Hosting a big man Wednesday

[higgins3]

Let's break this down a little.

Quinnipiac is a D1 school, but plays in a low conference. NOTHING like what he will see in B1G. They finished 10-21 and played the most minutes on the team. he was 36-130 or 27.7% from 3. he was 16-70 from 3 over his last 16 games 22.9%.

On a positive note he had good assist and defensive rebound numbers.

Maybe I am totally wrong here, but it doesn't add up. I'd love to be wrong.

Everyone already said what needs to be said. On a rebuilding program, you want a serious competitor, a good kid, a great free throw shooter,and someone who plays with swag. Those kids help.Also, a serious strength coach and he will get better. The 3 pt shot is not the end all be all. Ask Michael Jordan.

 

[higgins3]

I don't know what Kiss puts up here- I think somewhere around 10,2 and 3 the first year he plays and better. I do know that he has intangibles which rebuilding programs need.

 

[TruJerz]

Let's break this down a little.

Quinnipiac is a D1 school, but plays in a low conference. NOTHING like what he will see in B1G. They finished 10-21 and played the most minutes on the team. he was 36-130 or 27.7% from 3. he was 16-70 from 3 over his last 16 games 22.9%.

On a positive note he had good assist and defensive rebound numbers.

Maybe I am totally wrong here, but it doesn't add up. I'd love to be wrong.

I don't totally disagree but there dozens of kids in low D1 programs who can help teams in major conferences. We just have to hope Kiss is one of them. You're not looking at him to be a star player in the Big 10 but you're hoping he can give you what Mike Williams does or what Bishop Daniels did a few years ago..quality minutes at the 2

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Like the KISS signing, this big is a head scratching move IMO, and from CA, sure there's potential with the size, but athleticism looks minimal, and Diallo who at least has experience looks to be more of a big ten player, with more athleticism. again, my opinion.

Long Beach Poly is a premier HS in SoCal.....is he an immediate starter?? Probably not or should not be....I'd like to think he's seeing minutes by the time he's really rounded into shape and after a season in what we actually have now for strength and conditioning....fans have to be able to forecast forward.

Is he more fluid and moves better than Diallo (not ever was healthy at RU) or Doorson (not sure if he's going to ever be healthy with his feet)?? Right now 100% better than both....better shooting touch, better footwork and better court awareness, which all equates to a more fluid player on both ends of the court.

 

[DirtyRU]

Watched highlights of their game against the Ball kids. Who is his PF teammate, #1? Missed a lot of layups but did a lot of good things too... and I like his frame.

 

[bowlgoal]

He looks a little slow but once he trains like Doorsan did; I can imagine that will make a big difference. He has touch around the rim and some baseline moves like CJ. Probably can't jump as high as Diallo but Diallo was a big liability on offense and couldn't hit a free throw for his life.

We need another big man for 2017 so I can see why Pikiell would take a chance with him.

 

[RUChoppin]

As far as known commodity...I like the sounds of 0-0 compared to 36-130.

In looking at Kiss' numbers, it seems his 3P shooting was better against better competition... which is odd. Possibly playing down to his competition? All small sample size, but the trend is strange.

Against the kenpom 1-100, he shot 11-31 (.355)
Against the kenpom 101-200, he shot 7-24 (.292)
Against the kenpom 201-300, he shot 15-59 (.254)
Against the kenpom 301+, he shot 3-16 (.188)

He's clearly not a "dead eye" shooter, and isn't going to suddenly become one. If he could improve to the .330-.350 range, though, while keeping his midrange game, that would definitely help us.

As it is, he has shown he can score points and rebound against D1 competition, and he has height at the guard position. It's an incremental step forward.

 

[bowlgoal]

I absolutely love the Kiss signing. That kid is a player who can drive, handle the rock and pop the 3. I have very high hopes for him as a major contributor.

He's a piece to the puzzle and only one piece but he seems like a kid who will fight hard on defense and do the little things to contribute. I also think he's a decent guy from the free throw line and that's very important for me. How many games did we lose last year that you could possibly say it was because of missed free throws? My guess is at least 4 and maybe more?

