GAME 14 INDIANA: Disappointment

[bac2therac]

There literally is nothing left to say anymore that would not be a rehash of thousands of posts on this message board over the last two months. So painful as a fan to have to go through this. Like an ending of a bad relationship. Knowing its wrong all along but still acting and putting on a brave face. Its time to take the masks off. Tonight was validation and confirmation of all the thing discussed in prior recaps after almost every single game. It has nothing to do with me or anyone else being right. It has everything to do with we all knew it and tried to brightside it. The answer was clearly in front of our eyes yet we tried mightily to avoid. The allure of having Dylan and Ace, 2 future NBA stars, the likes Rutgers has never seen nor likely to see agaim blinded us to the reality it was apparent from the first couple of games, that Pike failed miserably in constructing a supporting roster for Ace/Dylan. That involved poor recrutiing in prior years that left us just with J Will/J Mike to be the sole bridge players yet neither of them are difference makers and J Will was counted on to be a major player from the moment he transferred here. Pike struck out in the portal. There was no Cam Spencer coming in. There wasnt even a CJ Getty. I cannot figure out what the strategy was and I do not care at this point. The fact is he failed and now the team is literally on the cusp of a fingernail from being eliminated from NCAA conditions (yes there are still 17 league games to play). I do not want to hear the talk about NIL...if that is the excuse than its time to shut the program down. Yes RU will never have as much as some other schools but we are literally paying players right now that are tremendously underperforming.

Such a disappointment in a once in a lifetime opportunity, Rutgers is going to Rutgers. I know its a overused cliche. Ace Bailey 16-29 fg for 39 points in one of the all time great Rutgers performances yet totally hollow given the lack of production on both ends of the court from the siupporting cast. This went beyond Dylan being out so save those excuses. Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight and all year long. Beating Wisconsin on Monday will not change it. In fact the excuse excuse is getting real old at this point. Save it. This team just does not have it. No analyzing of plays, in game coaching or prep or injuries or foul shooting can change that. The season was lost in the spring and summer and in the spring and summer before that. I have been a big fan of Pike though never shy to criticize him but now he is likely headed to a third year without a NCAA bid and likely to take a substantial perception hit to his credibility for failing to get it done this season with 2 incredible talents. He is not going anywhere after this year or the next. He will have do a yeomens job as recruiter, coach, and program seller to restore alot of the faith that he has lost. I do not think Rutgers fans have been unreasonable in their expectations this season. Rutgers looks like a broken down jalopy on defense most of the time and has only 2 players on offense. There is no getting around that. There is no getting around the disappointment of this season. Its not fun to watch anymore. I know I am ribbed for my endlessly long recaps but I have been posting my thoughts for weeks in the various threads and game threads and I just do not think there is anything left to say.

Disappointment you shouldn't have done
You couldn't have done, you wouldn't have done
The things you did then and we could've been happy
What a piteous thing, a hideous thing
Was tainted by the rest

But it won't get any harder
And I hope you'll find your way again
But it won't get any higher
But it all boils down to what you did there

Dissapointment....Dissapointment...Dissapointment

 

[fluoxetine]

This went beyond Dylan being out so save those excuses. Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight

Of course it will. If you were ever expecting this team to improve to the point where it was anything but BAD without Harper you were deluding yourself.

Look, all signs point to this being a mediocre team that isn’t making the tournament *even with* Harper playing like one of the best players in the country.

If there is a path to making the tourney, it involves Ace quickly realizing some of his potential, joining Dylan as an elite player, and forming a two headed monster that carries the rest of this ragtag bunch of misfits on its back.

From that standpoint what we saw tonight is probably a positive overall… Bailey was amazing. But there is no amount of Bailey that can carry an entire team in the Big Ten.

Stop looking for some giant leap forward from the others. Davis is improving. Sommerville is improving. Hayes and Martini will not always brick all of their open threes. But these will be small improvements, not giant leaps forward.

There is one narrow path to salvation, and it involves Bailey coming into his own along with Harper. This game was lost the minute Harper decided he couldn’t play.

