Dan Dakich talks us up

[PatrickRU92]

Watching the Indiana /Iowa game (great game btw I love the B1G!) but Dan Dakich said some very nice things about us unsolicited I might add

he said that he wouldn't be surprised to see us win 1 or 2 in the B1G tourney (!!!--I don't think we can but hey we'll take it) and he said he speaks to all the B1G coaches they just "love what's going on at Rutgers".

Might be BS but certainly was fun to hear

 

[RUDave_01]

Nice compliment... however the other Big Ten coaches after only going to "love what's going on at Rutgers" until RU starts winning a bunch of games. Then it's: "We've got to find a way to break up what Pikiell is doing at Rutgers."

 

[RUChoppin]

I think that Big Ten coaches would love for Rutgers to be come a 60-80th rated team, rather than a 100+ team, just because it helps with the tournament resume without becoming a serious threat to rock the apple cart.

 

[Sideline20]

I think that Big Ten coaches would love for Rutgers to be come a 60-80th rated team, rather than a 100+ team, just because it helps with the tournament resume without becoming a serious threat to rock the apple cart.

I think the B1G coaches realize that the league may have lost a bid or 2 the past couple of years because their wins over us were meaningless. By having all 14 teams competitive makes every game meaningful and in the long run helps the conference nationally.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Our work on the defensive end and the rebounding off the offensive glass is noticed and respected. When virtually the same players do a 180 it is very impressive.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Dakich is the one most honest critic of what he sees on the court, specifically questionable coaching decisions, selfish (perceived) play by certain players and lack of defense. His son is now on Michigan as a walk-on (I believe) and he can be overly arrogant at times (not Jay Bilas type arrogant)....The only way that compliment gets rewarded is with consistently improved play and the last thing that a team does to change minds of coaches is playing well on the road.

I know it's still a win and loss thing for fans, but the conference play proved to me that the OOC schedule was really the best way to implement the system and change of culture. I'm actually more curious to see how RU deals with the thoughts of 3 home games and not necessarily raised expectations of RU fans, but raised preparation by the coaches in conference.

The next step is what teams do when they play RU...there is a somewhat of a thought that has gone away quickly that teams are overlooking RU or not prepared to play. I've not gotten the impression that teams are playing RU and are looking past the game. These last 3 games at home are all important for each of the teams coming to RU.

Michigan needs the game to stay on the bubble.

Maryland needs to stay in the Top 4 of the league

Illinois is playing much better in February and suddenly looks like the team many thought they would be starting the season (sweep of Northwestern and winning at Iowa).

Can RU play well and get one of the three remaining home games OR is it more important to play consistent basketball and avoid of the 3 games getting away from them early like Iowa and Penn State did at the RAC???

A win tonight would go a very long way towards solidifying Dakich's compliments. These are things you can take on the recruiting trail to a kid in Ohio or in the MD/VA/DC area or the Midwest and find another piece of the puzzle that perhaps a local recruit doesn't readily see being developed here at RU.

 

[Russ Wood]

For some reason Dakich seems to never criticize Tom Crean, just Crean's players. Blackmon has been Dakich's whipping boy all season.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

For some reason Dakich seems to never criticize Tom Crean, just Crean's players. Blackmon has been Dakich's whipping boy all season.

I'm not a fan of Blackmon's play, he is a head down, trying to score and takes a lot of questionable shots he can get at any time.....to be fair, he also cringes at some of the shot selection involved with a lot of the teams in the B1G....I recall a lot of groans regarding some of the shots by Lyle at Ohio State last year and this year and perhaps the offense or shots taken by kids like Dion Wiley at Maryland etc.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Our "signature win" is beating 14-14 Penn State. In the grand scheme of things it probably doesn't matter all that much what happens in the last 4 games from a recruiting standpoint. I'd like to think it is important for 2017-18 for the players to see they can win and have momentum going in to next year.

Being close is 20X better than not being competitive. However we are still far away from where we need to be and I'd like to see the group of guys that will returning next year to get over the hump.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

ESPN, I think Bilas, kill Blackmon too.

 

[RUfinal4]

assuming the tourney has a similar bracket as last year

14th seeded Rutgers (2 wins) will play the 11th seed (currently PSU - 6 wins). Could also be a 5 win OSU, 5 win Indiana, 6 win Nebraska, or 6 win Illinois.

2nd round would be against the 6 seed (currently an 8 win Mich St but could easily be Michigan or Minny)

3rd round is against the 3 seed (currently 10 win MD)

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Our "signature win" is beating 14-14 Penn State. In the grand scheme of things it probably doesn't matter all that much what happens in the last 4 games from a recruiting standpoint. I'd like to think it is important for 2017-18 for the players to see they can win and have momentum going in to next year.

Being close is 20X better than not being competitive. However we are still far away from where we need to be and I'd like to see the group of guys that will returning next year to get over the hump.

This is why this season still matters

How huge will it be for the off season if we win two out of three in the RAC....then beat Ohio state and northwestern in the big ten tournament and finish 17-17

How huge would it be to show class 18 and 19 recruits that we are tangible closer now To moving up the ladder

Now is the time ....and it absolutely matters

13-19 will not be easily sold as 17-17.....

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

Some nice things said during the Iowa-NW game too. Kind of backhanded but not meant that way... forgot who was announcing but question was who wouldn't you want to play in the first game of the tourney.

something to the effect of ... "Hey, nobody in this league is an easy out..not even Rutgers"

(maybe that was the question that Dakich was asked but the response was from the other game)... so at least we're not a laughing stock..thank you coach Pike!

 

[RUBand]

Nice compliment... however the other Big Ten coaches after only going to "love what's going on at Rutgers" until RU starts winning a bunch of games. Then it's: "We've got to find a way to break up what Pikiell is doing at Rutgers."

Coaches respect success and effort. Pike is showing that he knows what he's doing, and they're giving kudos accordingly.

 

[mikefla]

Every coach in the B10 has played us & some were LUCKY to even come away with a win
unlike last year when we were virtually a scheduled BYE

Coaches know how hard Coach P has worked & they see we are NO pushover

We are headed in the right direction
and
YES we could win 2 in the tourney,,,,,if we hit FTs & make runs when the other team goes cold..
questions is
will we..............

 

[RU MAN]

Nice compliment... however the other Big Ten coaches after only going to "love what's going on at Rutgers" until RU starts winning a bunch of games. Then it's: "We've got to find a way to break up what Pikiell is doing at Rutgers."

Isn't that a nice problem to have?

 

[Russ Wood]

I'm not a fan of Blackmon's play, he is a head down, trying to score and takes a lot of questionable shots he can get at any time.....to be fair, he also cringes at some of the shot selection involved with a lot of the teams in the B1G....I recall a lot of groans regarding some of the shots by Lyle at Ohio State last year and this year and perhaps the offense or shots taken by kids like Dion Wiley at Maryland etc.

Blackmon may have earned the criticism but sometimes, with Dakich, it seemed pretty harsh. Especially from an Indiana guy. Plus he never criticizes Crean.

Dion Wiley might be a bad example. He's only appeared in 14 games this season. He has made 41.2 percent of his three-pointers. Gonna be some heat checks when you're shooting that well from the perimeter.

Lyle doesn't seem like the most coachable kid. I thought that when I saw him at IMG Academy a couple of years ago.