Apparently the Harper family is fine with accountability and athleticism in the big ten. It’s ok to say you left for money. Who he chose after that is not a reflection on rutgers. The timing of it is unfortunate but that’s on the system not the players imo.
Cameron Spencer's parents with thinly veiled shots at the RU coaching staff and the Big Ten
- Thread starter Local Shill
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UConn was chasing Nick Timberlake in the portal and lost him to Kansas. Then the portal closed, and they were left without a starting SG on a team with Championship potential. They may not have been the reason he went into the portal, but they went all in when he did, and it turns out the were much better off landing Spencer over Timberlake, who is not having a good season for Kansas.
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He is right that this move made sense. Gives him a true chance to compete for a championship in a role that would be his in the NBA (if that is a thing).
The issue has never been the transfer. It is when/how he left. They did not give the Rutgers coaching staff any chance to replace his spot in the roster. If he was so sure of this why was this not communicated earlier in the cycle?
The timing around then leaving is always the issue when pike was building a roster AROUND cam
The issue has never been the transfer. It is when/how he left. They did not give the Rutgers coaching staff any chance to replace his spot in the roster. If he was so sure of this why was this not communicated earlier in the cycle?
The timing around then leaving is always the issue when pike was building a roster AROUND cam
Sounds like Rutgers had their chance and did not give a good answer regarding plans for this season. Not sure why he would believe a different answer the second time around.
Cam is a grown man and a college graduate. It’s pathetic his parents are speaking on his behalf. It’s ok mommy and daddy to let Cam handle this stuff.
His father isn't going to say "cam wouldn't be able to all of defensive attention he'd receive at Rutgers as the no. 1 option" he didn't say anything bad either, basically just that he wanted to be on a better team..
I was wondering about that. Like his parents went with him on an official visit to uconn? At his age? Lol I guess, maybe because he wasn't a big recruit in highschool they want the full experience. "We can't force him, it has to be his decision." The guy is like 22
They scream AAU helicopter parents. When asked about it simply say Pike/Rutgers gave Cam an opportunity, he took advantage of it, and he’s really happy at UConn. A 23-24 man taking his parents on what’s essentially a job interview. Hahaha.
Get used to situations like this happening more often than not. Some times RU will be the beneficiary, but more often probably not. Cam's decision to move on has worked out well for him and UConn. He did us no favors but he is no different than most players for hire in the current college basketball environment.
Doesn't mean they (Harper family) aren't making a mistake.
I think the combination of playing in the B1G and a program that requires you to expend a ton of energy on D is a bad combination when you are trying to show the world how your game relates to the NBA.
The parents should have told the truth,,,Cam was looking for the biggest bag that was offered.
They were just talking...the big east is not more "athletic". Uconn is, maybe Marquette but id argue Illinois is on par as athletes. Beyond those teams big east is not that much better than the big 10 if at all. These guys beat seton hall without jwill. Not like they are the big 12.
i really do not see this as a dig at Rutgers....Cam went for a better opportunity at a better place...not even an argument to be made here
Important point. The fact that this staff has failed to develop a real offensive philosophy and players to execute it may mean that next year will be the peak for the program just based on athleticism. But don't be shocked if more than Dylan and Ace are not here from this class in 2026.
The part that I see as somewhat of a "dig" is that Hurley is the first coach since Spencer was in high school who held him accountable. That implies that Pike did not hold him accountable.
Whatever that means.
I don't know how many times I can say this, he is a complimentary player. He is not a 1st or 2nd option on UConn, he scored all of 5 points yesterday and UConn still beat Seton Hall by 30.
In terms of RU overpaying for Spencer, they didn't love Cam and the price tag associated with him, in comparison to other options in recruiting or 2024 classes and beyond. I don't know why fans are still discussing this, they made the best decision in terms of investing elsewhere for talent for the 2024 class. Anyone arguing against Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper and company and would rather have Cam Spencer?? I wouldn't have made that call based on last year.
There are finite funds available and no it doesn't mean this was all NIL. RU can make plays for certain recruits but we are not Michigan State, UConn or others with the capability of buying up anyone and everyone and RU shouldn't live exclusively in that space.
I would feel very confident that finding a quality addition via the portal this offseason, would be a better investment than going all in on this current season. If fans disagree with that, I am not here to say it's OK, you have a right to believe RU would be better. I don't agree.