 

[bac2therac]

Of course it will. If you were ever expecting this team to improve to the point where it was anything but BAD without Harper you were deluding yourself.

Look, all signs point to this being a mediocre team that isn’t making the tournament *even with* Harper playing like one of the best players in the country.

If there is a path to making the tourney, it involves Ace quickly realizing some of his potential, joining Dylan as an elite player, and forming a two headed monster that carries the rest of this ragtag bunch of misfits on its back.

From that standpoint what we saw tonight is probably a positive overall… Bailey was amazing. But there is no amount of Bailey that can carry an entire team in the Big Ten.

Stop looking for some giant leap forward from the others. Davis is improving. Sommerville is improving. Hayes and Martini will not always brick all of their open threes. But these will be small improvements, not giant leaps forward.

There is one narrow path to salvation, and it involves Bailey coming into his own along with Harper. This game was lost the minute Harper decided he couldn’t play.

you are brightsiding this game and sorry not buying it. your players who bricked shots have generally been bricking them all year long, you can pull up some stats but they have been shooting poorly recently....and its not even about offense

the defense is pathetic..you are bringing up improvment from J Mike wut...any kind of tiny improvment is meaningless to anything really. 14 games into the season is a pretty good data point unless you somehow want to argue Ace and Dylan will score over 60 a night and that wont matter anyway because our D is atrocious no matter how you look at it.

Nobody is going to feel sorry Dylan didnt play, next man up. Indiana lost their best player, struggled early and then made adjustments. They looked bad themselves for much of the game and then closed it out

 

[PhillyRU]

I have tremendous respect and appreciation for the job Pikiell has done as the coach here, but I think it’s bad as a fanbase to resign ourselves to him being here even for the next couple years. It sucks, and I hate it, but the paradigm of college basketball has completely shifted toward the transfer portal, and Pikiell has brought in one effective transfer since the sit out rule was abolished.

By all accounts, Harper and Bailey were made available to us with one time payments. The rest of the roster was constructed with, ostensibly, our annual NIL budget, and while revenue sharing will help it’ll help everyone else too. Pikiell has proven absolutely nothing in this era of basketball.

 

[socaldave]

Agree with 90%, the only thing I would add is running an offense to specifically address 2 generational players and 8 role players could have won Rutgers 1 or 2 more games to date possibly more.
Which would put us in a different situation after tonight’s loss.
The Kid Lathan is good, he is not being put in a situation where he can maximize his ability to help this team.
Some inside out ball movement would also help as well as boxing out and simply getting bodies on bodies.
Pike is showing who is with everything you said being true, what we are seeing on the court is a result of all those things as well as what I just stated.
Pike will be gone after next season.

 

[bac2therac]

I have tremendous respect and appreciation for the job Pikiell has done as the coach here, but I think it’s bad as a fanbase to resign ourselves to him being here even for the next couple years. It sucks, and I hate it, but the paradigm of college basketball has completely shifted toward the transfer portal, and Pikiell has brought in one effective transfer since the sit out rule was abolished.

By all accounts, Harper and Bailey were made available to us with one time payments. The rest of the roster was constructed with, ostensibly, our annual NIL budget, and while revenue sharing will help it’ll help everyone else too. Pikiell has proven absolutely nothing in this era of basketball.

yup 2 more years and quite possibly more. I am okay with 2 years because well thats how its going to be here but in those 2 years without a ncaa bid is pink slip time absolutely

 

[bac2therac]

Agree with 90%, the only thing I would add is running an offense to specifically address 2 generational players and 8 role players could have won Rutgers 1 or 2 more games to date possibly more.
Which would put us in a different situation after tonight’s loss.
The Kid Lathan is good, he is not being put in a situation where he can maximize his ability to help this team.
Some inside out ball movement would also help as well as boxing out and simply getting bodies on bodies.
Pike is showing who is with everything you said being true, what we are seeing on the court is a result of all those things as well as what I just stated.
Pike will be gone after next season.

but nothing can ever fix the defense, that is not going away, there is no rescue mission or things he can do. That is too far gone. You cannot win games while allowing players to waltz by you in the paint and then crush you on putbacks. Its a historically bad defense for Rutgers...one that would make Fred Hill blush

 

[Scangg]

There is no hope if the supporting class gives literal goose eggs night after night

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Ace was beyond great on offense. He was awful defensively. So bad Pike threw in the towel and had to play a weak 2-3 zone. There were at least 15 terrible breakdowns by Bailey on D. Many possessions he had no idea where his defender was.

