Got a friend willing to give me RU getting 10 and I can't believe Im slow to take it. An attack unit that doesn't carry well vs a Princeton close D that matches feet leaves me believing it may be difficult to score even 5.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Smols said:

I've thought about the transparency part a lot. We give money, have no idea where it's going. It's like throwing money into the abyss. I'm not talking about a detailed accounting, but something put out yearly. How much money came in, how much went out, to what program

Click to expand...

its only fair and just saying you need to give us money...TRUST US...is simply not enough

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

Cuquese Washington $800,000

fluoxetine said:

(1) 5th defensively is a season long metric. Williams only played an average of 10mpg across the whole season. Even JMike only played 22. I would not qualify that as "big minutes".

(2) It doesn't particularly surprise me that the same two guys can make up 16.1% of the total court time on the #5 team and also 20.3% of the total court time on the #135 team. There is a lot more to the team than those two guys.

(3) Even if it did surprise me, what is your point? It is objectively a thing that happened.

Click to expand...

Agreed and objectively they have regressed tremendously. So, objectively how can anyone believe Pike will return to his defensive prowess with those as his cornerstones on D???

Objectively of course

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

rutgersal said:

Not insane. Contacts exist for a reason.
For some, there are no freebies in this world, and they are not going to go above what’s in their contract.

Hobbs argument would be if he’s going to be responsible for NIL, which is an additional scope of work, he should be compensated for it.

Click to expand...

Again, insane. Sure, Hobbs could’ve tried to negotiate more for this “additional scope of work.” But every other AD was out there trying to figure out how to make NIL work for them, and Hobbs wasn’t. Executives are free to negotiate, but not free to ignore the changing world around them and using a contract as an excuse.

And as has been said already, good luck trying to negotiate when you’re banging the gymnastics coach.

Also wonder who the candidates for Nova might be...the VCU coach Odom who is coveted at Virginia or maybe Chris Collins of Northwestern

also have to think Fran at Iowa and Ben at Minnesota might be nearing their last legs maybe a year away

Cuse with Autry only year 2 and Matta 3 uneventful years at Butler.

bac2therac said:

it wasnt just him it was most of the bench...its called tuned into the game...just like J Will smiling after losses or players chirping with fans

it cannot be measured by a model so you dismiss it

Click to expand...

I'd like to say "tuned into the game" is a real thing, but it really isn't anymore. Heck, aren't there pro football players reading books openly on the sideline now? Nothing that happens on the bench matters.

rutgersdave said:

Read an article the Chinese EV are taking over in Australia since they don’t manufacture EV so no tariffs necessary. However, the US and Europe wants Australia to stop EV sale due to national security and the cars can spy on them.

Click to expand...

Like TikTok

I've thought about the transparency part a lot. We give money, have no idea where it's going. It's like throwing money into the abyss. I'm not talking about a detailed accounting, but something put out yearly. How much money came in, how much went out, to what program

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

RUDivision said:

But JMike and Jwill played big minutes on a team that finished 5th defensively so that doesn’t add up!

Click to expand...

(1) 5th defensively is a season long metric. Williams only played an average of 10mpg across the whole season. Even JMike only played 22. I would not qualify that as "big minutes".

(2) It doesn't particularly surprise me that the same two guys can make up 16.1% of the total court time on the #5 team and also 20.3% of the total court time on the #135 team. There is a lot more to the team than those two guys.

(3) Even if it did surprise me, what is your point? It is objectively a thing that happened.

NewJerseyHawk said:

I don't quite understand why people think players or athletes like Montez Mathis, Jacob Young, Caleb McConnell and smart players like Myles Johnson aren't just better players on defense than the recent versions....that was a Top 5 to 20 nationally ranked defense. Those types of players don't fall out of the sky AND play high level defense.....most of those types of players are 5* or very high 4* athletes/players.

I also think the defense wasn't good late vs Iowa, not good at Maryland, not good vs Penn State or Illinois at home... definitely not good vs USC, Purdue etc....

