Court Club Open Practice Set for Friday Nov 4

[BKIn118]

For those who may not know...the annual Court Club open practice session is set for Friday, Nov 4 @ RAC. Practice will begin at 730 PM, with doors at 630.

This year's event is extra special for a number of reasons, not the least of which will be the ability to get your first glimpse of the new look 2016/17 Scarlet Knights on the court!

However, we've been able to include an extra special bonus for our membership who attend. The open practice will coincide with a Rutgers Basketball Letterwinners reception, the first of it's kind in, well...as long as I can remember! Attendees will have an opportunity to catch up with the players you know and loved to watch...and maybe some that you will meet for the very first time. I've spoken to so many guys who are excited to be coming back for this event, and the Court Club is proud to be helping to make this a reality.

Open practice is expected to run approx. 90 minutes and will be followed by a brief meet and greet on the RAC floor with players and coaches. Soft pretzels and ice cold beverages will be our refreshments, and be sure to pick up a 50/50 ticket and purchase a shot to win a Mike Trout autographed baseball from our formidable auction inventory.

Also making its debut will be the Court Club's limited run of new logo Nike tees and polos, available only at our meetings. Once they are gone they are gone...so don't miss out!

YOU MUST BE A PAID 2016/17 COURT CLUB MEMBER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!
​

Memberships will be accepted at the door in the form of cash, check or credit card, or join online at www.rutgerscourtclub.com at anytime prior. Full benefits of membership in the Court Club can be found on our website, as well as other useful info about what we do.

We would love a packed house for this very special, one of a kind evening! Please reach out to us by responding to this thread if you have any questions!

 

[PiscatawayMike]

The evening of November 4 is going to be a special (K)night. Can't wait!

If you're a Rutgers men's basketball fan, the C-note you spend for the membership fee will be the best 100 bucks you spend all year.

 

[BKIn118]

Got some nice confirmations from guys who will be attending the Letterwinner event today...

Let's just say if you've followed RU basketball in the past 40 plus years, you'll recognize so many faces. Some of these guys haven't been back in decades!

 

[SkilletHead2]

If it weren't 15,000 km away, I would so be there!

Hey Beakers, can you give us some of your thoughts on where we stand at this point in the preseason?

 

[BKIn118]

If it weren't 15,000 km away, I would so be there!

Hey Beakers, can you give us some of your thoughts on where we stand at this point in the preseason?

If by Beakers you mean BK...auto correct perhaps?....

This team is 15,000 km from where it was last year. Talent level is increased, although not into a top half of the league level. We have size, athleticism and versatility in the roster and subsequent depth at all positions except maybe the guards. Making shots may be a struggle at times, but the hope is we can be in games with our size, hustle and rebounding.

There was so much work to be done fundamentally here that while we will be a vastly better team, it might not show quite as well as we all would like in B1G play. A strong non conference showing would help a great deal...and the litmus test game for me early will be @ Depaul.

Happy to answer more specific stuff if you've got em...

 

[SkilletHead2]

If by Beakers you mean BK...auto correct perhaps?....

This team is 15,000 km from where it was last year. Talent level is increased, although not into a top half of the league level. We have size, athleticism and versatility in the roster and subsequent depth at all positions except maybe the guards. Making shots may be a struggle at times, but the hope is we can be in games with our size, hustle and rebounding.

There was so much work to be done fundamentally here that while we will be a vastly better team, it might not show quite as well as we all would like in B1G play. A strong non conference showing would help a great deal...and the litmus test game for me early will be @ Depaul.

Happy to answer more specific stuff if you've got em...

Thanks! Just the sort of update I was looking for, and nice wordplay on the 15,000 km.

As to Beakers, for some reason I was thinking of RU848789 when I was about to write, and folks often refer to him as Numbers, and the BK hit me as Beakers. Not much more sophisticated than that. But will return to BK.

Thanks again.

 

[BKIn118]

Thanks! Just the sort of update I was looking for, and nice wordplay on the 15,000 km.

As to Beakers, for some reason I was thinking of RU848789 when I was about to write, and folks often refer to him as Numbers, and the BK hit me as Beakers. Not much more sophisticated than that. But will return to BK.

Thanks again.

Skillet...

Man, no worries about the name thing...I've certainly been called way worse than that brother!

Anyway...for those who might be interested in attending Friday, I've got some initials for you:

SW, MJ, RK, FIG, MW...and that's just for starters!

It's gonna be a night to remember folks!

www.rutgerscourtclub.com

 

[Scarletwoman]

For those who may not know...the annual Court Club open practice session is set for Friday, Nov 4 @ RAC. Practice will begin at 730 PM, with doors at 630.

This year's event is extra special for a number of reasons, not the least of which will be the ability to get your first glimpse of the new look 2016/17 Scarlet Knights on the court!

