Lathan the Liability & most selfish team in 20+ years

[RRRRUUUU]

Lathan sucks so bad. If this guy gets the ball, there is a 100% chance he’s taking the shot, even if his back is to the basket and has 3 defenders on him. On top of that, he is the softest big we’ve had on defense in the Pike era.

But the selfishness is not just him. Everyone looks for their own shot, no one shares the ball. We play like a selfish loser team. It’s concerning that this is still the case in late December. Pike seems to be okay with it I guess bc he’s rewarding the selfishness with meaningful minutes. I hope lathan doesnt play another minute.



Ace & Dylan are the only ones that should have the green light.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

Lathan sucks so bad. If this guy gets the ball, there is a 100% chance he’s taking the shot, even if his back is to the basket and has 3 defenders on him. On top of that, he is the softest big we’ve had on defense in the Pike era.

But the selfishness is not just him. Everyone looks for their own shot, no one shares the ball. We play like a selfish loser team. It’s concerning that this is still the case in late December. I hope lathan doesnt play another minute.


Ace & Dylan are the only ones that should have the green light.

Lathan and Martini are hopeless on D. So are Acuff and Hayes.

 

[SBP]

You stole by nickname from my post but it fits

 

[RRRRUUUU]

You stole by nickname from my post but it fits

Yes your nickname, forgot who wrote it. But it fits him perfectly. To think Pike let this guy hold the team hostage as far as getting another big.

 

[coldsprings]

Lathan sucks so bad. If this guy gets the ball, there is a 100% chance he’s taking the shot, even if his back is to the basket and has 3 defenders on him. On top of that, he is the softest big we’ve had on defense in the Pike era.

But the selfishness is not just him. Everyone looks for their own shot, no one shares the ball. We play like a selfish loser team. It’s concerning that this is still the case in late December. Pike seems to be okay with it I guess bc he’s rewarding the selfishness with meaningful minutes. I hope lathan doesnt play another minute.



Ace & Dylan are the only ones that should have the green light.

My wife came by at the end of the game and asked if I was upset. I said, disappointed but not upset. It's hard to get upset when, as you say, they have no team identity.

 

[PhillyRU]

Y’all are nuts lol Lathan’s completely outperforming any reasonable expectations for a 3-star freshman center and is one of the few bright spots rn outside of Dylan

 

[SBP]

Y’all are nuts lol Lathan’s completely outperforming any reasonable expectations for a 3-star freshman center and is one of the few bright spots rn outside of Dylan

You’re delusional . Bright spot? Big E is better or equal to and should play more minutes than Lathan not even close

 

[Rokodesh]

Lathan sucks so bad. If this guy gets the ball, there is a 100% chance he’s taking the shot, even if his back is to the basket and has 3 defenders on him. On top of that, he is the softest big we’ve had on defense in the Pike era.

But the selfishness is not just him. Everyone looks for their own shot, no one shares the ball. We play like a selfish loser team. It’s concerning that this is still the case in late December. Pike seems to be okay with it I guess bc he’s rewarding the selfishness with meaningful minutes. I hope lathan doesnt play another minute.



Ace & Dylan are the only ones that should have the green light.

glad I'm not the only one who noticed it. Lathan gets triple teamed and still takes bad shots instead of passing it out. Derkack does the same and it's an easy block or rebound for the other team. So many possessions wasted on bad basketball.

 

[PhillyRU]

You’re delusional . Bright spot? Big E is better or equal to and should play more minutes than Lathan not even close

He’s maybe the best FT shooting center at Rutgers ever (?), 60 percent true shooting and a 5 percent block rate (good). Obviously has some rebounding issues to work through, but you’re genuinely disappointed by lathan’s season so far?

 

[RRRRUUUU]

He’s maybe the best FT shooting center at Rutgers ever (?), 60 percent true shooting and a 5 percent block rate (good). Obviously has some rebounding issues to work through, but you’re genuinely disappointed by lathan’s season so far?

He can’t rebound, he can’t defend, and he doesn’t pass the ball. But he shoots 80% from the FT line. Excellent

 

[mugrat86]

He’s maybe the best FT shooting center at Rutgers ever (?), 60 percent true shooting and a 5 percent block rate (good). Obviously has some rebounding issues to work through, but you’re genuinely disappointed by lathan’s season so far?

He is the definition of soft. Terrible defender and even worse rebounder

 

[Mr Magoo]

Because he’s so selfish, I truly believe he doesn’t bother to play help D for fear of picking up fouls and sitting on the bench.

 

[PatrickRU92]

seriously I see guys criticizing dercack and Lathan, they are clearly in the top 5 players on the team. There is so much to be angry about and we're going to single out those guys?

how about why did we recruit 3 players to play specific roles on this team that don't even exist??

 

[PhillyRU]

Enjoy the vibes based analysis y’all — scroll down to the Rutgers player stats ( https://www.barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Rutgers&year=2025 ). Not a definitive metric but makes the idea that he’s in any way uniquely culpable a little silly

 

[RRRRUUUU]

seriously I see guys criticizing dercack and Lathan, they are clearly in the top 5 players on the team. There is so much to be angry about and we're going to single out those guys?

how about why did we recruit 3 players to play specific roles on this team that don't even exist??

We just lost to Princeton! Their starting center from last year is on our team now. This is not a talent issue. This is a mindset / personality issue.