Id rather lose 65-55 with guys giving full effort and a coach having credibility with players treating all of them equal. The sight of Bailey celebrating making a 3 down 12 and being all smiles because he can score 40 and chumming it up with assistant coaches while Pike is talking to the other 4.

This team is broken for sure. Any Pike team playing a passive 2-3 zone is the nail in the coffin.

 

[socaldave]

but nothing can ever fix the defense, that is not going away, there is no rescue mission or things he can do. That is too far gone. You cannot win games while allowing players to waltz by you in the paint and then crush you on putbacks. Its a historically bad defense for Rutgers...one that would make Fred Hill blush

I agree this is an unfixable situation, to late and to far gone!

 

[Mr Magoo]

There literally is nothing left to say anymore that would not be a rehash of thousands of posts on this message board over the last two months. So painful as a fan to have to go through this. Like an ending of a bad relationship. Knowing its wrong all along but still acting and putting on a brave face. Its time to take the masks off. Tonight was validation and confirmation of all the thing discussed in prior recaps after almost every single game. It has nothing to do with me or anyone else being right. It has everything to do with we all knew it and tried to brightside it. The answer was clearly in front of our eyes yet we tried mightily to avoid. The allure of having Dylan and Ace, 2 future NBA stars, the likes Rutgers has never seen nor likely to see agaim blinded us to the reality it was apparent from the first couple of games, that Pike failed miserably in constructing a supporting roster for Ace/Dylan. That involved poor recrutiing in prior years that left us just with J Will/J Mike to be the sole bridge players yet neither of them are difference makers and J Will was counted on to be a major player from the moment he transferred here. Pike struck out in the portal. There was no Cam Spencer coming in. There wasnt even a CJ Getty. I cannot figure out what the strategy was and I do not care at this point. The fact is he failed and now the team is literally on the cusp of a fingernail from being eliminated from NCAA conditions (yes there are still 17 league games to play). I do not want to hear the talk about NIL...if that is the excuse than its time to shut the program down. Yes RU will never have as much as some other schools but we are literally paying players right now that are tremendously underperforming.

Such a disappointment in a once in a lifetime opportunity, Rutgers is going to Rutgers. I know its a overused cliche. Ace Bailey 16-29 fg for 39 points in one of the all time great Rutgers performances yet totally hollow given the lack of production on both ends of the court from the siupporting cast. This went beyond Dylan being out so save those excuses. Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight and all year long. Beating Wisconsin on Monday will not change it. In fact the excuse excuse is getting real old at this point. Save it. This team just does not have it. No analyzing of plays, in game coaching or prep or injuries or foul shooting can change that. The season was lost in the spring and summer and in the spring and summer before that. I have been a big fan of Pike though never shy to criticize him but now he is likely headed to a third year without a NCAA bid and likely to take a substantial perception hit to his credibility for failing to get it done this season with 2 incredible talents. He is not going anywhere after this year or the next. He will have do a yeomens job as recruiter, coach, and program seller to restore alot of the faith that he has lost. I do not think Rutgers fans have been unreasonable in their expectations this season. Rutgers looks like a broken down jalopy on defense most of the time and has only 2 players on offense. There is no getting around that. There is no getting around the disappointment of this season. Its not fun to watch anymore. I know I am ribbed for my endlessly long recaps but I have been posting my thoughts for weeks in the various threads and game threads and I just do not think there is anything left to say.

Disappointment you shouldn't have done
You couldn't have done, you wouldn't have done
The things you did then and we could've been happy
What a piteous thing, a hideous thing
Was tainted by the rest

But it won't get any harder
And I hope you'll find your way again
But it won't get any higher
But it all boils down to what you did there

Dissapointment....Dissapointment...Dissapointment

View embedded media

Excellent recap…and another jalopy…fitting for this team.

