I’ll say this again …we are where we are because three classes of this

[fluoxetine]

I mean the offense isn’t even good but it’s at least mediocre and the D is even worse.

All hail the immortal Simpson, backup on an A-10 team, who would obviously solve all those problems.

 

[G- RUnit]

His D, speed, handle, motor and foul shooting were all B1G elite.

He’s not starting at St. Joes because admittedly not a great shooter.

What’s missing from this team? D

Are the records from last year and this year virtually identical?

Could we have used another elite defensive player as a nice piece? Some pieces may have meshed better no?

Better D this year than last year? Purdue had a field day with threes yesterday on the perimeter?
Hmmmmm.

But Flux is always correct.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Missing the point. He wouldn’t need to shoot here. He would have brought much needed speed and defense which is clearly lacking on this team. Team is also woefully short on experience which he brought and a 100% effort and motor guy. Dare say we missed him defensively, with his man to man D, steals and rebounds. His defensive numbers better than his replacements as well.
Not retaining Cliff and Simpson were two huge mistakes.

Good ball handler and foul shooter too.

He wouldn’t need to shoot but he would shoot. He’d do whatever he wanted to, like he did last year and like the team does this year.

He’d be just another mid-major incomplete player on a team that’s already full of them, with a coach that doesn’t know how to use them.

 

[G- RUnit]

He wouldn’t need to shoot but he would shoot. He’d do whatever he wanted to, like he did last year and like the team does this year.

He’d be just another mid-major incomplete player on a team that’s already full of them, with a coach that doesn’t know how to use them.

I am not at all convinced of that. Other than maybe Hyatt who could shoot last year? Gavin, Mags, who quit on team? JMike? JWill for a month maybe? Cliff scored on put backs. Simpson was the one player who could create his own shot.

No need for him to shoot or score on this team but we could have used and miss his D big time.

May be a mid-major player offensively but was B1G worthy defensively, speed, hustle and foul shooting.

We are woeful defensively. Should have kept him around as a nice piece. IMHO.

If we’re are going to review what went wrong, this year not retaining Cliff was huge.

Lack of D also a big factor. Why?

I would have liked Simpson’s D before Acuff, Derkack and JMike. Might have given JWill more of a better breather too IMHO.

Fire away!

 

[fluoxetine]

But Flux is always correct.

Well at least you've seen the light on this point.

 

[RUsojo]

This notion got so much ridicule last summer.

Spot on

Worst 'takes' on the board you can remember

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[Mr Magoo]

I am not at all convinced of that. Other than maybe Hyatt who could shoot last year? Gavin, Mags, who quit on team? JMike? JWill for a month maybe? Cliff scored on put backs. Simpson was the one player who could create his own shot.

No need for him to shoot or score on this team but we could have used and miss his D big time.

May be a mid-major player offensively but was B1G worthy defensively, speed, hustle and foul shooting.

We are woeful defensively. Should have kept him around as a nice piece. IMHO.

If we’re are going to review what went wrong, this year not retaining Cliff was huge.

Lack of D also a big factor. Why?

I would have liked Simpson’s D before Acuff, Derkack and JMike. Might have given JWill more of a better breather too IMHO.

Fire away!

Yes, Cliff was huge. We also have exactly two players who would start on another B1G team, and regardless of how talented they are, they are one year out high school playing against guys usually 3-4 years older. Lathan would probably start for Iowa now that there big guy is out, but that’s it.

Simpson provides some D at guard, but we already have a supposed D first guard in Davis, and he’s a mid-major player too. The last thing this team needs is another partial player.

Combine all the mid-majors, two freshamn lottery picks with an inept coach and you get a 15th place team in the B1G. IMO, Simpson wouldn’t have made this team one bit better. I’ve never been a fan of a mid-range shooter who can’t shoot. Way too many problems on this team for it to matter,even if he was an upgrade anyway.

 

[G- RUnit]

Yes, Cliff was huge. We also have exactly two players who would start on another B1G team, and regardless of how talented they are, they are one year out high school playing against guys usually 3-4 years older. Lathan would probably start for Iowa now that there big guy is out, but that’s it.

