a game..wait wut. With what players and what shooting capabilities?
Again Illinois is very good. RU got a test today and failed. Not every team will pose the same challenges. These next two games though really are the acid test for the program. ANY hope of reaching the NCAA rests in the next 2. Wake is going to present problems on the road in a different way than Illinois more finesse than physical. Seton Hall a rivarly game that could exploit the perceived softness of Rutgers. Pike is going to have to make changes and make them quickly. Its has to happen. It needs to happen.
For starters lost in all this is how good Illinois is. This is clearly a team going places. Illinois is likely a top 4 Big 10 team and shoo in NCAA participant. They have incredible physical presence on the court. Their rebounding philosphy is a thing of beauty. Underwood has them brimming with confidence and you can see that with their purpose offensively to attack and attack and then if they miss attack the glass. There is no shame in losing to Illinois. Its not that we lost or even that we lost by 18. Its that we looked like boys against men. To me that is a bucket of ice water to the balls for the 2023-2024 season. How does Rutgers go from being at the Illinois level and beating them 4 of 5 times to basically being wiped off their own home court by them. Pikiell traded in his big guard philsophy for a bunch of midgets who bounce off and getting swatted away like flies by a bunch of studs. Again recruiting recruiting recruiting and Pikiell has recruited a group of nice players but most of them complimentary players not Big 10 starting level. Would any of our current starting lineup except perhaps Cliff start on Illinois? Yet we keep hearing a small segment of our fans lecture on how Cam and Mulcahy were not huge losses. They were but I do not want to lament that. They are gone and Pike has to win with what he has
I keep hearing stuff how we need Mag back. Well I hope Pike went into the year knowing that Mag might not be back until January or even February. IMO, Pike has had plenty of time dating back to last year to make up for the loss of Mag. Mag is not some miracle vaccine for this team which has multiple ailments. Be prepared to play without Mag. Be prepared for the possibility that Mag does not even come back. I am not saying its going to happen but this program needs to develop with or without Mag. I actually am not happy that Mag tried to cash in and got more money from Rutgers coming off an injury. To me that just did not sit well with me given Rutgers was going to do everything to make sure Mag was well taken care of his with his health and education. So for now there is no Mag and more importantly a 100% Mag is likely needed for this team to reach any lofty goals.
As far as whats going on with court play. The continuation of slow starts has hampered Rutgers almost every game this year. Multiple horrid offensive stretches vs St Peters were realized again vs Illinois. To start the game Rutgers could not buy as basket and what an indictment that the first basket until 13:31 mark of the 1st half. By then RU was already down 14-2 and playing catch up right from the get go. A team cannot spot 15-16 point leads to a team as talented as Illinois and expect a positive result. To Rutgers credit they did not give up and showed some major resilience riding a crest from a press that bothered the bejesused out the Illini and a raucous RAC crowd that was carrying this team on its bad even when down double digits. Its amazing the resilience the RAC crowd showed in the first half. RU would raise hopes getting within 3 late in the first half. Yet it was fools gold really. RU down just 41-36 at half. It seemed like a game yet it appeared that RU had no business being that close. That proved true as RU was not able to mount any serious challenge to Illinois in the first few minutes of the 2nd half going back to its same predictable inefficient starting lineup and forcing offensive plays that have proven not to work. Alas the dam would break over a 6 minute period where Illinois just beat Rutgers down like a drum. An 18-2 run where RU had exactly zero field goals made. It was about as noxious a stretch under a Pikiell coached team as you have ever seen at the RAC and magnifed where Illinios currently sits and how much Rutgers has fallen behind.
Lineups and rotations are a hot topic on the board and they should be. 7 games and Pike still is confused. Players are being forced to do things they simply are not capable for. Perhaps a realization sets in that this year in terms of NCAA may not be in the cards. Youth and promise vs the old tired routine of trying to make something square fit in a round hole. The insistence on trying to feed the ball to Cliff every single game is not working. It did not work vs the weaker schools then why would it work against a team like Illinois. Cliff has regressed. There I said it. Yes he can play defense at time and block shots and had 8 tonight but he is just not cutting it as an offensive threat. Cliff with 5 turnovers, catching air and missing surefire alleyoops. Hyatt is our leading shot taker and our offense is running through him yet on most Big 10 teams he is a 7th player at best. 5-22 fg over the past 2 games. Our 3 small guards going 3-17 fg combined with only 4 assists. Physically totally overmatched vs Illinois. I like Woofolk but he is not starter and starting him with Cliff is killing our offense. They cannot be playing together. He had only 2 rebounds in 23 minutes!
No surprise that our biggest guard had the most impact in this game. Bravo Austin Williams who has had sporadic play all year long. Austin had 9 tonight on 3-6 fg, 4 boards, 3 assists and was almost single handedly responsible for getting RU back into the game offensively in the first half. A case could be made Austin needed to play more and that Pike took him out just as he was getting hot and unfortunately didnt start him in the 2nd. Pike's stubborness of having to play the same starters in the 2nd half is mind boggling. Not one person on this team really except for Cliff should be guarantee a starting spot on the roster. That some players like Hyatt are just given minutes needs to change.
And then we come to Gavin. You know I for one and tired of the he does not play bullshit thing especially when I saw a few small guards give up wide open 3s and get blown by for layups. Lets cut this ridiculous notion that he isnt playing because he is defense is terrible. Gavin needs to start. There I said it. He needs to be a more focal point of our offense. This is one of the highest rated recruits Rutgers has ever had yet somehow on a team that cannot put the ball on the bucket he sits during scoring droughts and when he is inserted his role is to hang out on the perimeter. Pike you need to do better with him. Gavin is part of the future. He will not be if he continues to play limited role. I get why a freshman should not shoulder a large rule. Unfortunately because of how Pike has handled recruiting, this is the situation we find ourselves at. The options are limited and I have seen enough to realize what we are seeing on offense this year is not working
And what is the Rutgers offense? Alot of discussion on the boards about identity and purpose. If RU is not converting off of turnovers it does not look they are comfortable at all in the half court set. I see alot of ill advised hoists and one on one stuff with no one under the boards not to mention Rutgers likely leading the lead in missed bunnies. There was talk in the offseason about this team being the fastest ever and capable of scoring 75 plus a game..wait wut. With what players and what shooting capabilities?
Again Illinois is very good. RU got a test today and failed. Not every team will pose the same challenges. These next two games though really are the acid test for the program. ANY hope of reaching the NCAA rests in the next 2. Wake is going to present problems on the road in a different way than Illinois more finesse than physical. Seton Hall a rivarly game that could exploit the perceived softness of Rutgers. Pike is going to have to make changes and make them quickly. Its has to happen. It needs to happen.
