Agree . That’s what makes losing them so tough . You may never get a group of guys like that again.
Geo message to the fans
- Thread starter kcg88
- Start date
Is he an all-America? No.
Is he big ten POY? No.
Did he help us reach final four? No.
Then why the hell shall we retire his number?
It definitely will be tough because you're seeing less and less of this in college hoops and college sports in general. This was a truly special group and we were lucky to go along for the ride.
Time and a place. It's okay to sit out a thread once in awhile.
The answer to this question is "because the program sucked for 30 years and the bar got lowered." You might not agree but that's the case and it's a worthwhile debate.
I'd retire #5, #0, and #23 but I admit to being more liberal with these things.
If those are the only benchmarks to ever be used, then chances are no one gets their number retired ever again. And that does a disservice to a lot of young men that will have had a massive impact on this program. Its time to change the requirements. If you can't argue in favor of it given what He and Ron did for this program. Well then I don't understand you. Without these dudes we languish at the bottom, maybe forever, who knows.
Maybe he comes back after his playing days are over and is the next Brandin Knight, but the guy who takes over when Pike is ready to retire.
Thank you Geo. Me and my whole family will miss you. Lot's of little kids hooping in the back yard saying "Geo for the win"
I guess you are one of the people that hasn’t watched the basketball team for the last 20 years. Welcome
It's what he meant for the basketball program that makes retiring his number a must.
Geo might not have accomplished what you state is a requirement, but he was all Rutgers
and a big part of making RU MBB a team that is respected in the College Basketball world,
from the clown show it used to be.
All day. The loss doesn’t bother me as much as the end of this era.
You know what though - 16 years later, those guys are still Rutgers royalty and we still talk about them as if today is the morning of November 10th, 2006.
The hate Geo got last season for his NIL advocacy, among other things, will forever be puzzling to me. Geo is arguably a top 5 RU sports figure (on and off court) all time and people were furious he wanted to make a few bucks at a kids camp. Geo and Pike are far from perfect, but I question why some even follow this program if they can't sit back and appreciate what they've done the past 4 seasons.
Geo won't be forgotten. Real trailblazer leading us back to respectability. It can't be emphasized enough that building a program makes you a legend for life. Others will come and go, but this group has a special place in RU hoops history. Class acts.
Good post and I'll take you're advice on this one.
Not because Geo isn't a great kid and representative for Rutgers. He is.
Caleb is the blueprint for next season. Grab a scorer (hopefully 2), Quinn from Lafayette, and play lockdown defense like the early Pike years.
It's cool. It's just something that has been debated before and will probably be debated many times again. I think this is better left as an appreciation thread not just for Geo but for the entire group.
It’s so impressive and a testament to Pike as well that these guys can speak to the media after wins and losses, stay so composed, and stick together through adversity. We’ve got our coach and we’ve been lucky to watch these guys develop as players and people
I posted this message this morning on the Game 32 thread. It definitely belong here than the game 32 thread, with an edit.
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"
My biggest takeaways from last night's game and the bigger picture Geo's 5 year career, Geo Baker had a propensity to close out most close games and sometimes at the expense of his teammates were/are having better games than himself on any given night over his career, won and lost many games, a little higher than 50/50 record. Geo Baker, the Big Shot Taker, believed in himself and deservedly earned that reputation, also cost him quite a few games, and possibly teammates, including ending his career in a Rutgers uniform. In his path for redemption for himself and his team in last year's NCAA game vs Houston, Geo Baker was doomed to repeat it in his final performance as a Scarlet Knight in a very Geo way. He missed the most shots on the team with 12(7-19), to Paul's 8 misses(3-11), Geo tied Paul with 3 TOs. despite Caleb shooting 8-9 for 18 points and Ron in double figures in the first half, they inexplicably went away from the hot hands in the second half for the Geo and Paul show. Caleb took 3 shots in the final 30 minutes, 2nd half and two OTs. hitting 2(10-12) for his team high 23, Ron 9-14 for his 22 pts, but Geo 7-19 for 19 points missed more down the stretch than he made and in the end his decisions cost us this game, the Houston game and many others over his career. It wasnt the first, second or third time we've seen this on and off for 5 years, it is his last.
