Appreciation for the courage our recent RU hoops recruits have ...

[Scarlet Shack]

Guys...

Let’s face ...27 years without a NCAA bid and 11 seasons without a winning season
...says it all

And this staff, piece by piece, keeps adding players that is building a winning basketball program...in a place that hasn’t known winning.

It takes recruiting the RIGHT kids...kids who beleive in themselves, have the courage to blaze a path, and lead and not follow to go where winning is almost automatic or at least a regular tradition

The last 13-14 months have been absolutely remarkable

Got Myles Johnson
Got Peter Kiss
Got Shaq carter
Got Montez Mathis
Got ron Harper
Got Caleb Mconnell
Got Jacob young
Got Paul mulchay

Think about how hard this staff has worked to completely overhaul the roster, all kids with real potential...

And really appreciate that these kids want to come here, and embrace a challenge and risky chance by take the road not yet traveled, to do what hasn’t been done...to put Rutgers basketball back on the map, and be part of the group to create a legacy as the “kids that made Rutgers basketball count again”...which also counts geo, Duke, gene, and Issa...who started this process the year earlier on faith of following a new coach

This is going to be a group of kids that will truly be easy and fun to root for ...and so looking forward to them being remembered as the ones who got Rutgers basketball started again....

 

[knights1212]

Very nice. This is so true.

 

[RU MAN]

Guys...

Let’s face ...27 years without a NCAA bid and 11 seasons without a winning season
...says it all

And this staff, piece by piece, keeps adding players that is building a winning basketball program...in a place that hasn’t known winning.

It takes recruiting the RIGHT kids...kids who beleive in themselves, have the courage to blaze a path, and lead and not follow to go where winning is almost automatic or at least a regular tradition

The last 13-14 months have been absolutely remarkable

Got Myles Johnson
Got Peter Kiss
Got Shaq carter
Got Montez Mathis
Got ron Harper
Got Caleb Mconnell
Got Jacob young
Got Paul mulchay

Think about how hard this staff has worked to completely overhaul the roster, all kids with real potential...

And really appreciate that these kids want to come here, and embrace a challenge and risky chance by take the road not yet traveled, to do what hasn’t been done...to put Rutgers basketball back on the map, and be part of the group to create a legacy as the “kids that made Rutgers basketball count again”...which also counts geo, Duke, gene, and Issa...who started this process the year earlier on faith of following a new coach

This is going to be a group of kids that will truly be easy and fun to root for ...and so looking forward to them being remembered as the ones who got Rutgers basketball started again....

Well said Shack.

 

[e5fdny]

I appreciate their eyesight and brains as they’re the ones who are really seeing up close and personal what’s really going on.

 

[LC-88]

Great post Shack. If I may add a big thank you to AD Hobbs keeping our staff intact. He's getting them what they need to turn the ship around.

 

[bowlgoal]

Good Post. The AD, financial support with salary for the HC and assistants as well as the facility upgrades have all helped but the coaching and on-court performance in the two years is the catalyst. We are still without postseason but these recruits can see that things are turning. I still give them credit for believing as they had many other options. In the end, I think they will look back and smile because they made good decisions.

 

[Goku]

great post. I was thinking how this program needs some Brian Leonards to bring the program back. I think we got them in the last 13 months.

 

[Dpgru]

Great post. Thank you. Optimism, excitement, anticipation are all thing we fans have not had much of but you are spot on, this group of coaches and players have changed the foundation. Next year the build hopefully begins to show results that others beyond the fan base can see.

 

[blockm2]

Let’s face ...27 years without a NCAA bid and 11 seasons without a winning season
...says it all

IMHO basketball is WAY easier to turn around than football. If you get 1 or 2 guys that turn out to be really good players and surround them with some decent talent and good coaching you are a tournament team. Really only takes maybe 2 recruiting classes to put that together, maybe 3 at most if you are a major conference team.

