We almost/should have went to the Sweet 16. Now we squandered all that momentum and have the worst roster in the B1G. How? So frustrating looking at how much better the rest of the B1G is.
34 months ago
- Thread starter darkcheck
- Start date
Not true.There is a lot of mediocrity in the B1G Ten.The problem is that the Rutgers talent has taken a downward spiral in the last two seasons.Its caused by mediocre recruiting and the lack of player development for so many players.
The answer is simply recruiting misses.
Miller, Reiber, Palmquist - these would be upperclassmen but instead two are gone to low majors and the other is a good kid but a deep bench player.
Then you have Chol and Woolfolk. Chol can’t even be trusted on the court, and Woolf is a nice backup but nothing more.
Then you’ve got Cliff never developed as an offensive threat.
Then you have Pike being blindsided by the late departures of Cam and Paul, so he had to scramble to fill the roster. He got Austin, who is a decent fill-in but is not a star or a shooter. And he got Jeremiah, who isn’t eligible.
We have a team filled with role players but no stars like Geo and Ron. And now, with smaller guards and a struggling freshman wing who is completely lost, we have our worst defense in years.
Miller, Reiber, Palmquist - these would be upperclassmen but instead two are gone to low majors and the other is a good kid but a deep bench player.
Then you have Chol and Woolfolk. Chol can’t even be trusted on the court, and Woolf is a nice backup but nothing more.
Then you’ve got Cliff never developed as an offensive threat.
Then you have Pike being blindsided by the late departures of Cam and Paul, so he had to scramble to fill the roster. He got Austin, who is a decent fill-in but is not a star or a shooter. And he got Jeremiah, who isn’t eligible.
We have a team filled with role players but no stars like Geo and Ron. And now, with smaller guards and a struggling freshman wing who is completely lost, we have our worst defense in years.
We got lucky with low end talent turning out to be quite good. Unfortunately we weren't at the point where we could recruit high end talent yet so we kept recruiting under the radar guys. Turns out Pikiell isn't an exceptional talent evaluator, he just mostly got lucky (remember, he wanted Tai Strickland over Caleb McConnell and Ethan Wright over Cam Spencer).
Obviously things are changing for next year.
too many guys who are 7th/8th men on other teams. I mean this board praises Hyatt, Wolf, Derek but how...their roles on the team are as MAJOR contributors, judging on that they are simply not good enough players to win in this league. Add in Cliff has regressed immensely, Plus Jared Jones collossal bust and Gavin headed that way at least for this year
Pike rode Geo/Ron for all they were worth, the addition of Cam kept things alive for last year until the Mag injury.
Pike rode Geo/Ron for all they were worth, the addition of Cam kept things alive for last year until the Mag injury.
Gavin is a major issue so far. We had him penciled in as a top 3 scorer and he has absolutely shown he isn't ready yet. Nor sure how a high 4 star could be so unproductive almost half say through the season. Does Pike even think of running plays for Gavin to get him going?
There has been a significant drop in talent.
The year we won a tournament game, we had a roster that was loaded with talent. Ron, Geo, Jacob Young, Caleb, Mulcahy, Mathis, Myles, Cliff. Role players were able to be role players because we weren’t desperately trying to get scoring from anyone we could. Now we have a team made up almost entirely of role players who are being asked to do way too much.
For next year, I’m obviously excited about Ace and Dylan, but I’m also excited about the guys in that class that will be here beyond next year. For once it seems like we’re getting a class full of guys who aren’t reaches or gambles. Sommerville, Dortch and Grant are solid recruits you can build a team around.
The year we won a tournament game, we had a roster that was loaded with talent. Ron, Geo, Jacob Young, Caleb, Mulcahy, Mathis, Myles, Cliff. Role players were able to be role players because we weren’t desperately trying to get scoring from anyone we could. Now we have a team made up almost entirely of role players who are being asked to do way too much.
For next year, I’m obviously excited about Ace and Dylan, but I’m also excited about the guys in that class that will be here beyond next year. For once it seems like we’re getting a class full of guys who aren’t reaches or gambles. Sommerville, Dortch and Grant are solid recruits you can build a team around.
But all better than us. Iowa showed that. We’ll see about IN next week. We went through 30 years of irrelevance. Almost went to the sweet 16 3 years ago and then have just declined since that. No real up and downs for us. Just a small peak and now apparently back to doormat.