However, we've been able to include an extra special bonus for our membership who attend. The open practice will coincide with a Rutgers Basketball Letterwinners reception, the first of it's kind in, well...as long as I can remember! Attendees will have an opportunity to catch up with the players you know and loved to watch...and maybe some that you will meet for the very first time. I've spoken to so many guys who are excited to be coming back for this event, and the Court Club is proud to be helping to make this a reality.

Open practice is expected to run approx. 90 minutes and will be followed by a brief meet and greet on the RAC floor with players and coaches. Soft pretzels and ice cold beverages will be our refreshments, and be sure to pick up a 50/50 ticket and purchase a shot to win a Mike Trout autographed baseball from our formidable auction inventory.

Also making its debut will be the Court Club's limited run of new logo Nike tees and polos, available only at our meetings. Once they are gone they are gone...so don't miss out!

YOU MUST BE A PAID 2016/17 COURT CLUB MEMBER TO ATTEND THIS EVENT!
​

Memberships will be accepted at the door in the form of cash, check or credit card, or join online at www.rutgerscourtclub.com at anytime prior. Full benefits of membership in the Court Club can be found on our website, as well as other useful info about what we do.

We would love a packed house for this very special, one of a kind evening! Please reach out to us by responding to this thread if you have any questions!

I am trying to be their. It should be a great night.

 

[knights1212]

BK is working hard as usual. I am looking forward to Friday.

 

[RU-ROCS]

BK - it is awesome that you do this open practice event. I wish I could be there, but I have to be out of town on business.

 

[4theknights]

Looking forward to Friday Night and good to see Brian as President again of CC. Many thanks for his hard work and dedication. A lot of excitement today with groundbreaking ceremony for practice facility and with the our new HC and staff. RU BB is much better today than yesterday.

 

[BKIn118]

One last push...tomorrow night guys!

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Bump.....I hope we get some good reports about what you guys see in practice for us out of towners.

 

[knights1212]

I am really looking forward to tonight. This should be a classic, a night to remember.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

I am really looking forward to tonight. This should be a classic, a night to remember.

@knights1212 I'm really looking forward to your 10 PM post giving us your view on how practice went.....lol

 

[RU-ROCS]

For those of CC members who regrettably can't make it, I'm looking forward to reading about everyone's impressions after practice. Thanks again Brian for all of your hard work!

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

@higgins Do you plan to attend ? If yes, I can't wait for your analysis and opinions as well.

 

[SJScarlet]

We planned to go up and eat at the diner prior to this event, but with the stabbing having happened only feet away we thought that might be a bit eerie. Still excited for the event and hopefully everyone planning to come still comes.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

We planned to go up and eat at the diner prior to this event, but with the stabbing having happened only feet away we thought that might be a bit eerie. Still excited for the event and hopefully everyone planning to come still comes.

Not sure if you saw the update. But, this was listed on nj.com: By 3:29 p.m., the university sent a second alert saying police had a person in custody. "Area is safe. Police investigation is ongoing," the alert said.

http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.s..._school.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

 

[SJScarlet]

Not sure if you saw the update. But, this was listed on nj.com: By 3:29 p.m., the university sent a second alert saying police had a person in custody. "Area is safe. Police investigation is ongoing," the alert said.

http://www.nj.com/middlesex/index.s..._school.html#incart_2box_nj-homepage-featured

Yeah we saw. Just figured, even if the diner is open, just kind a weird environment to go into to eat dinner when we had other options.

 

[Tango Two]

Nice event.

Coach went into the stands and introduced himself to each attendee thanked them and shook hands.

 

[knights1212]

The Court Club gathering was really great. The team practiced just over an hour. They had already practiced in the afternoon so I think they did well. As we have been told they are not the greatest shooting team but they will be in shape and will be more disciplined. There really wasn't anything that we haven't heard before. There were a lot of the former players present. I know at least 5 were there from the 76 team as Dabney, Anderson, Conlin, Scherer and Palko were all present. I can tell you that Sa can also hit the 3 as can Bullock. Gettys seems really happy to be on our team and he can shoot. Hopefully he can stay out of foul trouble so he can be a big contributor. I wish I could say more but it was exciting but I really didn't see much that we had not heard already. Next Friday for me cannot come fast enough. Pikiell is such a nice guy. He loves it at RU. I think he will really succeed but miracles will not take place in a day or two. He did say he has so much still to teach these guys about playing defense.

