The excuse that it was a lack of NIL that prevented pike from putting together a tourney bid quality roster (despite all the pikecanzee’s saying he put together not just a tourney roster but a 2nd weekend+ roster pre-season) falls directly on his shoulders.
There’s a narrative floating around that it’s the fans fault. Fans not willing to shell out $100/month, $50/month, $20/month, etc. That it’s the long time fans at the court clubs fault for not emptying their social security checks into funding a team. It’s all bs.
The NIL race is NOT being won and lost by fan collectives but rather it’s being won and lost by how many 7-figure check writers you can get to help you fund your roster. Folks saying “pikes trying hes going to the court club”. That’s where both you and pike are so fvcking lost.
In 2025, a college head coaches primary job is fundraising. It is the first and most important job that coach has in todays landscape. Greg has gotten creative, hes gotten folks not even associated with RU to pony up and weve seen the effects over the past 2 recruiting cycles. Pike seemingly has not.
I get pike is a hoops head and not into alot of other stuff but hes going to have to adapt or retire. Every waking hour he has away from the court this offseason should be spent pounding the pavement and meeting with any wealthy individual he can get in front of. The casual fan does not matter to NIL, it’s the whales who do.
We’ll see if he’s up for what the job now requires this offseason.