I’m not sure they’re better than us. Iowa is probably our worst loss of the year. They were at home and desperate. Now if we lose Tuesday you may be partially correct but again very few teams consistently win 18+ games without sliding back every 4-5 years
Mediocre recruiting and lack of player development. Very true especially with Cliff and with Gavin so far !
The above to date has finally caught up with us.
Pike and staff have been excellent in the development of unheralded recruits such as Geo / Ron / Caleb / Myles however at some point the law of averages with recruiting misses will catch up with you as it has now !
The above falls on Pike and the coaching staff.
Since Mag went down last year , our record against teams with a pulse is awful.
On the contrary side of things, thank goodness the law of averages caught up with us in snagging our recruiting class for next year.
Pike and the staff need to make sure we have a team to compliment Ace and Dylan etc.
I also think we need an upgrade to the coaching staff. A veteran coach would do wonders - a la Jay Young.
Only near this games end did I see Gavin take the ball , drive the lane and kiss it off the glass. Pretty play but at 200 lbs. he is about 25 lbs underweight, and lacks actual physicality . I actually believe he second guessed his abilities and by doing so hurts his overall scoring potential. As some have hinted this is a blanket truth about how this staff is handling a new group .
The offensive coaching has been a problem forever. Guys don't catch the ball ready to shoot. They don't know how to set their feet. They don't know where to run to to get an open look. And then they don't make good passes anyway so they get off balance and have to regain it before they shoot. It's no wonder no one shoots with confidence.
Pikes had two season over 18 wins and two over 500 in conf. Not exactly stellar. Would be a good start if we were capitalizing on the momentum but we’ve regressed horribly.
Similar to the Iowa women… when we play Wisconsin it could get very ugly. Those teams for the most part recruit a different type of player skill wise. Usually know how to pass , run an offensive set, can board and box out even though they can’t jump more than 6” off the floor , also are more disciplined than typical teams Rutgers sees. It’s simply living off the past and hoping you can hide the flaws… this season the warts are showing.
PS this is why Sandfort always kills us, because he DOES do the little things like that. And our defensive scheme allows open threes if the offense can move the ball. Compare how we defend him to other teams... Other teams will instruct their players not to help aggressively off of him.
Well that’s black and white ain’t it?!
To your point on the other thread. If we come out with hair on fire we can surprise someone. Hoping for a few of those…
Sports are always up and down. Only a few stay high forever it seems. Next year will be a different story. Expecting to never be down is a fools game.
I think a top 3 recruiting class counts as things "changing". It won't just be Ace and Dylan, but your point is well taken. These guys will still be freshman, and the players coming back from this year's squad need to have progressed a ton if we expect to come anywhere near the final four run so many people seem to think is a lock.
What drives me crazy is they do this to us every year and we refuse to adjust our defense to stay at home on the shooters.
That momentum is the reason we have 2 of the top 3 recruits in the nation, c’mon man. It’s a down year, happens to a lot of teams in the conference when they reload.
If we are being fair, Jay Young or Steve Hayn are probably excellent basketball people but having both on staff over an extended 6 years, is why the recruiting or talent has not arrived at RU.
We are not replacing any of the assistant coaches with Jay Young. If Jay Young wants to come back in an administrative role, that's fine....he's sharp and understanding the principles of the game is fine.
We should not be going backwards with coaches who simply don't recruit well enough at this level. Smoke Williamson, TJ and Knight have launched this program into a Top 2 to 5 range nationally in recruiting and RU is heavily involved with legitimate difference makers across targets in 2025 and 2026.
We need skilled athletes on the floor. As much as Iowa struggles to defend anyone, they have a fundamental program that mirrors what Princeton ultimately would look like on steroids in the B1G. Each and every matchup, looks and feels like a RU roster is a step or 2 slower or unable to adjust to slow down Iowa.
This roster has pieces that can work, but teams with a bunch of new faces (3 freshman and 2 guards new to RU or the big), will take time to sort out. Unfortunately, a handful of injuries (Austin Williams, Davis for a game or so) and Cliff seemingly without any burst) all bring the roster ceiling lower for the time being.
Illinois, at Ohio State and at Iowa was 1-2 or 0-3 with any recent RU roster in this era. Pike post game interview with Jerry Recco, was telling....it essentially stated that the kids have to make the shots, they're shots they can convert. It's now trending on 2 straight years of offensive struggles, and there's gotta be a commitment to continue to push the tempo, to get out of this.
