Kenny Payne is not even being mentioned. He is a former college and pro player, assistant coach and the top recruiter in the country. The media seems fixated on hiring a "Jersey" guy. What Rutgers needs to do is focus on hiring the best recruiter in the nation. His resume proves that he can recruit top players from across the country. Think Anthony Davis, the Harrison twins, Karl Anthony Towns, Michael Kidd-Gilcrest, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Alex Poythress, Julius Randle, Nerlens Noel, Terrence Jones, Devin Booker and many others. He is considered one of the best player development coaches in the business. Instead of hiring the best, Rutgers seems to focus on the "HOPE" that our local candidates can recruit. None have been able to nationally recruit top talent, all are barely .500 winning percentage coaches in non competitive conferences. Not a single top player from NJ has gone to Rutgers, Seton Hall, Rhode Island or Manhattan, zero! And now they will suddenly go to Rutgers? We need a new approach to the program and it begins with someone who can recruit the players, has the trust of the parents, has the respect of the AAU and HS coach and has proven it time and time again. Why Rutgers is not pursuing Kenny Payne makes no sense to me.
Kentucky's Kenny Payne for RU Coach
- Thread starter tired of RU status quo
- Start date
Recruiting for a elite program like Kentucky doesn't equate to the challenges of being the head coach at Rutgers which has very little to sell.
KP was at Oregon where he did the same great work. Does Oregon sell Oregon? You should also educate yourself on what his players have said about him. Players play for their coaches not the school.
The challenges? We blame the RAC and facilites for our inability to recruit. That is nonsense! Have you seen some of the gyms that the top NJ teams play in? The facility is secondary. Kids play for the coach, parents send kids because they trust the coach. If we need a new gym to recruit, then we don't have the right staff.
Coaches sell the program. Rutgers is a Nike school.
at the same time, ohio state sells ohio state. that didn't stop us from plucking their defensive coordinator to be our head football coach. I can see the OP's point. at the very least, if what OP is saying is correct, someone like Kenny Payne deserves an interview.
It may have been a while, but one of Tom Young's greatest strengths was player development.