 

[knights1212]

#1 is Zafir Williams. He averaged 28 ppg and is going to Loyola Marymount in California for 2017-18. I read he averaged 16 rebounds a game. Personally I think Peter Kiss will improve a lot working with our coaches and our strength and conditioning coach. We should realize it will be 20 months between Peter's last game as a mid major until he suits up for RU. I believe he will be much stronger and a lot better shooter at that time. I also think that Myles Johnson is better than Doorson and Diallo at this time. I could be wrong but he goes after the ball and seems to rebound better than both of them. Watching his game vs Chico, California he had 7 blocks and I think Chico was #1 or #2 in the country. I think we must improve our record this coming season which we can if we can go 11-2 again in our OOC. Hopefully we can win at least 5 games in the BIG which will not be easy but hopefully our returning players will be better in November than they were in March. We also need our new members to make contributions in some way. I think this is possible. If by some chance we can land Vance Jackson I think that will help us for 2018. If not hopefully we can add a grad athlete to help us immediately.

 

[RUJMM78]

I'd like to think/hope these type of players are available locally and to build relationships within 180 miles of Rutgers. Every name that keeps popping up as potential targets has me scratching my head. Maybe I am just getting impatient. Transfers, grad transfers, and under radar types in California has me uneasy.

We are finally paying for a full coaching staff. I know this is only the 2nd or 3rd inning, but i don't have the sense we are ahead. We were dealt a real bad hand so i probably need to be looking more big picture. Doubts are really creeping in.

Any season ticket holder for over 10 years has seen all the ups and downs of recruiting with different coaching staffs .Big picture wise Rutgers recruits were not good enough to successfully compete in the Big East,AAC and now the B1G.I'm hoping that Pikiell understands the sense of urgency to break the tide of losing by bringing in higher caliber players.The coaching staff is working hard but the results are still pending over closing the deal on top tier recruits.I'm not in favor of bringing in project type recruits because history has shown Rutgers hasn't been successful with that approach.

 

[PaKnight]

Any season ticket holder for over 10 years has seen all the ups and downs of recruiting with different coaching staffs .Big picture wise Rutgers recruits were not good enough to successfully compete in the Big East,AAC and now the B1G.I'm hoping that Pikiell understands the sense of urgency to break the tide of losing by bringing in higher caliber players.The coaching staff is working hard but the results are still pending over closing the deal on top tier recruits.I'm not in favor of bringing in project type recruits because history has shown Rutgers hasn't been successful with that approach.

Maybe you should send him an email.

 

[bowlgoal]

I'd like to think/hope these type of players are available locally and to build relationships within 180 miles of Rutgers. Every name that keeps popping up as potential targets has me scratching my head. Maybe I am just getting impatient. Transfers, grad transfers, and under radar types in California has me uneasy.

We are finally paying for a full coaching staff. I know this is only the 2nd or 3rd inning, but i don't have the sense we are ahead. We were dealt a real bad hand so i probably need to be looking more big picture. Doubts are really creeping in.

Any season ticket holder for over 10 years has seen all the ups and downs of recruiting with different coaching staffs .Big picture wise Rutgers recruits were not good enough to successfully compete in the Big East,AAC and now the B1G.I'm hoping that Pikiell understands the sense of urgency to break the tide of losing by bringing in higher caliber players.The coaching staff is working hard but the results are still pending over closing the deal on top tier recruits.I'm not in favor of bringing in project type recruits because history has shown Rutgers hasn't been successful with that approach.

Veruca, sweetheart...,,angel. There are only 5 golden tickets and the whole bloody world is searching for them.