Simpson provides some D at guard, but we already have a supposed D first guard in Davis, and he’s a mid-major player too. The last thing this team needs is another partial player.

Combine all the mid-majors, two freshamn lottery picks with an inept coach and you get a 15th place team in the B1G. IMO, Simpson wouldn’t have made this team one bit better. I’ve never been a fan of a mid-range shooter who can’t shoot. Way too many problems on this team for it to matter,even if he was an upgrade anyway.

Agree to disagree. On a team that has been woefully bad at defending the three, I think Simpson would have helped significantly.

Will never know but after we dissect this season and the defensive performance….

 

[RU848789]

Class of 2021
Jaden jones
Jalen miller

Class of 2022
Derek Simpson
Antoine wolfolk
Antonio chol

Class of 2023
Gavin griffths
JaMichael Davis

Only Davis is on the team ….one out of 7 doesn’t cut it

We need the three and Jmike frosh to return , even if they aren’t perfect pike players ….

Add next years class and hope 6 of those 8 return for the year after and add 3-4 frosh

Build a foundation …retain and develop

That’s what pike is a coach …and the only way we get back to the legit middle of the pack of this league to dance in a couple of years

Agreed, plus it also hurt to lose Cliff and Mag to the portal this year, as both of those guys play better defense (especially Cliff) than every player on our current team. I'm guessing the experiment with one-and-dones is over for Pike, as he needs to return to his defensive roots, bringing in players who are long, athletic and willing to sacrifice for the team to play D. To keep his job he needs to return to being competitive with an occasional NCAA team (he did have 3 in a row, which some seem to have forgotten, and got screwed out of a 4th 2 years ago). As our best coach in the last 40 years, I'm willing to give him another couple of years, even though this year has been an embarrassment for the most part.

 

[scarletrat]

It's time to seriously question whether Pike can adapt. Change or be left behind.

It's not just the last 3 recruiting classes.
It's the portal recruiting outside of Spencer and every 4 games from Williams.
It's the end of games where we go into a shell within 5-6 minutes left on offense and losing crushing games on game-ending 3s (Michigan, at Minnesota, at OSU, at UMass)

Maybe he tried to change but it's clear it isn't working.
He seems completely in front of his skiis.

Why can other coaches easily adapt to the changing landscape and Pikell is slow and holds onto it is 2005 or 2015.

He's paid like a coach who should have figured this out by now. And I am not sure he ever will. His approach can work back at SB, not in the B1G.

 

[Goku]

Class of 2021
Jaden jones
Jalen miller

Class of 2022
Derek Simpson
Antoine wolfolk
Antonio chol

Class of 2023
Gavin griffths
JaMichael Davis

Only Davis is on the team ….one out of 7 doesn’t cut it

We need the three and Jmike frosh to return , even if they aren’t perfect pike players ….

Add next years class and hope 6 of those 8 return for the year after and add 3-4 frosh

Build a foundation …retain and develop

That’s what pike is a coach …and the only way we get back to the legit middle of the pack of this league to dance in a couple of years

You are right. And you are right to repost this if you made the point earlier and people didn’t listen to you

If either Jaden jones or Griffiths was a hit or if ndongo stayed, we would have mad another NCAA tournament

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Somerville and Grant will get all the minutes they can take here at Rutgers.. no guarantee any school with teh NIL funds to seduce them can also give them the minutes. Look at so many of the Rutgers players who left.. who, besides Cam Spencer, was better off? One might argue Cliff is on a ranked tournament team.. but he went from 27 min a game to 19.

 

[KnightTerrors]

Pike had close misses on landing some program changing players:

1. Jose Alvarado
2. The Martin Twins
3. Mac Mclung
4. Baye Ndongo (to a lesser extent)

Any of these could’ve made a huge difference. Timeline may be very different. Also he didn’t retain guys like Eugene, Myles, Cliff, Mag, Paul. For all of the success we’ve had there were some things that just didn’t break right that could’ve been massive.

 

[Hondo77]

Pike isn't getting 3 more years to build a team. He has the next 4-6 weeks or he's likely out in 12 months.

