25-26 Current Roster

[Scarlet Shack]

Hard to be more wrong. If Pike has any interest in keeping his job — he needs to cut the dead weight off the current roster and attack the portal hard. Needs to lock down a go-to scorer and then round out the rest of the roster with older guys that bring length / athleticism and can fit his defensive scheme. And while I don’t think Lathan should be shown the door — I do think the funds needed to retain him would be better utilized getting a defensive minded 5. Better fit for a Pike team

Steve has to focus on winning now. Retaining the whole roster, refusing to get aggressive in the portal and going all in on HS recruiting in the 2026 class is conceding that this team will not sniff the tourney for another 3+ years. Dead man walking at that point

I think there is a lot of miscalculation here

If you retain the frosh (and that’s a big IF)….

You are looking at a soph -frosh nucleus of 3
Soph and 4 frosh …4 of whixh are top100-125 kids ….

If you can keep most of that nucleus intact to the year after …(and keep the 4 top 100-125 kids) ….then you all of the sudden have a junior -soph nucleus that the class of 2026 can upgrade the talent

Think back to pike

2017-2018
Geo frosh
Myles frosh (redshirt )

2018-2019
Geo sooh
Myles soph
Ron frosh
Montez frosh
Caleb frosh
…we turned a corner , Eugene helped …but we turned a corner

2019-2029
Geo junior
Jacob junior
Myles junior
Ron soph
Montez soph
Caleb soph
Paul frosh
Akawsi …added senior
Would be ncaa team

If you can add two portal quality juniors …and it’s about quality over quantity …you could be looking at this nucleus

Junior portal
Junior portal
Soph lathan
Soph dylan G
Frosh Mark
Frosh Nuwuli

Keep the nucleus and add incrementally

That roster next year …if you get two staring quality double digit guards …is a better 16-15 next year with upside to
Danxe with development the year after If you retain

Lot of ifs…but I think there is a better chance of hoping for this …than for 6 new players from
The portal turning us around next year …..

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I think there is a lot of miscalculation here

If you retain the frosh (and that’s a big IF)….

You are looking at a soph -frosh nucleus of 3
Soph and 4 frosh …4 of whixh are top100-125 kids ….

If you can keep most of that nucleus intact to the year after …(and keep the 4 top 100-125 kids) ….then you all of the sudden have a junior -soph nucleus that the class of 2026 can upgrade the talent

Think back to pike

2017-2018
Geo frosh
Myles frosh (redshirt )

2018-2019
Geo sooh
Myles soph
Ron frosh
Montez frosh
Caleb frosh
…we turned a corner , Eugene helped …but we turned a corner

2019-2029
Geo junior
Jacob junior
Myles junior
Ron soph
Montez soph
Caleb soph
Paul frosh
Akawsi …added senior
Would be ncaa team

If you can add two portal quality juniors …and it’s about quality over quantity …you could be looking at this nucleus

Junior portal
Junior portal
Soph lathan
Soph dylan G
Frosh Mark
Frosh Nuwuli

Keep the nucleus and add incrementally

That roster next year …if you get two staring quality double digit guards …is a better 16-15 next year with upside to
Danxe with development the year after If you retain

Lot of ifs…but I think there is a better chance of hoping for this …than for 6 new players from
The portal turning us around next year …..

Possibly. But you also have to reflect on the potential of these rising sophomores and how that might fit in with the coaching strengths and weaknesses.

I liked Bryce Dortch on D. I saw some potential. That said, he didn’t, at this point, seem capable of doing much of anything on the offensive end outside of garbage points from being in the right place at the right time. I’m not even talking about scoring. If you think of kids like Caleb (who isn’t even an asset on offense), his contributions on that end as a frosh were night and day. Caleb could handle the ball. He showed potential as a distributor. He had a midrange shot (albeit not the most efficient shot, but the point is, he could do things). A lot of these things don’t just develop. You can’t have a guy that isn’t a 5 out there unable to participate in the flow of an offense at all. Now he didn’t play much this year, so maybe he’s capable of more than we saw.

Right now, Lathan is really bad at defense. I’m not sure why, but some of our fans just don’t seem to get just how much he’d have to improve at D to be effective as the lead 5 on a decent team. It’s a big risk to take not to try to recruit over him for this reason. Seriously massive. If we can’t stop anyone in the post we can’t win no matter who we have on offense. Without proper D in the paint those baskets are automatic.

Grant has the most versatility and upside of the bunch in my opinion. His D wasn’t good either, but his issues were more about lack of experience than poor lateral movement / athleticism.

 

[Simce91]

Can't keep cutting corners and thinking it's going to work the next time, when its failed 3 years in a row via the portal.

Its gotta be 1, maybe 2 portal kids tops.....pay them if they're starting caliber B1G level athletes, otherwise save the money for the 2026 HS kids who fit the criteria as a starter when they hit campus in 15 months.