I'm not sure we've ever had a basketball staff working half as hard as this group. We are bringing in the top tier recruits like never before and we will catch some fish. But a guy like Myles is probably a very smart option right now. We have Doorsan for 2017 plus a walk on plus Sa. We don't know if Doorsan will be 100%? Sa might surprise us as he's working his ass off but we need more depth.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Any season ticket holder for over 10 years has seen all the ups and downs of recruiting with different coaching staffs .Big picture wise Rutgers recruits were not good enough to successfully compete in the Big East,AAC and now the B1G.I'm hoping that Pikiell understands the sense of urgency to break the tide of losing by bringing in higher caliber players.The coaching staff is working hard but the results are still pending over closing the deal on top tier recruits.I'm not in favor of bringing in project type recruits because history has shown Rutgers hasn't been successful with that approach.

I keep seeing the same message over and over.....

For the record, please define "top tier".....

Is that Top 50 Nationally.....??

Is that Top 100 Nationally??

What is the rest of the conference or our in league competition usually recruiting for all of their scholarship athletes.....>>???

Sometimes when you ask a question and research the answers, you'd be quite surprised....if the answer is the same "canned response" of yadda yadda yadda, then apparently many fans can't pick a kid out of a lineup or have no clue what they are watching.

If the goal is to win a National Championship or Final Four, then that eliminates 90% of the recruiting targets we are talking about for 90% of the schools....

Once that goal or reality hits, then it comes down to fitting a role and player development....and then the answer can't be "well, it never happened before, so it won't happen now"....

I'm not unrealistic about where the bulk of the B1G is and more than half of the league has no chance at ever winning more than a game or two in an occasional NCAA tournament....

RU has to first win games and develop players before landing "top tier" recruits....if you can name a program that consistently names "top tier recruits", year in and year out, the names are very limited to less than 10 schools out of over 350+ that play NCAA basketball.

It comes down to fans want to feel good about themselves and the only way they can do that is to see a name mentioned as a recruiting target, see 50 schools listed with that recruiting target and have that player choose their school....and if that player isn't a target of every major school in the country, the player is no good and will never amount to anything.

Fortunately, there are schools that do their own research and if fans read articles about how well this particular player did just two weeks ago in Indiana at a high profile AAU event, they would realize what a steal the player is likely to be.

That doesn't mean he's a one and done, but he's certainly better than what RU typically landed. I think fans would rather win the press conference vs winning games....we won press conferences in Rosario, Echenique, others in the past, but there wasn't any depth on the rosters beyond those players....your team is truly measured by what it has from Player #1 through #13....too many times in the past, teams all have good players as starters, but lack depth. You have to have better players on your roster from top to bottom to improve.

Every player recruited cannot be an immediate starter in order to matter....But if we define "top tier", it would answer the question....top tier means, how long you have heard about the player, whose recruiting the player etc....??

Would love to hear the answer with specifics....

 

[AshCatchEm]

Like the KISS signing, this big is a head scratching move IMO, and from CA, sure there's potential with the size, but athleticism looks minimal, and Diallo who at least has experience looks to be more of a big ten player, with more athleticism. again, my opinion.

It still drives me crazy how many shu fans think we got a good player in kiss and they just made the tourney, yet our team has been the equivalent of dogshit for a decade and our fans can't understand why we'd take a player like Kiss..what the hell.

 

[RUMBA-JK]

Based on the factors Myles Johnson appears to nicely fit what Pikiell would be looking for when he combs through the "needs work" bin - big (and could hang a bit more meat on those bones) and smart, - and not just smart - wants to be an engineer (ideally that means organized & analytical) - and says “I’m a math and science person,” - and he takes AP classes -
So he is not just going after a college degree so that he has a BA to fulfill some future credential requirement - he is giving serious consideration to a disciplined rigorous course of study for a future profession.

also note - Depending upon how well he has done on the AP exams - he could enter college with 12-15 credits under his belt - and if he is able to handle the academic load along with basketball - he could easily graduate in 3 years -

 

[soundcrib]

If Myles Johnson > Omoruyi, I'll take it.

 

[FELONIOUSMONK]

We are an academic school?

 

[AshCatchEm]

If Myles Johnson > Omoruyi, I'll take it.