 

[socaldave]

Ace was beyond great on offense. He was awful defensively. So bad Pike threw in the towel and had to play a weak 2-3 zone. There were at least 15 terrible breakdowns by Bailey on D. Many possessions he had no idea where his defender was.

Id rather lose 65-55 with guys giving full effort and a coach having credibility with players treating all of them equal. The sight of Bailey celebrating making a 3 down 12 and being all smiles because he can score 40 and chumming it up with assistant coaches while Pike is talking to the other 4.

This team is broken for sure. Any Pike team playing a passive 2-3 zone is the nail in the coffin.

Hopefully Pikes Nail

 

[bac2therac]

There is no hope if the supporting class gives literal goose eggs night after night

sure they can put it the hoop at times but is that the real problem. None of them play defense..none..not at the Big 10 level and we are really lowering our standards if we say J Mike/Derkack are good defenders...yes at times they do make some good plays here and there but here and there is simply not good enough. There is literally nothing that can save this defense

 

[RUforlife]

There are no great teams in the B1G this year, they all have their flaws. There is no reason this team can't go on a nice little run and make the tournament. Way too early for all this type of handwringing, let's see where they are after the 10th conference game, something tells me these kinds of posts aren't going to age well.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I agree this is an unfixable situation, to late and to far gone!

Its fixable. You play the guys that will defend.

 

[bac2therac]

Ace was beyond great on offense. He was awful defensively. So bad Pike threw in the towel and had to play a weak 2-3 zone. There were at least 15 terrible breakdowns by Bailey on D. Many possessions he had no idea where his defender was.

Id rather lose 65-55 with guys giving full effort and a coach having credibility with players treating all of them equal. The sight of Bailey celebrating making a 3 down 12 and being all smiles because he can score 40 and chumming it up with assistant coaches while Pike is talking to the other 4.

This team is broken for sure. Any Pike team playing a passive 2-3 zone is the nail in the coffin.

no accountability and that likely started with the behind the scenes contract with Fanatics

 

[PhillyRU]

Agree with 90%, the only thing I would add is running an offense to specifically address 2 generational players and 8 role players could have won Rutgers 1 or 2 more games to date possibly more.
Which would put us in a different situation after tonight’s loss.
The Kid Lathan is good, he is not being put in a situation where he can maximize his ability to help this team.
Some inside out ball movement would also help as well as boxing out and simply getting bodies on bodies.
Pike is showing who is with everything you said being true, what we are seeing on the court is a result of all those things as well as what I just stated.
Pike will be gone after next season.

I mean the problem is overwhelmingly the No. 127 defense vs. the No. 60 offense, which is arguably more damning for the program’s long-term trajectory. Before this year, it seemed like Pikiell’s staff could mold just about any roster into an elite defensive unit, but it looks increasingly like his formula is centered around rim protection ($$) and retention/continuity (tough to rely on)

 

[Scangg]

sure they can put it the hoop at times but is that the real problem. None of them play defense..none..not at the Big 10 level and we are really lowering our standards if we say J Mike/Derkack are good defenders...yes at times they do make some good plays here and there but here and there is simply not good enough. There is literally nothing that can save this defense

By goose eggs I don't mean only scoring. They are giving us nothing in every facet of the game

I've never seen so many easy buckets at the rim

Standing and watching rebounds from the perimeter with no one crashing back to the ball

Help defense looks like these people never played before at times

Caleb rolling over in his grave right now

 

[RutgersChow]