 

[Tango Two]

The Court Club gathering was really great. The team practiced just over an hour. They had already practiced in the afternoon so I think they did well. As we have been told they are not the greatest shooting team but they will be in shape and will be more disciplined. There really wasn't anything that we haven't heard before. There were a lot of the former players present. I know at least 5 were there from the 76 team as Dabney, Anderson, Conlin, Scherer and Palko were all present. I can tell you that Sa can also hit the 3 as can Bullock. Gettys seems really happy to be on our team and he can shoot. Hopefully he can stay out of foul trouble so he can be a big contributor. I wish I could say more but it was exciting but I really didn't see much that we had not heard already. Next Friday for me cannot come fast enough. Pikiell is such a nice guy. He loves it at RU. I think he will really succeed but miracles will not take place in a day or two. He did say he has so much still to teach these guys about playing defense.

Unfortunately offensive rebounding will be key...

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Great job by BK organizing this outing for the Court Club and its members. Dozens of former players were on hand and it was simply terrific to see a crisp practice session by our guys.

On a personal note, it was great catching up with Waliyy Dixon. Waliyy and I go way back. I must have covered at least a dozen of his games and wrote several feature stories on him while I was a sports writer at The Daily Journal in Elizabeth in the late '80s and early '90s.

Waliyy was a high school All-American at Linden H.S., where he was a human highlight reel. His athletic ability was something to behold. He could jump through the roof and his dunking ability was second-to-none. He ended his scholastic career by winning the Reebok National Slam Dunk Competition.

Unfortunately, his college career at Rutgers left a lot to be desired. After getting off to a promising start, it was derailed permanently by academic problems. Fortunately, he found great success as a streetball legend. Nicknamed Main Event, he earned a nice living on the streetball circuit. He now runs his own company, Ball for Life, which concentrates on impacting and educating youths. Rock on, Waliyy!

http://www.pgkclubhouse.com/partners/main-event-ball-for-life

 

[SJScarlet]

I watched Nigel Johnson shoot a large number of 3s as he did a circuit from one corner to the top of the arc to the other corner. After watching how many he made and his form, I think he can probably shoot somewhere around 35% this year from 3, as long as he can get good looks. Not an elite shooter, but definitely enough touch to make them consistently.

 

[SkilletHead2]

Great job by BK organizing this outing for the Court Club and its members. Dozens of former players were on hand and it was simply terrific to see a crisp practice session by our guys.

On a personal note, it was great catching up with Waliyy Dixon. Waliyy and I go way back. I must have covered at least a dozen of his games and wrote several feature stories on him while I was a sports writer at The Daily Journal in Elizabeth in the late '80s and early '90s.

Waliyy was a high school All-American at Linden H.S., where he was a human highlight reel. His athletic ability was something to behold. He could jump through the roof and his dunking ability was second-to-none. He ended his scholastic career by winning the Reebok National Slam Dunk Competition.

Unfortunately, his college career at Rutgers left a lot to be desired. After getting off to a promising start, it was derailed permanently by academic problems. Fortunately, he found great success as a streetball legend. Nicknamed Main Event, he earned a nice living on the streetball circuit. He now runs his own company, Ball for Life, which concentrates on impacting and educating youths. Rock on, Waliyy!

http://www.pgkclubhouse.com/partners/main-event-ball-for-life

Thanks for the update, P'Mike! I'd recognize you anywhere! Remember running into each other at Red Lobster about 25 years ago?!

 

[LC-88]

Great job by BK organizing this outing for the Court Club and its members. Dozens of former players were on hand and it was simply terrific to see a crisp practice session by our guys.

On a personal note, it was great catching up with Waliyy Dixon. Waliyy and I go way back. I must have covered at least a dozen of his games and wrote several feature stories on him while I was a sports writer at The Daily Journal in Elizabeth in the late '80s and early '90s.

Waliyy was a high school All-American at Linden H.S., where he was a human highlight reel. His athletic ability was something to behold. He could jump through the roof and his dunking ability was second-to-none. He ended his scholastic career by winning the Reebok National Slam Dunk Competition.

Unfortunately, his college career at Rutgers left a lot to be desired. After getting off to a promising start, it was derailed permanently by academic problems. Fortunately, he found great success as a streetball legend. Nicknamed Main Event, he earned a nice living on the streetball circuit. He now runs his own company, Ball for Life, which concentrates on impacting and educating youths. Rock on, Waliyy!

http://www.pgkclubhouse.com/partners/main-event-ball-for-life

Waliyy is my favorite RU player of all time. I was fortunate to see him play at the RAC while he was here. Thanks for the post. Didn't he also hurt his back while at RU, or am I thinking of someone else.

 

[SirScarlet]

What i liked the most was the team camaraderie. these guys were all pulling for one another and i believe this is important. lots of positive energy which i attribute to coach and his staff.

You get the clear abd distinct impression that this team is coached well. the staff is consistent with their terms and feedback. i was watching this closely. theyve done this before and it shows. hobbs was constantly giving feedback to players after plays, drills, etc. i dont know how to explain it other than to say you feel like the program is in extremely good hands

The shooting concerns are fair...but i would also say i dont think we have had this many bigs who will log minutes, in 2 decades...so we have that going for us and the anticipated solid rebounding should help offset a bit.