They don't even play the same position

 

[Eagleton96]

Don't blame the fans that see this in a negative light. We have had hopes and then lost and lost so many times. From a distance, all of these mid-range players and projects kinda look the same. Given our history, it's natural to assume that, unless proven otherwise, it will work out badly again.

Good coaches with time and stability turn projects into decent players, and decent players into good teams, and good teams into great recruits, etc. But we haven't had one of those good stable coaches in a looong time. And at the early stages, it's harder to tell the difference between a good coach and the next bust. This time around feels different to me though.

 

[moremoemoe]

That's a great pull for Pinkell.

 

[willisneverrana43]

Johnson has very long arms. With size and increased cardio, he looks to be a great pickup.

You get four years, and a lot of time to improve.

Awesome stuff.

Great? Awesome?

 

[AshCatchEm]

Great? Awesome?

Better than diallo. And that's what matters, right?

 

[soundcrib]

They don't even play the same position

Eh, I don't know about that. For some reason, Eugene is always parked on the block like Charles Barkley. Drives me nuts.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

In looking at Kiss' numbers, it seems his 3P shooting was better against better competition... which is odd. Possibly playing down to his competition? All small sample size, but the trend is strange.

Against the kenpom 1-100, he shot 11-31 (.355)
Against the kenpom 101-200, he shot 7-24 (.292)
Against the kenpom 201-300, he shot 15-59 (.254)
Against the kenpom 301+, he shot 3-16 (.188)

He's clearly not a "dead eye" shooter, and isn't going to suddenly become one. If he could improve to the .330-.350 range, though, while keeping his midrange game, that would definitely help us.

As it is, he has shown he can score points and rebound against D1 competition, and he has height at the guard position. It's an incremental step forward.

Actually I think the variable more important is early in the season vs. late in the season and not as much opponent. Those kenpom top 100 games were OOC.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I keep seeing the same message over and over.....


That doesn't mean he's a one and done, but he's certainly better than what RU typically landed. I think fans would rather win the press conference vs winning games....we won press conferences in Rosario, Echenique, others in the past, but there wasn't any depth on the rosters beyond those players....your team is truly measured by what it has from Player #1 through #13....too many times in the past, teams all have good players as starters, but lack depth. You have to have better players on your roster from top to bottom to improve.
.

I disagree the issue was depth. Rosario wasn't that good and not sure was a net positive to the team when looking at the entire picture. Echenique left.

Willingness to defend, make the extra pass, and be a good teammate 1 thru 8 (assuming health) is what I need.

 

[KevH]

Again..the three is not all that matters. Some guys on here loooove to point to the three and don't even acknowledge the other ways this kid is able to make points. Very good players don't have to be able to hit the three. And kiss played legit competition like shu and played well in those games. SHU was a tourney team and stacks up against many big ten teams. He'll there were quite a few SHU fans who were upset that we landed Kiss...so he's good enough for a tourney team but not for us???

He will be better after a redshirt year. We complain about his 3 point % but nobody ever brings up the fact that this kid didn't even play 4 years of h.s. ball. Growth should be expected in ALL areas because of that. Those who are down on kiss are out of their ****ing minds.

Agreed. It's sooooo soon to be anxious about how t his staff is handling their business. In their short time here, they have us trending in the right direction. The consensus is that this is a well-qualified, talented and hard-working staff. Until proven otherwise, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. They're the ones on the ground, doing the grunt work. I trust them to respond to situations as they see fit, given their pedigree.

 

[RUJMM78]

I keep seeing the same message over and over.....

For the record, please define "top tier".....

Is that Top 50 Nationally.....??

Is that Top 100 Nationally??

What is the rest of the conference or our in league competition usually recruiting for all of their scholarship athletes.....>>???

Sometimes when you ask a question and research the answers, you'd be quite surprised....if the answer is the same "canned response" of yadda yadda yadda, then apparently many fans can't pick a kid out of a lineup or have no clue what they are watching.