This notion that somehow last night was different is odd.....its not been good most of the year but we lack the players to slow down other good offensive players. If you have too many average players and some that are not true D1 caliber athletes or have B1G level size/length, it's going to look like that on defense. The program like most around the NCAA, are evolving towards more offense and away from being solely reliant on defense.

Once you get past the Top 3 freshman.....Dylan/Ace/Lathan.....do we have another player who starts on some of the NCAA caliber RU rosters a couple of years ago from 2019-2020..... 2020-21, 2021-22???

I don't see players on the last 2 rosters that are better....its simply a talent and athletes issue.

Click to expand...

I don't think anyone thinks the defense has been good at any time this year, last night was just a special sucktitude.

Lathan doesn't start on any of Pike's good teams. At least freshman Lathan doesn't.

This is premium content. Please subscribe to view.

You can't even call the game last night a clown show because it would be a direct insult to clowns.

I would flip Arky with Indiana.

UNC gets in with a win over Duke so alot depends on that.

Xavier is close..more so for what they didnt do than what they have done. But really their profile is behind the 3 Big East bubbles who were snubbed last year.

Boise State is getting there but have a hard time believing the Mountain West is going to get 5 based on their disastrous history in the NCAA vs ACC only getting 3.

I dont see Oklahoma on your list. They have very good wins to go along with the bulky losses. In fact they have better wins that any around the bubble

watch out for the bid stealers...VCU, UC San Diego and even Drake are attractive at large candidates. Watch out for a bid stealers from the AAC because Memphis is a lock. Also in the WCC.

ru66 said:

I'm bitching about those that give little or nothing and guys like you who advocate not giving. Make me happy be in the top 1% in real dollars. And if you think RU has only 5000 fans you're got dementia or just want to continue your disparaging RU routine.

Click to expand...

He is a Rutgers sports maniac his entire life is spent posting here BUT that’s not enough to help get better players. Makes zero sense to anyone with a brain IMO.

RUDivision said:

But JMike and Jwill played big minutes on a team that finished 5th defensively so that doesn’t add up!

Click to expand...

JMike and Jeremiah to a lesser extent than Jmike have been atrocious defensively. JMike hasn’t fought off 1 screen all year and still guys blow by him. Yesterday instead of staying up in Smith’s grill he dropped back 5 feet allowing himself to be screened more easily. Worst defensive play I have seen. Watch Houston or St. John guards fight over screens.

RUDivision said:

Fair but those same guys are playing this year. JMike not a Power 4 player Dercack not a Power 4 player. At his best Jwill is a rotational Power 4 player. Now your going to ask them to score and play D with Lathan has your center? lol good luck

Click to expand...

No. Or, at least, I hope not.

Like I do think that is one possible path we end up on next season but I agree with you that it is not a good path and it likely gives us a team that looks a lot like last season. If next year looks like last year I don't think there is any way Pike survives that.

Steve Pikiell is a defense first coach at heart. I can guarantee you he is more embarrassed by the shit defense this year than he was by the shit offense last year, and I would be very surprised if he repeats the same mistakes. He will recruit for defense. He will try to get back to his roots and natural style as a coach.

Will it work? I mean I guess it depends what qualifies as "work". I would be absolutely shocked if we are better than borderline bubble team next year.

To me the bull scenario is:
- We find some decent transfers who know defense, we get good development out of returning pieces, we manage to put together a team with like #100 offense and #10-15 defense that is a borderline type bubble team. Maybe we get in, maybe we don't, and there is an actually interesting debate next season as to whether Pikiell should stay, the correct answer to which likely hinges on who the realistic alternatives are.

The bear scenario is:
- Same but the transfers are less good on both sides, we are like #40 on defense and #200 on offense, we are a borderline bubble... Big Ten Tournament team and Pike will have zero support here (except maybe for people who just point at the #s left on his contract)


Another year like this year with decent offense but terrible defense is very, very unlikely imo. It's a huge outlier in Pike's coaching history.