I guess you’re getting your checkbook out to make it happen.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Pike had close misses on landing some program changing players:

1. Jose Alvarado
2. The Martin Twins
3. Mac Mclung
4. Baye Ndongo (to a lesser extent)

Any of these could’ve made a huge difference. Timeline may be very different. Also he didn’t retain guys like Eugene, Myles, Cliff, Mag, Paul. For all of the success we’ve had there were some things that just didn’t break right that could’ve been massive.

The most massive one was we were right on the cusp of something huge after the 2020/2021 season …even witb the disappointment of the blown Houston 2nd round ncaa game that we had control of

We had a chance to run it back completely intact …and we didn’t find a way to keep Jacob , Montez and Myles …..

And we have been declining since

 

[RUskoolie]

I guess you’re getting your checkbook out to make it happen.

I'm not and I don't think many other people are either, that's a reason why he will be toast.

 

[bigbirdRU]

Class of 2021
Jaden jones
Jalen miller

Class of 2022
Derek Simpson
Antoine wolfolk
Antonio chol

Class of 2023
Gavin griffths
JaMichael Davis

Only Davis is on the team ….one out of 7 doesn’t cut it

We need the three and Jmike frosh to return , even if they aren’t perfect pike players ….

Add next years class and hope 6 of those 8 return for the year after and add 3-4 frosh

Build a foundation …retain and develop

That’s what pike is a coach …and the only way we get back to the legit middle of the pack of this league to dance in a couple of years

100%

Most of these transferred down. Jones complete headscratcher. Griffiths too

 

[bitnez]

I'm not and I don't think many other people are either, that's a reason why he will be toast.

New President and AD will be on board before summer. Schiano is going nowhere and no one takes a P4 job to hire the next non-revenue producing HC. And, unless I’m wrong, Pike’s payout likely doesn’t get paid out in one lump sum. He’ll be paid over the remaining years of the contract so the new AD only needs to move some money around or pull from another source to cover the extra $3-4 mil every year to buy him out.

 

[jakeknight]

Player retention is a must, looking at the top of the league, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin all upperclass rosters with a handful of freshman an occasional transfer added, ok Michigan rebuilt a returning roster of 2,, with a boatload of money but it took them most of the year to get it going full speed.
Unfortunately RU is going to struggle again to retain and we are still going to need 3 transfers minimum and at least one or two freshman are going to need to play major minutes.
Not a great formula to look forward to.

 

[gigantor1024]

Just get used to the fact RU will never be competitive in an NIL world. Will be a doormat for the B1G until they kick us out.

 

[G- RUnit]

Should have kept Simpson.
Another nice game today.

 

[RUChoppin]

Should have kept Simpson.
Another nice game today.

Perfect opponent for him today. UAB is kenpom 101/bart 98. Season didn't really go as well as I'm sure he had wanted. Hopefully he stays at St Joe's next year and earns back his starting role.

 

[higgins3]

Damn. Some things are that simple. Every kid that is on this chart went to lower levels, too. You could say Chol now is rising, but he went from Rutgers to JUCO.

I hope it works for Pikiell here. I appreciate him for bringing Rutgers to relevancy again and there are concerns.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Pike had close misses on landing some program changing players:

1. Jose Alvarado
2. The Martin Twins
3. Mac Mclung
4. Baye Ndongo (to a lesser extent)

Any of these could’ve made a huge difference. Timeline may be very different. Also he didn’t retain guys like Eugene, Myles, Cliff, Mag, Paul. For all of the success we’ve had there were some things that just didn’t break right that could’ve been massive.

It is possible our successful run is because he didn't come here.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Silly me but isn’t our lack of D, the biggest issue?
Virtual identical records as last year.
Which team had more talent?
So What’s missing?

I’ll answer for Flux, who appears in denial.

D!

So oh good this argument again?

Or how about Truth hurts.

Do I need to say it again! I know most of the roster turned over, but.....

 

[bac2therac]

It is possible our successful run is because he didn't come here.

or maybe we would have been more successful

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If you pick a normal guard or 2 from the portal, things are much better than worrying about Grant or Dortch.....neither is a "go-to" player on offense.