If the goal is to win a National Championship or Final Four, then that eliminates 90% of the recruiting targets we are talking about for 90% of the schools....

Once that goal or reality hits, then it comes down to fitting a role and player development....and then the answer can't be "well, it never happened before, so it won't happen now"....

I'm not unrealistic about where the bulk of the B1G is and more than half of the league has no chance at ever winning more than a game or two in an occasional NCAA tournament....

RU has to first win games and develop players before landing "top tier" recruits....if you can name a program that consistently names "top tier recruits", year in and year out, the names are very limited to less than 10 schools out of over 350+ that play NCAA basketball.

It comes down to fans want to feel good about themselves and the only way they can do that is to see a name mentioned as a recruiting target, see 50 schools listed with that recruiting target and have that player choose their school....and if that player isn't a target of every major school in the country, the player is no good and will never amount to anything.

Fortunately, there are schools that do their own research and if fans read articles about how well this particular player did just two weeks ago in Indiana at a high profile AAU event, they would realize what a steal the player is likely to be.

That doesn't mean he's a one and done, but he's certainly better than what RU typically landed. I think fans would rather win the press conference vs winning games....we won press conferences in Rosario, Echenique, others in the past, but there wasn't any depth on the rosters beyond those players....your team is truly measured by what it has from Player #1 through #13....too many times in the past, teams all have good players as starters, but lack depth. You have to have better players on your roster from top to bottom to improve.

Every player recruited cannot be an immediate starter in order to matter....But if we define "top tier", it would answer the question....top tier means, how long you have heard about the player, whose recruiting the player etc....??

Would love to hear the answer with specifics....

As a long suffering season ticket holder I am interested in winning not debating semantics .What I know is that 11 straight losing seasons tells me that players recruited in the past were not good enough to successfully compete and yet there were fans that said Rutgers had talent.

Nobody really knows how a recruit will perform.The odds ,however,are that recruits going to elite schools will be far more successful because the track record of the school proves that to be true.At Rutgers level there is greater dependence on player development than bringing in players that can immediatedly perform at a high level.The problem with that strategy is a power conference doesn't allow for time to build a program.Coaches are fired every 4-5 years because of peer pressure to be successful.

There are schools through out the country that have been able to recruit players that can shoot /score that are not considered elite basketball schools.You don't have to go any further than Seton Hall as a example.Rutgers problem is perception based on the past.Recruits have not seen Rutgers play in 1 NCAA game and to think that isn't a problem is just wishful thinking.Negative recruiting is part of the process and its hard to overcome .

The best thing Rutgers has going forward is the coaching staff .Pikiell's time at UConn along with the experience of the assistant coaches gives Rutgers a fighting chance to be successful.

 

[zebnatto]

From the video it looks like freshman year will be spent on the bench. What happens after that depends on him and the coaches.

 

[4theknights]

If he does commit, it will be interesting how he develops compared to Diallo. I thought Diallo was going to be factor for us after Seton Hall game but it never really panned out. He did spend (3) years with team with RS freshman year. I think we will need this kid to develop rather quickly and expecting a BIG freshman to contribute right away doesn't usually happen. With one schollie left (if kid commits) I would like to see a scoring wing, however, we wouldn't have a CJ replacement.

 

[RUsojo]

Eh, I don't know about that. For some reason, Eugene is always parked on the block like Charles Barkley. Drives me nuts.

Late in the season that was by design by coach. He started to play Laurent and Omoruyi together at the 3 and 4. The team actually played well in the shirt stretches that combination was on the floor.

 

[higgins3]

From the video it looks like freshman year will be spent on the bench. What happens after that depends on him and the coaches.

Development. 4 year player. I had a dream about it last night how when you actually have a great coaching staff, it does happen. Players get better.

I understand you don't think he is someone that can have an impact off the bench. But in year two and three- I think he could. Right now, he needs to get better structurally.