There literally is nothing left to say anymore that would not be a rehash of thousands of posts on this message board over the last two months. So painful as a fan to have to go through this. Like an ending of a bad relationship. Knowing its wrong all along but still acting and putting on a brave face. Its time to take the masks off. Tonight was validation and confirmation of all the thing discussed in prior recaps after almost every single game. It has nothing to do with me or anyone else being right. It has everything to do with we all knew it and tried to brightside it. The answer was clearly in front of our eyes yet we tried mightily to avoid. The allure of having Dylan and Ace, 2 future NBA stars, the likes Rutgers has never seen nor likely to see agaim blinded us to the reality it was apparent from the first couple of games, that Pike failed miserably in constructing a supporting roster for Ace/Dylan. That involved poor recrutiing in prior years that left us just with J Will/J Mike to be the sole bridge players yet neither of them are difference makers and J Will was counted on to be a major player from the moment he transferred here. Pike struck out in the portal. There was no Cam Spencer coming in. There wasnt even a CJ Getty. I cannot figure out what the strategy was and I do not care at this point. The fact is he failed and now the team is literally on the cusp of a fingernail from being eliminated from NCAA conditions (yes there are still 17 league games to play). I do not want to hear the talk about NIL...if that is the excuse than its time to shut the program down. Yes RU will never have as much as some other schools but we are literally paying players right now that are tremendously underperforming.

Such a disappointment in a once in a lifetime opportunity, Rutgers is going to Rutgers. I know its a overused cliche. Ace Bailey 16-29 fg for 39 points in one of the all time great Rutgers performances yet totally hollow given the lack of production on both ends of the court from the siupporting cast. This went beyond Dylan being out so save those excuses. Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight and all year long. Beating Wisconsin on Monday will not change it. In fact the excuse excuse is getting real old at this point. Save it. This team just does not have it. No analyzing of plays, in game coaching or prep or injuries or foul shooting can change that. The season was lost in the spring and summer and in the spring and summer before that. I have been a big fan of Pike though never shy to criticize him but now he is likely headed to a third year without a NCAA bid and likely to take a substantial perception hit to his credibility for failing to get it done this season with 2 incredible talents. He is not going anywhere after this year or the next. He will have do a yeomens job as recruiter, coach, and program seller to restore alot of the faith that he has lost. I do not think Rutgers fans have been unreasonable in their expectations this season. Rutgers looks like a broken down jalopy on defense most of the time and has only 2 players on offense. There is no getting around that. There is no getting around the disappointment of this season. Its not fun to watch anymore. I know I am ribbed for my endlessly long recaps but I have been posting my thoughts for weeks in the various threads and game threads and I just do not think there is anything left to say.

Disappointment you shouldn't have done
You couldn't have done, you wouldn't have done
The things you did then and we could've been happy
What a piteous thing, a hideous thing
Was tainted by the rest

But it won't get any harder
And I hope you'll find your way again
But it won't get any higher
But it all boils down to what you did there

Dissapointment....Dissapointment...Dissapointment

View embedded media

If he doesn't make the tournament this year I think he will step down a la Jay Wright. No way he's here beyond next year. If he is here fan interest and season ticket sales will drop kike a rock.

 

[socaldave]

no accountability and that likely started with the behind the scenes contract with Fanatics

Just like the now NBA playing Cam Spencer said!

 

[Scangg]

Its fixable. You play the guys that will defend.

Are there 5 of them?

You really think sitting Ace is the solution? We would have lost by 30 and not scored 50

 

[fluoxetine]

you are brightsiding this game

Not really. It’s just.. I already knew this team sucked major ass without Dylan Harper and so did you. Acting like we learned something new here is just not living in reality.

Nobody is going to feel sorry Dylan didnt play, next man up. Indiana lost their best player,

Who’s asking you to feel sorry? Sometimes I think you hate the idea of “making excuses” so much that it can blind you from rationally analyzing things. Dylan Harper is probably the most important single player on any team in the entire country. You can acknowledge that without it being an excuse.

 

[bac2therac]

There are no great teams in the B1G this year, they all have their flaws. There is no reason this team can't go on a nice little run and make the tournament. Way too early for all this type of handwringing, let's see where they are after the 10th conference game, something tells me these kinds of posts aren't going to age well.

Rutgers will have to go 11-6 JUST to get on the bubble. 12-5 if they really want to feel confident. They are currently 8-6 with only one win of note which was at home. They are now 1-6 road/neutral including two double digit losses to middle of the pack Big 10 schools and they looked bad in both losses.