I can see you making this argument after some of the other losses but not vs Princeton. Is roster construction why we lost to Kennesaw state too?

The cancer on the team is selfishness, and it’s spreading.


Also I have no issue with derkack

 

[RRRRUUUU]

Enjoy the vibes based analysis y’all — scroll down to the Rutgers player stats ( https://www.barttorvik.com/team.php?team=Rutgers&year=2025 ). Not a definitive metric but makes the idea that he’s in any way uniquely culpable a little silly

You should understand what that stat means first. PRPG! Is points over replacement. So it measures ONLY offense. And the offense over who else is playing that position. That stat is saying lathan is better offensively than ogbole. That’s literally it.

No one is arguing lathan offensive talent. The problem is his mindset. Hed rather have 2 more points on his stat line and lose the game than have 2 points less and win. I don’t know how else to explain how he never passes and some of the shots he takes.

 

[SBP]

He’s maybe the best FT shooting center at Rutgers ever (?), 60 percent true shooting and a 5 percent block rate (good). Obviously has some rebounding issues to work through, but you’re genuinely disappointed by lathan’s season so far?

Do you know the stats of both? Go look. Lathan is shooting FT very well. So is Big E. Who’s got better FG%? Big E! Everything else the same LATHAN MORE MINUTES!! Complete bs

 

[PhillyRU]

You should understand what that stat means first. PRPG! Is points over replacement. So it measures ONLY offense. And the offense over who else is playing that position. That stat is saying lathan is better offensively than ogbole. That’s literally it.

I understand, but the point is it’s not just free throws and his “selfishness” is resulting in some of our most efficient offense.

Also he’s got a five percent block rate so, while I acknowledge he’s got a lot of room to grow on that end, he’s clearly somewhat impactful. Our perimeter players consistently get blown by off the dribble and it’s Lathan’s fault for not protecting the rim like Cliff?

 

[PhillyRU]

Do you know the stats of both? Go look. Lathan is shooting FT very well. So is Big E. Who’s got better FG%? Big E! Everything else the same LATHAN MORE MINUTES!! Complete bs

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Ogbole as well full disclosure, but he has a team high (!!) 25.2 Turnover Rate that makes him not efficient on offense

 

[SBP]

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Ogbole as well full disclosure, but he has a team high (!!) 25.2 Turnover Rate that makes him not efficient on offense

Sometimes not his fault and that was early on he’s much better now

 

[RUskoolie]

Lathan is a guy you build around. BUT someone needs to tell him how tall and heavy he is. He plays very soft for his size and the constant open uncontested layups and dunks he allows right now drives me nuts...BUT he is a frosh he is not a finished product guys. He is going to be damn good by the time he is a junior. Stop being stupid.

 

[billgumpper]

He can’t rebound, he can’t defend, and he doesn’t pass the ball. But he shoots 80% from the FT line. Excellent

Its because he is only 6'8 and playing the 5.

 

[Rhuarc]

seriously I see guys criticizing dercack and Lathan, they are clearly in the top 5 players on the team. There is so much to be angry about and we're going to single out those guys?

how about why did we recruit 3 players to play specific roles on this team that don't even exist??

It's important for some fans to make sure everyone is miserable. Then the players will transfer so then we can be miserable when they are successful elsewhere. It's a constant cycle of misery that fuels them.

 

[seansherm]

Lathan is a guy you build around. BUT someone needs to tell him how tall and heavy he is. He plays very soft for his size and the constant open uncontested layups and dunks he allows right now drives me nuts...BUT he is a frosh he is not a finished product guys. He is going to be damn good by the time he is a junior. Stop being stupid.

Lathan has been fine for a true freshman center. Problem is, he plays too much and its very possible its his fault he plays too much if the rumors of him being unhappy if we brought in a rotation center.

 

[RutgersChow]

Lathan sucks so bad. If this guy gets the ball, there is a 100% chance he’s taking the shot, even if his back is to the basket and has 3 defenders on him. On top of that, he is the softest big we’ve had on defense in the Pike era.

But the selfishness is not just him. Everyone looks for their own shot, no one shares the ball. We play like a selfish loser team. It’s concerning that this is still the case in late December. Pike seems to be okay with it I guess bc he’s rewarding the selfishness with meaningful minutes. I hope lathan doesnt play another minute.



Ace & Dylan are the only ones that should have the green light.

You really have to put Dylan in the same category - difference is he hits his shots.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

He’s maybe the best FT shooting center at Rutgers ever (?), 60 percent true shooting and a 5 percent block rate (good). Obviously has some rebounding issues to work through, but you’re genuinely disappointed by lathan’s season so far?

Yes - in a sense “very” and I will tell you why. He lost the right to be evaluated as a “developing freshman” the way you are doing the second he told Pike not to count on him to honor his commitment if we signed another big kid.

To be clear, nothing Lathan said was going to stop Pike from offering Cliff and a few others that we quickly found out we couldn’t afford. But we chose not to pursue a Shaq Carter or Shaq Doorson type either because we didn’t want Lathan to walk. So that’s the bar I feel it necessary to compare him to and I do believe we’d be a much better team with the senior version of either of those guys on the roster. We don’t need a super star. Scoring is not a problem. We needed someone with veteran experience to come in and play tough nose D and complimentary on O not trying to do too much. We could’ve gotten a kid like this easily. We chose not to because we didn’t want to lose Lathan. Are we better off for it? That’s how you evaluate.