 

[jrh51]

When we're all evaluating the team and any new additions, it needs to be remembered that we cannot be looking through a static lens of our current players. Our bigs - Shaq, Deshawn, and especially Candido have a full offseason working with Jay Young ahead of them where they should develop and become 125% of the players that they were last year. I am expecting especially large jumps fro Candido and Eugene as they have huge upside which I am hoping the staff taps into. Regardless, with steps forward from those guys - Myles Johnson shouldn't have to play more than 5-10 minutes a game. Giving breathers or absorbing foul trouble minutes. If he does commit, I hope he's able to get on campus ASAP - as we need to get him into the rest of the teams workout regiment as soon as possible. Our strength and conditioning program was phenomenal last year, and I can only imagine what it will be able to do with a full offseason.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Again...read my synoposis above

The kid missed a YEAR. This kid has some real upside....and we need LOTS of big in the B1G. Him with Docoure would be 2 of 5 at the 4 and 5 spot we need long term....

 

[TDIrish27]

It's a bad sign if that kid gets 10 minutes a game next year IMO.

 

[eja92]

Any season ticket holder for over 10 years has seen all the ups and downs of recruiting with different coaching staffs .Big picture wise Rutgers recruits were not good enough to successfully compete in the Big East,AAC and now the B1G.I'm hoping that Pikiell understands the sense of urgency to break the tide of losing by bringing in higher caliber players.The coaching staff is working hard but the results are still pending over closing the deal on top tier recruits.I'm not in favor of bringing in project type recruits because history has shown Rutgers hasn't been successful with that approach.

I don't agree. The problem with RU was that they didn't develop the players they brought in and did not keep them in the program for 4/5 years. There has been enough talent to compete in all our leagues. The development stuff won't be a problem anymore.

 

[willisneverrana43]

Those throwing in wholly with "development" are going to be quite surprised if there isn't a significant uptick in recruiting. Either that, or they'll just decide that Pikiell and his staff couldn't "develop" players after all.

 

[AshCatchEm]

As a long suffering season ticket holder I am interested in winning not debating semantics .What I know is that 11 straight losing seasons tells me that players recruited in the past were not good enough to successfully compete and yet there were fans that said Rutgers had talent.

Nobody really knows how a recruit will perform.The odds ,however,are that recruits going to elite schools will be far more successful because the track record of the school proves that to be true.At Rutgers level there is greater dependence on player development than bringing in players that can immediatedly perform at a high level.The problem with that strategy is a power conference doesn't allow for time to build a program.Coaches are fired every 4-5 years because of peer pressure to be successful.

There are schools through out the country that have been able to recruit players that can shoot /score that are not considered elite basketball schools.You don't have to go any further than Seton Hall as a example.Rutgers problem is perception based on the past.Recruits have not seen Rutgers play in 1 NCAA game and to think that isn't a problem is just wishful thinking.Negative recruiting is part of the process and its hard to overcome .

The best thing Rutgers has going forward is the coaching staff .Pikiell's time at UConn along with the experience of the assistant coaches gives Rutgers a fighting chance to be successful.

There are other factors than just "the talent was not good enough". What about guys like biruta, Rosario, Carter leaving? All of the others who left? Transfers after coaching changes killed us. Some of the talent just didn't have 4 years here to show what they could do.

 

[AshCatchEm]

Those throwing in wholly with "development" are going to be quite surprised if there isn't a significant uptick in recruiting. Either that, or they'll just decide that Pikiell and his staff couldn't "develop" players after all.

We don't need to recruit that much better than we have to be an over 500 team. We were almost just that this year with huge depth issues and we still almost upset much better teams. Once we have four years of a staff bringing in players consistently and developing them how they see fit, we will be able to clear that hump just fine. After that, yes then we will need to recruit better. But for our modest goals right now, we can survive with just a minor uptick in talent. Shooting talent will go a long way.

 

[eja92]

Those throwing in wholly with "development" are going to be quite surprised if there isn't a significant uptick in recruiting. Either that, or they'll just decide that Pikiell and his staff couldn't "develop" players after all.