Knowing what we know today, it clearly makes more sense to have JWill in the program (since he has eligibility left and in line to play in 2024-25). We probably didn't have a clear role for JWill here for this year, if Spencer was still here.
Nothing is guaranteed in college sports these days, but I feel 100% certain, RU made the right call here. I mean, if RU was so bad or troubling for the Spencer family, why do they keep talking about RU....?? I find it odd that if you are in line for the Top overall #1 seed, why would you be so concerned with RU....??
Just something to consider folks, not sure Cam is all he's cracked up to be, behind the scenes.
A complementary player who leads probably the best team in the country in minutes per game, steals per game, and is 0.5 points away from leading them in points per game as well.
Sounds like we need to invest in some of these complementary players as well.
That said I agree with you that it makes more sense to use NIL funds on next season's roster (if that is in fact is what is going on -- but color me skeptical).
Sounds like we need to invest in some of these complementary players as well.
That said I agree with you that it makes more sense to use NIL funds on next season's roster (if that is in fact is what is going on -- but color me skeptical).
i dont know but guess what...last year the roster was once again paper thin with zero depth. Perhaps that is what Cam is referring to. There was no challenges to anyone on the roster and that may be a flaw of Pike that he is too loyal in holding players accountable...basically because his recruiting had so many holes he literally has to play certain players most of the game
also i dont think Hurley will tolerate not 100% focus which maybe cam needed...see Paul meltdowns last year....see players singing Africa on the bench...see Hyatt wandering in and out game and giving up end of last year.....maybe Cam needed a tough environment where accountability means focus on winning.
The biggest issue in the end is recent recruiting.
It’s actually insane when you look at recruiting at the last few years juxtaposed to 2024.
@NewJerseyHawk getting dragged for his comments on cam bring complimentary I think it’s just a semantics issue.
I could be wrong but I think hawk means that you can't just build a team from scratch and drop cam in as your primary scoring option and expect him to carry a team with a bunch of isos and designed actions and expect that team to win at high levels.
Cam fits superbly in a team with multiple dudes where a team doesn’t need to rely on his points to win. Does that role suit a lot players? I’m sure it does. But it’s when cam is at his best.
I could be wrong but I think hawk means that you can't just build a team from scratch and drop cam in as your primary scoring option and expect him to carry a team with a bunch of isos and designed actions and expect that team to win at high levels.
Cam fits superbly in a team with multiple dudes where a team doesn’t need to rely on his points to win. Does that role suit a lot players? I’m sure it does. But it’s when cam is at his best.
It's crazy how an unathletic league like the B1G had 5 first round picks and 3 second round picks, and the "more" athletic Big East only had 3 in the first and 3 in the second.
This is fair. I don’t think a Cam type and Dylan alone would work out that well as ball handlers in the backcourt. We need a distributor.
To be fair these are basically nonsense words. In order to "think you are not being held accountable" you need to be self-aware of things you should be "held accountable" for which basically defeats the purpose of being held accountable in the first place. If Cam was aware of things he was doing wrong but too weak to correct them himself that might say something about Pike but it says more about Cam.
Everyone knows the Big Ten plays a slow plodding style not suited for the NBA. Never mind that the B10 and BE have exactly the same average tempo this year.
If Cam wanted accountability to know what to improve, he should have read the in game msg board threads.
Lol I can't believe someone is still talking about this in a serious manner. You guys might be the only people anywhere that things players being loose is BAD for performance.
"Outward competitiveness" says more about your emotional control and general personality than it does about how competitive you actually are or how much effort you are putting forth.
I still remember the article that Fonseca wrote on Spencer's competitive nature:
It's not a top 10 reason why this year's team is bad but we are missing that demand perfection, get better at all costs mentality.
It's not a top 10 reason why this year's team is bad but we are missing that demand perfection, get better at all costs mentality.
Doesn't that refer to before Simpson had even played his first game here? Or.. I mean Spencer wasn't here this summer and Simpson was a freshman last year so I'm a bit confused as to when this quote refers to.
It's from November of last season. My point is I think Spencer's attitude rubbed off on guys and I'm not sure that's here this year. Maybe it is and it's not as public, that's possible.
Oh okay. I thought it was supposed to be more about what Simpson said (not knowing about the film etc). That interpretation is fair.
The same way you get them is the same way you lose them. If he chose to go elsewhere, that's his decision.
Last year we didn't make the tournament with better players so not sure how Cam's attitude helped.