The weakness of the roster in recruiting, lands in the backcourt. I like Lino Mark and Kaden Powers, but any normal functional guard, supplements those 2 players.

This is not to pile on Derkack or JWill, hut they are incomplete guards, who are not true 2 way guards who can dribble, pass, shoot, score from 3 or are not "catch and shoot" guards. I could add JMike to that list, but he is improving from last year to this year. This guard recruiting of not having a catch and shoot guard and a guard who can play solid defense, includes Jalen Miller, Derek Simpson, Gavin Griffiths, Jaden Jones and lesser extent, portal additions, Austin Williams, Noah Fernandes. Once you add the same limitations of Martini, Acuff health and the list of pieces that are not HS kids, is lengthy.

If there's 3 to 4M of revenue sharing and another 1 to 2M or so via NIL, in theory, that should land RU with a couple of guards and a solid 2026 recruiting class. I don't think RU is that far away, there are a bunch of teams in the B1G, bunched up in the 7 to 9 conference win range. The league is very competitive and I don't think it requires 5* players to win. The guards or players at Northwestern, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and other places are just better to what we have, once we get past a Geo Baker, Corey Sanders level or Dylan Harper level of guard. The dropoff from a portal transfers of Jacob Young names above who played more than 1 year at RU, is clear.

I think the situation would be more desperate if we were not in the B1G.....the level of competition in our league is more demanding, but it can be done this offseason, especially with Nike finalized. If we were without revenue sharing and still locked in with Adidas, we would land where Washington, Nebraska, and other Adidas programs are now, locked into the bottom half of the conference on a consistent basis for short and long term.

I still want to see this $20,000,000 from revenue sharing.........my property taxes are going up because local schools are getting less money. The biggest single issue for governor is controlling taxes. I don't see Rutgers being allowed to see $20,000,000 going from taxpayers to professional athletes.

We are also a blue state. Politics shouldn't be ignored.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

or maybe we would have been more successful

wasn't the story on a visit he clashed with everyone and the parting was mutual.

Who knows the story.

He is not the type of player that helps you win college basketball games.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

If we are to believe CHATGPT....

2022 Rutgers Athletics lost 73 million
Rutgers is estimated to have received 480 million in FEDERAL grants

I can't see this sitting well with DOGE

 

[Yeah Baby]

Now why would they do that ?

Because when you are a loser you have nothing better to do than pick on young kids.

 

[Yeah Baby]

Should have kept Simpson.
Could have easily retained him.
Fan base turned on him

Not the whole fanbase but many on this board also turned on Paul, Cliff, Caleb at times, Mag at the end. It's what they do. They suck balls.

I also have seen some turn on Geo and RHJ. Also Hyatt but those 3 stuck it out.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Not the whole fanbase but many on this board also turned on Paul, Cliff, Caleb at times, Mag at the end. It's what they do. They suck balls.

I also have seen some turn on Geo and RHJ. Also Hyatt but those 3 stuck it out.

Caleb stuck it out. He played 5 years.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

Not the whole fanbase but many on this board also turned on Paul, Cliff, Caleb at times, Mag at the end. It's what they do. They suck balls.

I also have seen some turn on Geo and RHJ. Also Hyatt but those 3 stuck it out.

We turned on Mag because he was a quitter.
We turned on Paul because he said left late and misled.

 

[RUChoppin]

We turned on Mag because he was a quitter.
We turned on Paul because he said left late and misled.

To be fair, there were many on this board who didn't need to turn on Mag or Paul.... they'd always been sour on them.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

To be fair, there were many on this board who didn't need to turn on Mag or Paul.... they'd always been sour on them.

I’m sure game tk game I had a few comments on both, but generally I liked them and thought they were contributors.

 

[RUChoppin]

I’m sure game tk game I had a few comments on both, but generally I liked them and thought they were contributors.

I liked both of them while they were in scarlet, but we certainly had a few personalities on this board with an axe to grind against one, the other, or both.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

I liked both of them while they were in scarlet, but we certainly had a few personalities on this board with an axe to grind against one, the other, or both.

It was Montez that drove me up the wall with mindless drives to the basket. But I’m glad he was a role model for Dercack 🤣