I’ve officially tempered expectations, sadly.

[SBP]

From my seat in 216 it’s obvious that

- Cliff is not improved nor developed a go to shot or post move, other than a dunk , and still has poor hands. So disappointing. Unless he completely turns it around, this will keep us out of the Dance.

- Gavin needs to start. He’s shown versatility and obviously can shoot when opportunity presents itself. Defense will improve the more he learns. Offense must start to run thru him, and not…

- Hyatt. He also has not improved much, while still missing bunnies and turning it over. Time to sit him for Gavin. They play same position.

- JMike is the future, and it’s now. Give him his minutes, take them from..

- Noah. Seen enough of him to know he’s not a B1G guard. Start him, see how it goes, then get JMike in. Things flow better.

- Mag must start over Wolf when he comes back, hopefully. But Wolf has shown improve.

- More minutes for Williams. Love his aggression and driving. Older leadership.

- Simpson improving but so inconsistent especially shooting.

That’s all I got. Please… I know it’s early, but I’m not at all thinking about making the Dance, unless Cliff gets it together, and Gavin starts consistently scoring in double figures.

Expectations lowered.

 

[Plum Street]

From my seat in 216 it’s obvious that

- Cliff is not improved nor developed a go to shot or post move, other than a dunk , and still has poor hands. So disappointing. Unless he completely turns it around, this will keep us out of the Dance.

- Gavin needs to start. He’s shown versatility and obviously can shoot when opportunity presents itself. Defense will improve the more he learns. Offense must start to run thru him, and not…

- Hyatt. He also has not improved much, while still missing bunnies and turning it over. Time to sit him for Gavin. They play same position.

- JMike is the future, and it’s now. Give him his minutes, take them from..

- Noah. Seen enough of him to know he’s not a B1G guard. Start him, see how it goes, then get JMike in. Things flow better.

- Mag must start over Wolf when he comes back, hopefully. But Wolf has shown improve.

- More minutes for Williams. Love his aggression and driving. Older leadership.

- Simpson improving but so inconsistent especially shooting.

That’s all I got. Please… I know it’s early, but I’m not at all thinking about making the Dance, unless Cliff gets it together, and Gavin starts consistently scoring in double figures.

Expectations lowered.

Well … before you tell us you lowered expectations. What were your expectations?

 

[SBP]

Well … before you tell us you lowered expectations. What were your expectations?

A bubble team

 

[FinalFourOrBust]

Yea we stink. Back in June we were supposed to spencer, mulcahy, ndongo and mag back. Having none of those guys basically makes us a terrible team. Time to look ahead to next year.

 

[RAC93]

A bubble team

I don’t see bubble at this point either. I don’t even see NIT.

 

[MCKnight2004]

We lost our 3 Best players in Cam, Paul and Caleb, and replaced them with last minute Portal player in Williams, an undersized guard in Noah, and freshmen. This team just is not skilled enough to compete at the top of the league.

 

[RU MAN]

I don’t see bubble at this point either. I don’t even see NIT.

Unless some improvements occur and Pike realizes his starting 5 ain’t gonna cut it, this team is not only not an NCAA team, but not even an NIT team.

 

[Plum Street]

A bubble team

We still can be.

 

[MCKnight2004]

Illinois is a top half of big ten team. We will be competitive for a middle of pack .500 record finish. Which makes the next two at Wake and at SHU critical to any bubble chance.

 

[SBP]

We still can be.

CAN be, sure. I COULD win the lottery. Unless those things improve as stated, ESPECIALLY Cliff, it’s not likely, IMHO.

Hope I’m wrong and it comes together. I do trust our staff, I’ll say that… but the kids gotta make it happen on the court.

 

[fatsam98]

I'm not tempering expectations just yet. We need Mag back though

 

[RutgersChow]

We still can be.

If Noah is still our PG in February, no chance. Hand it over to JD NOW so he can be a legit B1G PG by season's end. Noah seems like a great kid, or great adult, but UMASS was his level.

 

[Plum Street]

CAN be, sure. I COULD win the lottery. Unless those things improve as stated, ESPECIALLY Cliff, it’s not likely, IMHO.

Hope I’m wrong and it comes together. I do trust our staff, I’ll say that… but the kids gotta make it happen on the court.