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

IMHO basketball is WAY easier to turn around than football. If you get 1 or 2 guys that turn out to be really good players and surround them with some decent talent and good coaching you are a tournament team. Really only takes maybe 2 recruiting classes to put that together, maybe 3 at most if you are a major conference team.

So glad it’s that easy, our 27 year drought is over!

 

[mikefla]

Ive said it several times recently
Coach P is doing a GREAT JOB
& we are totally on the right track
[cheers]:cool2:[jumpingsmile][jumpingsmile][jumpingsmile]:cool2:[cheers]

 

[RUJMM78]

So glad it’s that easy, our 27 year drought is over!

In theory its easier to turn around a basketball program because there are less players required.At the same time the level of league competition has resulted in Rutgers mens basketball to be mired as a bottom tier program for decades.Facilities,coaching staffs and recruiting simply didn't match league competition.Rutgers is now in catch up mode and with Hobbs and Pikiell the mens basketballl program finally has a fighting chance for a winning season and future post season NCAA/NIT bids.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

In theory its easier to turn around a basketball program because there are less players required.At the same time the level of league competition has resulted in Rutgers mens basketball to be mired as a bottom tier program for decades.Facilities,coaching staffs and recruiting simply didn't match league competition.Rutgers is now in catch up mode and with Hobbs and Pikiell the mens basketballl program finally has a fighting chance for a winning season and future post season NCAA/NIT bids.

I might argue that in football there are more opportunities for players to outperform their expectations. There is also less of a sample size of games to watch a FB player play.

In basketball the needle in the haystack is real hard to find

 

[Seton75]

I agree that pike is doing a good job. But rice and hill both brought in lots of talent. Fred got you two McD as level kids, and rice cleaned up locally early in his career.

 

[shields]

Fred was a lousy coach. Pikes wanted two kids really badly the last two years and got both in Mathis and now Mulcahy. That impresses me.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Fred was a lousy coach. Pikes wanted two kids really badly the last two years and got both in Mathis and now Mulcahy. That impresses me.

Pikiell has had a lot of kids he wanted real badly.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I agree that pike is doing a good job. But rice and hill both brought in lots of talent. Fred got you two McD as level kids, and rice cleaned up locally early in his career.

I can almost guarantee when Rutgers finally breaks through it will NOT be because of a McDonald's All American or a 5 star recruit......and probably not a 4 star recruit.

 

[NJDOVES]

Pikielll is going to mold these guys to play together and I think the talent level (McD level kids) is less important. I mentioned once before that the US Olympic team consisting of all college players, beat the the NBA all stars by like 20 points in an exhibition game. It was a great example of team play over athletic individuals.
Pikielll did this very well with Stony Brook. I think he’ll do it here even more successfully.

 

[NJDOVES]

I can almost guarantee when Rutgers finally breaks through it will NOT be because of a McDonald's All American or a 5 star recruit......and probably not a 4 star recruit.

I agree fig.
Also, if we have a very successful season or two going forward, I think you’ll see our roster start to fill with four star players and less three stars. Not that there is anything wrong with three star players, whereas A 5 Star kid could possibly hurt the “team” persona.
I do think Pikiell would jump on the right 5 star kid and I think we get one by 2020. I just hope he hurries because I’m not getting any younger...

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

IMHO basketball is WAY easier to turn around than football. If you get 1 or 2 guys that turn out to be really good players and surround them with some decent talent and good coaching you are a tournament team. Really only takes maybe 2 recruiting classes to put that together, maybe 3 at most if you are a major conference team.

I've seen this and it's 100% inaccurate....there's far more competition in basketball to be a ranked team in basketball with programs that don't play football....Gonzaga, Villanova, Xavier etc are all ranked programs most recently and they all absorb 45 to 50 players that could impact other programs...

Football is cookie cutter....the exceptions in football are your head coach/QB combination, which is harder to find in football than a roster of 10 legitimate basketball players in roles and sync...

You can be over .500 with 3 to 4 players but to be ranked annually, you need 8 to 9 legit pieces....teams in football with an elite QB can win 11 games with average talent around him....