It doesn't take away all the accomplishments, success, accolades, career numbers on the all-time lists of players, all the games he won us over the span of his 5 year career, but it is time to close this chapter and move onto bigger and better things in 2022-23 and beyond. He picked us when it wasn't the cool thing to do, he picked us when we had no reputation of winning, he picked us with 25 years of NCAA droughts and a couple close calls under Bannon and Waters, he picked us with over a decade of losing records, he picked us when we had very little B1G talent and no state of the art basketball center, he was the first to believe in the vision that Pikiell had for this team and helped molded and change the culture of this team forever. For that he will be an all-time LEGEND in a Rutgers Scarlet Knights uniform.
THANK YOU GEO BAKER, THE BIG SHOT TAKER!!!
Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it"
My biggest takeaways from last night's game and the bigger picture Geo's 5 year career, Geo Baker had a propensity to close out most close games and sometimes at the expense of his teammates were/are having better games than himself on any given night over his career, won and lost many games, a little higher than 50/50 record. Geo Baker, the Big Shot Taker, believed in himself and deservedly earned that reputation, also cost him quite a few games, and possibly teammates, including ending his career in a Rutgers uniform. In his path for redemption for himself and his team in last year's NCAA game vs Houston, Geo Baker was doomed to repeat it in his final performance as a Scarlet Knight in a very Geo way. He missed the most shots on the team with 12(7-19), to Paul's 8 misses(3-11), Geo tied Paul with 3 TOs. despite Caleb shooting 8-9 for 18 points and Ron in double figures in the first half, they inexplicably went away from the hot hands in the second half for the Geo and Paul show. Caleb took 3 shots in the final 30 minutes, 2nd half and two OTs. hitting 2(10-12) for his team high 23, Ron 9-14 for his 22 pts, but Geo 7-19 for 19 points missed more down the stretch than he made and in the end his decisions cost us this game, the Houston game and many others over his career. It wasnt the first, second or third time we've seen this on and off for 5 years, it is his last.
It doesn't take away all the accomplishments, success, accolades, career numbers on the all-time lists of players, all the games he won us over the span of his 5 year career, but it is time to close this chapter and move onto bigger and better things in 2022-23 and beyond. He picked us when it wasn't the cool thing to do, he picked us when we had no reputation of winning, he picked us with 25 years of NCAA droughts and a couple close calls under Bannon and Waters, he picked us with over a decade of losing records, he picked us when we had very little B1G talent and no state of the art basketball center, he was the first to believe in the vision that Pikiell had for this team and helped molded and change the culture of this team forever. For that he will be an all-time LEGEND in a Rutgers Scarlet Knights uniform.
THANK YOU GEO BAKER, THE BIG SHOT TAKER!!!
So a good player comes in and gets he's number retired just for being above average? There are better players at other schools not getting their numbers retired. Let's not cheapen it.
that's also why yesterday was so heartbreaking watching the way they lost. I never expected that they'd win the title, but was hoping to see them at least go a few rounds so they can finish their college experience with a string of games in the dance. getting KO'd in the play-in really sucks for them because its not like they can learn from it and make up for it next year.
The season didn’t go as far as we had all hoped for but Rutgers should retire the jersey numbers for Geo and Ron.
almost want to throw Corey Sanders in there too. Those guys were the foundation of this program's newfound success.
Pro-tip: if you go this over the top, the trolling becomes more obvious
I don’t know if his number should be retired, and it’s not up to me. I wouldn’t be upset if they did. The guy has given me a lot of incredible memories over the last five years, and you don’t get guys who give as much of themselves to a program as him very often. I will miss watching him play at the RAC tremendously.
Most feel he was in fact great a player, who was not appreciated by some" fans " and as he said thanks to real fans who stood by during bad times
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LOL, now I see why you are against Geo getting his number retired.
You don't like the shirts he's selling 😆😝
Agreed - to me the “almost” is because Corey left early. Same reason I think Brian Leonard is above Ray Rice in the legend pecking order, Brian is a Rutgers legend… Ray is a football legend.
Dont forget about Caleb. No one on the roster (except Mulcahy of late) has taken more shit from our fans than Caleb…and he made blue collar defense incredibly exciting to watch. Even passed up the medical RS in 2020 to be out there on the floor.
I have a really good feeling about Simpson.
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