It would take some sort of miracle run that NO ONE including you could every foresee besides relying on blind faith.

Technically the season isnt over. There are 3 straight home RAC games and RU needs to likely win them all.

 

[RAC93]

Agree with what you stated, said the same thing to my son during the Princeton game “This team just doesn’t have it this year.” We as a fanbase have been sugarcoating it, brightsiding it as bac said, putting lipstick on a pig, peeing on our own legs and telling ourselves it’s raining, whatever cliche you choose, but the reality is nearly half a season is gone and we’re looking like a .500ish team, not much different than last year and we can now take off the scarlet colored glasses concerning this team. It’s disappointing, but the disappointment is shifting to anger as we wasted a once in a program lifetime opportunity with two amazing talents. This year will result in Pike and RU parting ways, however many more years that takes, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, whatever…..Pike will have sealed his fate with this season and there will be no coming back from this. This will be a forever albatross that hangs over him in his remaining time at RU. Even without Dylan, if we had a competent roster with competent portal transfers we win this game. Problem is the players we have outside of Dylan, Ace and Somerville are basically the same as last year. We may as well still have Andre Hyatt and Noah Fernandez still out on the court, same sh$t different toilet.

 

[Scangg]

Just like the now NBA playing Cam Spencer said!

Oh damn didn't realize he was in the league now! Congrats to him

 

[bac2therac]

Not really. It’s just.. I already knew this team sucked major ass without Dylan Harper and so did you. Acting like we learned something new here is just not living in reality.



Who’s asking you to feel sorry? Sometimes I think you hate the idea of “making excuses” so much that it can blind you from rationally analyzing things. Dylan Harper is probably the most important single player on any team in the entire country. You can acknowledge that without it being an excuse.

and thats the point...if one player is virtually your whole team, then you really are not a team that is going to be successful. Tonight just confirmed our supporting cast and the fact that Ace can have a game like tonight hardly surprised me and yeah did we need further confirmation...no...this team is what it is

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Are there 5 of them?

You really think sitting Ace is the solution? We would have lost by 30 and not scored 50

No way

 

[fluoxetine]

Its fixable. You play the guys that will defend.

Are there 5 of them?

You really think sitting Ace is the solution? We would have lost by 30 and not scored 50

Sitting Ace is absurd, it’s not like there is someone we can put in for Ace that fixes the defense all that much.

These are all mistakes that are in the past, we just have to roll with it now and hope Ace/Dylan can put up 60 a game. It’s a long shot but it’s the only shot we have.

 

[bac2therac]

Its fixable. You play the guys that will defend.

no

 

[fluoxetine]

and thats the point...if one player is virtually your whole team, then you really are not a team that is going to be successful. Tonight just confirmed our supporting cast and the fact that Ace can have a game like tonight hardly surprised me and yeah did we need further confirmation...no...this team is what it is

Okay.. but if one player is your whole team then obviously having that player back will make a gigantic difference. You can’t have it both ways. We all acknowledge that is the situation here so why say things like “Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight”

 

[Joey Bags]

Pike is well on his way to finishing under .500 with 2 of the top 3 players in the country.

This is a career-sinking season for him barring a miracle.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Are there 5 of them?

You really think sitting Ace is the solution? We would have lost by 30 and not scored 50

I worry you may be right about 5. Derkack has been terrible…game 14 and he still is late getting out on shooters 3-4 times per game

 

[bac2therac]

Sitting Ace is absurd, it’s not like there is someone we can put in for Ace that fixes the defense all that much.

These are all mistakes that are in the past, we just have to roll with it now and hope Ace/Dylan can put up 60 a game. It’s a long shot but it’s the only shot we have.

the time for that passed in the first couple of games or moreso in practices. That is how Pike decided to run it and there is no fix for it now

 

[S_Janowski]

Its fixable. You play the guys that will defend.

We would be playing 1, maybe 2 players on any given night then LOL.

 

[bac2therac]

Okay.. but if one player is your whole team then obviously having that player back will make a gigantic difference. You can’t have it both ways.

we lost to Kennesaw State with Harper....we had the same 40-15 run tonight that we had that game.