We are not that far off . You may be right.
But eventually a guy like Fernandes figures it out at this level and things change.

 

[SBP]

I'm not tempering expectations just yet. We need Mag back though

See my post…he’s just part of it. Cliff holds the key..

 

[Plum Street]

If Noah is still our PG in February, no chance. Hand it over to JD NOW so he can be a legit B1G PG by season's end. Noah seems like a great kid, or great adult, but UMASS was his level.

Noah will figure it out.

 

[Plum Street]

If Noah is still our PG in February, no chance. Hand it over to JD NOW so he can be a legit B1G PG by season's end. Noah seems like a great kid, or great adult, but UMASS was his level.

He will figure it out …

 

[RAC93]

Noah will figure it out.

I wish I shared your confidence. Even if he does figure it out, unfortunately this team has glaring holes that I don’t see Mag magically fixing with his return. Poor finishing at the rim (whole team, except maybe Austin Williams), poor rebounding (defensive rebounding is poor and offensive rebounding nearly nonexistent), poor shooting (this team does not shoot the three as good as what was sold in offseason), poor half court defense (good press D but half court D is not very good, Mag will help in half court but can’t solve all the issues), and poor free throw shooting. Mag is gonna help but many other players need to step up or this team is not even an NIT team.

 

[RUskoolie]

We still can be.

No chance we are a bubble team

 

[Plum Street]

No chance we are a bubble team

You think solidly in the field?

 

[SirPerceval]

I don’t see bubble at this point either. I don’t even see NIT.

At this point I would say 6 conference wins will be a stretch

 

[RU#1fan]

I don’t see bubble at this point either. I don’t even see NIT.

No bubble… no NIT
Build the class for ‘25.

 

[RUSJ73]

I lowered my win expectations to 14.

 

[bitnez]

We might stink. More likely at this point than a bubble team.

 

[Scangg]

If we don't get it together for WF and SHU the season is over. These next two games are absolutely critical. If we lose both, our OOC record will tank any chance of a bid unless we destroy in the B1G

 

[RutgersChow]

Illinois is a top half of big ten team. We will be competitive for a middle of pack .500 record finish. Which makes the next two at Wake and at SHU critical to any bubble chance.

So who do you think we'll be better than, assuming the bottom teams are Minnesota, PSU and MD? Next are probably Nebraska and Michigan. After today's debacle, we would be hard pressed to get inside the top 10, and I know this goes way against the grain with most RU fans, but I don't think our staff is top 10 either - lotta great coaches in this league.

 

[biazza38]

One of the issues is Pike bought into this whole “play fast” nonsense and forgot you still need to run a cohesive offense

 

[RutgersChow]

One of the issues is Pike bought into this whole “play fast” nonsense and forgot you still need to run a cohesive offense

And not Pike's MO. Zebras don't just change their stripes after 20 years. Who got into his ear?

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

This year is the same as every year on this board. Expectations go up and after every game,.lol.

We just played a top 5 Defense in the country. Holding opponents under 60 points.

 

[SBP]

This year is the same as every year on this board. Expectations go up and after every game,.lol.

We just played a top 5 Defense in the country. Holding opponents under 60 points.

and we missed open bunnies and shots. Wasn’t necessarily their defense.

 

[jerzeyguy]

Mag will help out alot. He contributes in so many ways. He was our best overall player at the end of last yr, and he's our best player now

 

[Scangg]

The one thing I know for sure... Whoever SBP thinks should start at the 4 shouldn't start at the 4

Last year Dean, this year Wolf

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Give SBP credit at least he makes a call. I have no clue who to start at the 4. Morales is looking good to me right now.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

If we don't get it together for WF and SHU the season is over. These next two games are absolutely critical. If we lose both, our OOC record will tank any chance of a bid unless we destroy in the B1G

This ….

We can make up a big ten gams later …but not the OO.C Games

We really think alike btw…we badly miss herve , i mean Ndongo

 

[SBP]

The one thing I know for sure... Whoever SBP thinks should start at the 4 shouldn't start at the 4

Last year Dean, this year Wolf

Give it a rest bro. Wolf is at the 4. You don’t like it. I get it.

 

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Illinois defense is elite. Lots of length on the perimeter and inside. We will not face another team like that the rest of the year.