MSU is a very good team.

I thought we had a lot of low percentage layups/drives. I didn't see a lot of missed bunnies.

You play PJ but the guy doesn't get any looks? Odd. He shouldn't be on the court if he is not getting at least 4-5 shots.

We had a good number of open 3's, but we're were ice cold.

Martini just seems so reluctant to shoot. He rarely seems ready or in a good position. He had so many open looks that he had no choice but to shoot. Same thing with PJ. 3 point shooters have to hunt for shots.

Tango Two said:

In my opinion if this game was at the RAC where it should have been Rutgers wins…

NO more conference home games on a neutral floor!!

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I actually thought it was awesome. We haven't been anything special at the rac this year. I say keep doing it.

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mikemarc1 said:

Ok ..we agree.

The solution - to me - is not relying on the portal as much and going back to what made him successful. This works / he’s beaten #1 teams with this approach in the past.

You want to adapt and stay new school with a different coach.

Two different approaches..both could work. But with pikes contract - I don’t think it’s wise to fire him

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Greater emphasis on retention while being very strategic with your portal adds.

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Degaz-RU said:

You can’t “gut out” losing 10 pounds or spraining an ankle.

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Yeah, insulting to Dylan: "He’s just not the guy to go gut it out when he’s less than 💯. Not his game"

RU848789 said:

Stop acting like a tool. You have no effing clue how much pain he's in or how significant his injury is.

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Come on man.

I’m not throwing shade at the kid. There’s guys who can go out and play injured and make it work and there’s guys who can’t. Dylan is not a guy who does well when he’s sick or dinged up.

He’s a great player but playing at less than 100% isn’t his thing.

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Unfortunately he was desperate

Scangg said:

Yea this is a pointless thing to complain about

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There’s literally a whole thread here asking for him to play and a bunch of folks saying it’s not in the kids best interest to burn his redshirt. It’s not like the April rule is common knowledge

Pikiell is in a no win situation without Harper and Bailey scoring at least 40 points.The rest of the roster is composed of mostly MAC level talent who will have a occasional double digit scoring game but no real consistency.The record is now 10-10 with many of the toughest games yet to be played.There is no doubt that Harper not playing because of the flu and the ankle sprain has impacted team results.This was still a winnable game without Harper if Bailey and Martini had made some second half shots.There are simply too many flaws at both ends of the court at this late stage of the season.

Salvi's Headband said:

I actually genuinely felt bad for him today. The effort was there. The defense was decent. But the shooting was so bad I couldn't believe it. They weren't even guarding him.

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Raf and Wright were ready to make him a star !

I actually will give him a shoutout for some of the box outs today though.

Probably the first player I’ve seen this season look for contact on a box out underneath. Was nice to see.

Simce91 said:

kid is not ready for this level yet,

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Wouldn’t you know that before you use him for 3 mins

Credit to Izzy too. They scored coming out of timeouts multiple times albeit they have way more options.

I just think his shooting stroke is so bad, it doesn’t look smooth/comfortable at all.

Did Hayes have one 3PA today?

jtung230 said:

20+ wasn’t the normal when my oldest went through the process last year. But it doesn’t surprise me. Most kids (and parents) always get the reach, target reach and safety schools wrong. In reality, their idea of reach schools are no chance schools and target reach are really reach schools. One big reason is that they base it on schools published stats. But if you are from NJ, you need to be at the upper end to have a chance.

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The other factor going on with increased applications is the lack of required SAT scores. Since COVID many schools, including Rutgers, stopped requiring the SAT in the name of equitable opportunity. As a result, lots of kids began to apply to schools they never would have considered when SAt was required. The schools love it because their average SAT rose…they no longer have to accept kids on the lower end of their SAT range and so their average scores rise. All part of the game. Much of college admissions it full-on bullshit. Stats are manipulated systematically to drive perception.

mikemarc1 said:

If you read my post above - I give my opinion.

Pike has had the most success with under recruited, blue collar guys. When that philosophy stops working for him - that’s when I’d consider it a coaching issue.

He certainly constructed this roster with transfers - and one and dones - and again, it’s not the roster that fits his style.

Get back to basics next year, and if that fails that’s when I’d say it’s a pikiell problem

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Under recruited blue collar guys: that is literally the roster minus Dylan and Ace. We’re 10-10.

As I said in the game thread...

Shout out to Martini going 0-5 from 3 executing dry January

RU848789 said:

Stop acting like a tool. You have no effing clue how much pain he's in or how significant his injury is.

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C’mon man, he’s one poster in a sea of positivity about making the tournament and scaring the league

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Scangg said:

Weird to question his toughness when he clearly shouldn't even be on the court in multiple games and tried to play anyway

Generally the toughness question is when people sit out and don't play at all

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My OP didn’t question his toughness and this thread is about getting him 100 percent for a run in the tournament.

rpiseman said:

I'm saying he’s incapable of gutting it out. Its not in his mental makeup. That’s fine, just not who he is.

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Stop acting like a tool. You have no effing clue how much pain he's in or how significant his injury is.

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