There's not enough on this roster to support a NCAA run next year IMO. I would be shocked to be wrong. Recruit and retain is how we got good in 2017 to 2019.....we need to complete the cycle with summer and fall recruiting for 2026.

Agree with the "quality" over quantity as well at least 2 if not 3 more years eligibility left

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Hard to be more wrong. If Pike has any interest in keeping his job — he needs to cut the dead weight off the current roster and attack the portal hard. Needs to lock down a go-to scorer and then round out the rest of the roster with older guys that bring length / athleticism and can fit his defensive scheme. And while I don’t think Lathan should be shown the door — I do think the funds needed to retain him would be better utilized getting a defensive minded 5. Better fit for a Pike team

Steve has to focus on winning now. Retaining the whole roster, refusing to get aggressive in the portal and going all in on HS recruiting in the 2026 class is conceding that this team will not sniff the tourney for another 3+ years. Dead man walking at that point

Again for the 100th time.....there is no "He must win next year", situation.....there is no way you can rebuild an entire roster unless you have 8, 9 or 10M dollars to get legitimate starting caliber players....AND how is RU outbidding these other programs elsewhere??

There are programs (Purdue, Wisconsin, and others) who build through HS recruiting and creating your own depth.

And if Pike doesn't win 19 games next year, he has 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 seasons on his contract.....he is NOT getting fired and RU is not eating 15M of contract.

The process is simple and difficult to comprehend for fans in denial.....we have to invest in HS kids and develop them, like we did in 2016-17 & Geo Baker, 17-18....then we landed 4 foundation players and not all of them stuck.....RHJ. Mathis, Caleb and Myles Johnson was a redshirt freshman. Mathis stayed 2 years.....but Jacob Young was a transfer who sat out the 2018-19 season.

There's no shortcuts and there is this notion that everyone on every roster transfers, which is also false.

Tell us how RU football did with the portal, with TWO Power 4 additions.....and why that is any different?? Where is our Left Tackle.....where is our Running Back.....where are the linebackers??

Sometimes the reality is right in front of the fanbase and it's ignored like a red flag....you see if, but there's nothing to worry about.

I would LOVE to outbid Kentucky, St Johns and countless other SEC type schools for kids. And then when it does NOT happen, let me guess, it's Pike’s fault.....he is supposed to pull 8M to 10M out of the sky and rebuild the entire hoops roster in 45 days with FOUR impact players?? LMAO

The reality is, we need TWO pieces and retain the bulk of the roster AND, we need another very good 2026 HS class.....because if you fail to backfill via HS, you have ZERO shot to absorb a departure or two along the way.

i live in a reality based situation.....and it is not reality to believe RU has blue blood money via the portal AND to fill out its roster for the 2026 hoops season.

If you fail in the portal AND don't land impact kids in 2026 HS recruiting, because your wasting money on Martini level pieces, you are in trouble.

 

[lion1983]

Again for the 100th time.....there is no "He must win next year", situation.....there is no way you can rebuild an entire roster unless you have 8, 9 or 10M dollars to get legitimate starting caliber players....AND how is RU outbidding these other programs elsewhere??

I think you are wrong on the math.

St. Johns had $4 million in NIL to spend last off-season. That seemed to work okay for them.

Of course, we have no idea what RU has for NIL this off-season. But they do not need $8-$10 million - that is ridiculous.

 

[seansherm]

I think you are wrong on the math.

St. Johns had $4 million in NIL to spend last off-season. That seemed to work okay for them.

Of course, we have no idea what RU has for NIL this off-season. But they do not need $8-$10 million - that is ridiculous.

The costs for players are only going to rise though. You don't need $8-$10M to bring in four transfers, but you may very well need close to it if you want to bring in actual impact/proven players.

There is almost no way this is a one year rebuild. The roster needs to get back to a spot where you are only looking for one/two at the tops transfers each year.

 

[goru7]

Possibly. But you also have to reflect on the potential of these rising sophomores and how that might fit in with the coaching strengths and weaknesses.

I liked Bryce Dortch on D. I saw some potential. That said, he didn’t, at this point, seem capable of doing much of anything on the offensive end outside of garbage points from being in the right place at the right time. I’m not even talking about scoring. If you think of kids like Caleb (who isn’t even an asset on offense), his contributions on that end as a frosh were night and day. Caleb could handle the ball. He showed potential as a distributor. He had a midrange shot (albeit not the most efficient shot, but the point is, he could do things). A lot of these things don’t just develop. You can’t have a guy that isn’t a 5 out there unable to participate in the flow of an offense at all. Now he didn’t play much this year, so maybe he’s capable of more than we saw.

Right now, Lathan is really bad at defense. I’m not sure why, but some of our fans just don’t seem to get just how much he’d have to improve at D to be effective as the lead 5 on a decent team. It’s a big risk to take not to try to recruit over him for this reason. Seriously massive. If we can’t stop anyone in the post we can’t win no matter who we have on offense. Without proper D in the paint those baskets are automatic.