It is hard to give a real assessment based on drills alone so i will just share general thoughts on a few players. Nigel johnson is a walking rubber band...he just explodes to the rim...hes going to give us fans some fun highlights. cj is going to be a fan favorite. he is the type of player fans love. you will see what i mean immediately . i am thrilled we got Sa - i like all parts of his game. and thiam is so gifted. hes too slight for us to expect too much from him, but he is going to be an important piece. at one point in the initial shoot around, he hit about 10 straight 3s...effortlessly. I didn't get to see too much of eugene. corey is corey. so talented and he just seems to be having a blast. i was impressed with him and nigels stamina on some of the full court drills...they were going full tilt end to end, and still had the energy to finish with some explosive dunks. and they seem to have a friendly competition going. Doorson is simply not recognizable. for a moment, i said "who is that guy ?"...lol. not to be a wet blanket but him and Diallo will focus on rebounding and defense. any consistent offense we get out of them is a bonus

I really like the number of picks and screens we are setting in the plays we are running. The lack of this drove me crazy the past 3 years. And as I argued consistently I believe that this type of movement and structure with players who are perhaps not as athletic as our competition, will get us open looks (if we make them...well, lets see). It was truly a pleasure to watch.

The kids came into the stands after the practice to thank everyone for coming. pure class and a nice gesture that was very much appreciated

All in all it was a nice evening and I think as fans we should feel really really good about the future of this program. It was also great to see so many familiar faces come back. Brought back lots of great memories.

** I did this on my cell and using voice to text so apologies for screwy errors **

 

[RUJMM78]

I really enjoyed attending the practice session and special thanks to Brian for organizing the event for Court Club members.The 1 hour practice showed the coaching staff has a organized system in place with drills for pick and rolls ,getting players open for corner jump shots and running fast breaks after missed foul shots.While there was no scrimmage fans were able to see players perform during drills.Numbers 32 and 21 showed consistency making the 3 pointer.Johnson showed amazing leaping ability for a point guard.There seems to be plenty of depth at the center position.Freeman was moving around the court without any notice of injury.Coach Pikiell was very outgoing greeting all the fans and he had the attention of the players by demonstrating the way drills should be executed.Having former players attend was a additional favorable aspect of the event.Athletic Directot Hobbs announced the womens soccer team will play Sunday for the B1G Championship after defeating Northwestern 1-0.

 

[richthedentist]

Great very excited. I agree with you Sir Scarlet. I never saw them in the last I don't know how many years running off the ball screens and without ball movement. I can't wait til next week!!

 

[higgins3]

Great very excited. I agree with you Sir Scarlet. I never saw them in the last I don't know how many years running off the ball screens and without ball movement. I can't wait til next week!!

I have watched Gettys and is he adept in the pick and roll. He rolls into space well. Thing is, his pg never hit him last year. Pikiell said he has great hands. I assume he is right. That can make for some great plans.

I am excited for Gettys. People said this was a good switch for him because he is a true center and this league has those kinds of players. Hopefully he stays out of foul trouble. I am sure it is being addressed.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

I really enjoyed attending the practice session and special thanks to Brian for organizing the event for Court Club members.The 1 hour practice showed the coaching staff has a organized system in place with drills for pick and rolls ,getting players open for corner jump shots and running fast breaks after missed foul shots.While there was no scrimmage fans were able to see players perform during drills.Numbers 32 and 21 showed consistency making the 3 pointer.Johnson showed amazing leaping ability for a point guard.There seems to be plenty of depth at the center position.Freeman was moving around the court without any notice of injury.Coach Pikiell was very outgoing greeting all the fans and he had the attention of the players by demonstrating the way drills should be executed.Having former players attend was a additional favorable aspect of the event.Athletic Directot Hobbs announced the womens soccer team will play Sunday for the B1G Championship after defeating Northwestern 1-0.

Think you meant 35 who is Issa Thiam not 32 who is Diallo. Candido Sa is 21.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

Thanks for the update, P'Mike! I'd recognize you anywhere! Remember running into each other at Red Lobster about 25 years ago?!

Indeed I do, Skillet! It couldn't have been 25 years, though. I'd say about 20...lol. I didn't get season tickets until the 1993-1994 season. You were in the same row in section 203 as my brother and I. If I had to take a guess, I'd say our Red Lobster encounter was in 1996 or 1997.

 

[SkilletHead2]

Indeed I do, Skillet! It couldn't have been 25 years, though. I'd say about 20...lol. I didn't get season tickets until the 1993-1994 season. You were in the same row in section 203 as my brother and I. If I had to take a guess, I'd say our Red Lobster encounter was in 1996 or 1997.

When you're my age, 25 years ago is about 20 years ago! It was good fun going to those games back then!