 

[fluoxetine]

we lost to Kennesaw State with Harper....we had the same 40-15 run tonight that we had that game.

Yeah. Because we are mediocre even with him. But mediocre is a huge upgrade from what we saw tonight.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

We would be playing 1, maybe 2 players on any given night then LOL.

Some nights we may get up to 4

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

There literally is nothing left to say anymore that would not be a rehash of thousands of posts on this message board over the last two months. So painful as a fan to have to go through this. Like an ending of a bad relationship. Knowing its wrong all along but still acting and putting on a brave face. Its time to take the masks off. Tonight was validation and confirmation of all the thing discussed in prior recaps after almost every single game. It has nothing to do with me or anyone else being right. It has everything to do with we all knew it and tried to brightside it. The answer was clearly in front of our eyes yet we tried mightily to avoid. The allure of having Dylan and Ace, 2 future NBA stars, the likes Rutgers has never seen nor likely to see agaim blinded us to the reality it was apparent from the first couple of games, that Pike failed miserably in constructing a supporting roster for Ace/Dylan. That involved poor recrutiing in prior years that left us just with J Will/J Mike to be the sole bridge players yet neither of them are difference makers and J Will was counted on to be a major player from the moment he transferred here. Pike struck out in the portal. There was no Cam Spencer coming in. There wasnt even a CJ Getty. I cannot figure out what the strategy was and I do not care at this point. The fact is he failed and now the team is literally on the cusp of a fingernail from being eliminated from NCAA conditions (yes there are still 17 league games to play). I do not want to hear the talk about NIL...if that is the excuse than its time to shut the program down. Yes RU will never have as much as some other schools but we are literally paying players right now that are tremendously underperforming.

Such a disappointment in a once in a lifetime opportunity, Rutgers is going to Rutgers. I know its a overused cliche. Ace Bailey 16-29 fg for 39 points in one of the all time great Rutgers performances yet totally hollow given the lack of production on both ends of the court from the siupporting cast. This went beyond Dylan being out so save those excuses. Dylan Harper coming back for the next game will not change what we saw tonight and all year long. Beating Wisconsin on Monday will not change it. In fact the excuse excuse is getting real old at this point. Save it. This team just does not have it. No analyzing of plays, in game coaching or prep or injuries or foul shooting can change that. The season was lost in the spring and summer and in the spring and summer before that. I have been a big fan of Pike though never shy to criticize him but now he is likely headed to a third year without a NCAA bid and likely to take a substantial perception hit to his credibility for failing to get it done this season with 2 incredible talents. He is not going anywhere after this year or the next. He will have do a yeomens job as recruiter, coach, and program seller to restore alot of the faith that he has lost. I do not think Rutgers fans have been unreasonable in their expectations this season. Rutgers looks like a broken down jalopy on defense most of the time and has only 2 players on offense. There is no getting around that. There is no getting around the disappointment of this season. Its not fun to watch anymore. I know I am ribbed for my endlessly long recaps but I have been posting my thoughts for weeks in the various threads and game threads and I just do not think there is anything left to say.

Disappointment you shouldn't have done
You couldn't have done, you wouldn't have done
The things you did then and we could've been happy
What a piteous thing, a hideous thing
Was tainted by the rest

But it won't get any harder
And I hope you'll find your way again
But it won't get any higher
But it all boils down to what you did there

Dissapointment....Dissapointment...Dissapointment

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Nice recap. Utterly depressing stuff 😞

 

[fluoxetine]

the time for that passed in the first couple of games or moreso in practices. That is how Pike decided to run it and there is no fix for it now

Sitting someone for defensive mistakes only makes sense if at least one of the following is true:
(1) there is someone better to play
(2) the player is not making the proper effort

If Ace is trying his best and is the best available player then there is no reason to sit him no matter how many mistakes he makes.

 

[seansherm]

Pike is well on his way to finishing under .500 with 2 of the top 3 players in the country.

This is a career-sinking season for him barring a miracle.

This season was always going to be a big risk for him