 

[TDIrish27]

I believe if you have an average QB with elite talent around him you can win 10-11 games------see Alabama----see Florida-------see Wisconsin-----see Auburn------see Georgia-----see Stanford

Top 20 teams every year for the most part without the big name QB

 

[dkostus]

I can almost guarantee when Rutgers finally breaks through it will NOT be because of a McDonald's All American or a 5 star recruit......and probably not a 4 star recruit.

I agree. If Geo has a leap similar to what Eugene had, it could be him. If Eugene keeps improving at that rate, it could be him. I personally am extremely high on Ron Harper Jr., who lots on this board seemed to think was a project before he got bumped to 4*, and I also think Caleb McConnell has a ton of potential.

But yeah, it's going to be through player development and someone really outperforming their rankings/expectations.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Also you can argue the slope of the curve of football development of a 14-18 year old is much steeper than basketball for the same age.

 

[BoroKnight]

A little over the top calling it "courage," but overall I do think there is real reason for hope. And there is no reason not to have confidence in our coach. But I refuse to get carried away until it shows up on the court. Just can't do that again.

 

[blockm2]

I've seen this and it's 100% inaccurate....there's far more competition in basketball to be a ranked team in basketball with programs that don't play football....Gonzaga, Villanova, Xavier etc are all ranked programs most recently and they all absorb 45 to 50 players that could impact other programs...

Football is cookie cutter....the exceptions in football are your head coach/QB combination, which is harder to find in football than a roster of 10 legitimate basketball players in roles and sync...

You can be over .500 with 3 to 4 players but to be ranked annually, you need 8 to 9 legit pieces....teams in football with an elite QB can win 11 games with average talent around him....

I'm just going to go ahead and 100% disagree. Teams that have stunk in football for decades don't just become a top 20 team in 2-3 seasons. Hoops programs on the other hand can be rapidly turned around and there are annual examples of it. Basketball has 5 starting players instead of 22 and it's a sport that is much more conducive to major impacts by freshmen. Just this past year Tennessee and Arizona State became major names reaching the top 10 of polls in just the 3rd year for their coaches coming off long down stretches. Jamie Dixon goes to TCU, perennial laughing stock of the B12, and almost instantly turns them around.

So for a football program you need to hit on a couple recruiting classes in a row and then have them develop for 3 years. Basketball? Get maybe 2 good classes in their freshman/sophomore year and a couple decent upperclassmen and you are a tourney team. But it all depends on actually having a good coach. In football, no elite QB is doing anything on a team with a crappy OL and skill players around them. Furthermore, no elite QB recruit is even going to a school that is down like that.

 

[dkostus]

I'm just going to go ahead and 100% disagree. Teams that have stunk in football for decades don't just become a top 20 team in 2-3 seasons. Hoops programs on the other hand can be rapidly turned around and there are annual examples of it. Basketball has 5 starting players instead of 22 and it's a sport that is much more conducive to major impacts by freshmen. Just this past year Tennessee and Arizona State became major names reaching the top 10 of polls in just the 3rd year for their coaches coming off long down stretches. Jamie Dixon goes to TCU, perennial laughing stock of the B12, and almost instantly turns them around.

So for a football program you need to hit on a couple recruiting classes in a row and then have them develop for 3 years. Basketball? Get maybe 2 good classes in their freshman/sophomore year and a couple decent upperclassmen and you are a tourney team. But it all depends on actually having a good coach. In football, no elite QB is doing anything on a team with a crappy OL and skill players around them. Furthermore, no elite QB recruit is even going to a school that is down like that.

USF went from crap to #2 in the nation back when we were also good. We turned it around with some very mediocre recruiting classes and got lucky with the kids from New Rochelle out performing their rankings. Indiana got an elite QB a few years back despite being garbage.

 

[blockm2]

USF went from crap to #2 in the nation back when we were also good. We turned it around with some very mediocre recruiting classes and got lucky with the kids from New Rochelle out performing their rankings. Indiana got an elite QB a few years back despite being garbage.

which elite QB recruit went to Indiana recently?