Grant has the most versatility and upside of the bunch in my opinion. His D wasn’t good either, but his issues were more about lack of experience than poor lateral movement / athleticism.

Your consistent narrative on Lathan is just so off base. He is our most consistent capable low post scorer as a freshman. He has skills we haven’t seen in a 5 at Rutgers in a real long time. You denigrate and kill his defense but with another year with Jay Young more likely than not he will get a lot better defensively. You seem to ignore that. How convenient.
That doesn’t stop Pike from getting a defensive minded rim protector which was the primary cause for his failure this year. You get both and as the top teams have shown they have 2 and most have 3 centers that can each play and contribute. This new portal age , no one is getting 35 minutes a night. Lot of successful teams playing 8-9 guys 15-25 minutes each.

Much more importantly Pike has to get at least 2 guards , scorers , that are 2 way players and play defense and can keep their man in front of them and will fight over screens. The sieve on the perimeter caused a lot of the defensive layup lines we saw. You are of the opinion that perimeter defense played no role. Sorry but that is a seriousness terrible take. Go watch any game in the SEC , Big10 or BIG 12 or watch St. John’s. The guards work like hell and stay in front of their man most of the time as it cannot happen all the time. Pike needs guys that move their feet , can slide with the ball handler and keep him in front. Williard someone found 3 last year from lower level mid majors so Pike has to find 2.
That is the formula for success , 2 way players.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Your consistent narrative on Lathan is just so off base. He is our most consistent capable low post scorer as a freshman. He has skills we haven’t seen in a 5 at Rutgers in a real long time. You denigrate and kill his defense but with another year with Jay Young more likely than not he will get a lot better defensively. You seem to ignore that. How convenient.
That doesn’t stop Pike from getting a defensive minded rim protector which was the primary cause for his failure this year. You get both and as the top teams have shown they have 2 and most have 3 centers that can each play and contribute. This new portal age , no one is getting 35 minutes a night. Lot of successful teams playing 8-9 guys 15-25 minutes each.

Much more importantly Pike has to get at least 2 guards , scorers , that are 2 way players and play defense and can keep their man in front of them and will fight over screens. The sieve on the perimeter caused a lot of the defensive layup lines we saw. You are of the opinion that perimeter defense played no role. Sorry but that is a seriousness terrible take. Go watch any game in the SEC , Big10 or BIG 12 or watch St. John’s. The guards work like hell and stay in front of their man most of the time as it cannot happen all the time. Pike needs guys that move their feet , can slide with the ball handler and keep him in front. Williard someone found 3 last year from lower level mid majors so Pike has to find 2.
That is the formula for success , 2 way players.

His defense, at the moment, is horrible. You can sugar coat it all you want by blaming the back court but the reality is MJ isn’t a big time scorer, but we would’ve won at least 3 more games with the sophomore version of him instead. And the only reason it’s not more than that is because MJ was still learning how to avoid fouling - he only averaged 17.5 mpg. But that would’ve been 17.5 minutes of significantly improved defense.

Yes - he will get better every year. The problem is that even at that it will likely take at least 2 more years for him to approach servicable on the defensive end.

 

[goru7]

His defense, at the moment, is horrible. You can sugar coat it all you want by blaming the back court but the reality is MJ isn’t a big time scorer, but we would’ve won at least 3 more games with the sophomore version of him instead. And the only reason it’s not more than that is because MJ was still learning how to avoid fouling - he only averaged 17.5 mpg. But that would’ve been 17.5 minutes of significantly improved defense.

Yes - he will get better every year. The problem is that even at that it will likely take at least 2 more years for him to approach servicable on the defensive end.

Again what a horrible take. You gladly pushing Lathan out the door. Just laughably bad take

 

[rubigtimenow]

I don’t think Pike can’t evaluate talent, I think he does a good job of that, I think the bigger issue is his coaching. He doesn’t know what to do with talent. As soon as I saw what Spencer did at UConn I was like Pike doesn’t know how to coach.

You mean the same stuff to the same degree he did at RU?! 😂

 

[seansherm]

Again what a horrible take. You gladly pushing Lathan out the door. Just laughably bad take

I don't agree with anyone trying to push Lathan out the door, but his take on Myles over Lathan this past year is spot on. We didn't need the extra 4 offensive points that Lathan gave us nearly as much as we could have used the defensive presence and passing that young Myles provided. Would have given an ability to move the ball through the post much more.

 

[cm_13]

Respectfully disagree.

Pike built this year’s team with players from high school, community college, and mid-majors. Not one player on the roster was obtained from another P5 school.

In the past this would work for him, with key guys staying multiple years in his system. Those days are gone.

Technically Jeremiah is a transfer from Iowa State, but I think your overall point still stands.