Not true. Look back at the players that have passed through RU in recent years - we could/should have won a lot more. Guys like DJ Foreman, Junior Etou, Biruta, Randall, Rosario, Carter. We took the pain for their learning curves, but never got the benefit of having them at juniors/seniors. This staff will develop - period. That is not a question. But, they have to also recruit kids that will be solid academically and then keep them in the program. I remember when Mike Williams was being recruited and all people on the board could focus on was what he couldn't do and now he is an excellent Big 10 player providing senior leadership. It is great to flirt with the 4 and 5-star kids, but perhaps even more important to have a steady flow of guys like Mike Williams coming through your program, staying four/five years and graduating. Next year, if all goes well, we will have Corey as a junior, Mike as a senior and Mensah as a junior, with Geo entering as a freshman. That is a really good amount of experience and I think the play will improve dramatically.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

As a long suffering season ticket holder I am interested in winning not debating semantics .What I know is that 11 straight losing seasons tells me that players recruited in the past were not good enough to successfully compete and yet there were fans that said Rutgers had talent.

Nobody really knows how a recruit will perform.The odds ,however,are that recruits going to elite schools will be far more successful because the track record of the school proves that to be true.At Rutgers level there is greater dependence on player development than bringing in players that can immediatedly perform at a high level.The problem with that strategy is a power conference doesn't allow for time to build a program.Coaches are fired every 4-5 years because of peer pressure to be successful.

There are schools through out the country that have been able to recruit players that can shoot /score that are not considered elite basketball schools.You don't have to go any further than Seton Hall as a example.Rutgers problem is perception based on the past.Recruits have not seen Rutgers play in 1 NCAA game and to think that isn't a problem is just wishful thinking.Negative recruiting is part of the process and its hard to overcome .

The best thing Rutgers has going forward is the coaching staff .Pikiell's time at UConn along with the experience of the assistant coaches gives Rutgers a fighting chance to be successful.

OK, so we finally have the answer in that Seton Hall is the litmus test of what should happen in your mindset....is that because they made the NCAA's the last two years and will next year, based on one recruiting class (engineered by hiring a HS coach of the key player) and that there is no evidence that it's a sustainable item of successful recruiting.... or are we actually aware of the facts.

I get people are whiny or frustrated and want things yesterday...but if every answer is going to be "I'll only be happy when they make the NCAA's", the next complaint will be "it's a one year wonder", you cannot sustain anything etc.

I keep seeing that it's easier to "rebuild" a basketball program than football.....what's easier to do is find a recruiting class that gets a program over a one year or two year hurdle to make an NCAA tourney.....but it's rare that a program truly is built beyond that....

What has to happen is a foundation building first, so the "baseline" is that we have winning seasons first, so you are at least in the stage to do that....it would be folly to think "when is RU going to dance", when RU first has to do what Northwestern is building (actually a real example of a program being built, much moreso than Seton Hall).

If you follow what Northwestern has done, it's the blueprint to follow, but it didn't start with last year.....Doug Collins is now going into Year 5 (made 20-12 NIT in Year 3 and NCAA's in Year 4) this past year....not Seton Hall....nothing against Seton Hall or what they have done, but Northwestern is coming from further back than Seton Hall and is in a tougher league top to bottom vs the Big East.....that means more to me than it might to some other fans.

If RU isn't with a winning record after Year 4, then you would have a right to be upset....if they get to that stage sooner, consider yourself lucky, considering the talent/coaching and finances we are up against in this conference. There are no free lunches in the B1G (Georgetown and St. John's floundering and DePaul isn't competitive most nights in the Big East is a huge difference vs the bottom 1/3rd of the B1G, which is just better). In the B1G, it's a tougher climb, but RU will get there or step by step.

I hope we land this recruit, I asked around beyond the typical RU circle of fans that know basketball....he would be a steal if he can arrive this summer and can get into our S&C program. by the time next summer or year rolls around is when we need the production to matter most. I don't see this as a short term fix, for this year. It's a safe, smart building piece for down the road, something RU lacked in years past.