Listen I know no one wants to hear it.....

[RUChoppin]

"Vastly improved" because all the players are available to play. I love how everyone is giving Pike a pass because this team terrible. Last year's team was this team with all the front court players on the IR. Pike will need to bring in a few recruits to win me over.

....except that it isn't?

Departed from last year's rotation are Daniels, Grier, Foreman, and Lewis. Added are Johnson, Gettys, Thiam, Sa, and Omoruyi.

45% of total minutes played this year are by players who were not on the roster last year (Johnson + new players).
32% of total minutes played this year are by players that Pike brought in.

Yes, we dealt with injuries last year... but that was exacerbated by having an unused scholarship, too.

And even if everyone were healthy last year, there's no way Mr. "Rebounding isn't in my package" was going to get that team to rebound anywhere close to the way this year's team has. This isn't just about having healthy players.

 

[ru66]

"Bingo...listen I do not want to disparage the team" --- then why do so? some can say all day that they are better, a tough out etc. but always need to add the butt--as if we don't understand their shortcomings or that is needed to legitimize their comments---it would be refreshing to just see blind loyalty once in awhile , it won't hurt

 

[dpwhite]

Down by 2 with 50+ secs to play, Pike calls for Double screen to get Johnson open for a 3. Do you think that was a good call? Sanders should have gotten the isolation and drive the basket with everyone crashing the boards. You do the things that you do well. You don't call for a 3 for a team that has one of the worst 3 pt shooting %. That's poor coaching.

Why the eff would you dribble it out down 4 with 2.9 secs to play? You try a three and maybe they are dumb enough to foul you for a 4 point play. Another poor coaching decision.

That doesn't answer the question. What would you have called for this team with this roster?

 

[jtung230]

....except that it isn't?

Departed from last year's rotation are Daniels, Grier, Foreman, and Lewis. Added are Johnson, Gettys, Thiam, Sa, and Omoruyi.

45% of total minutes played this year are by players who were not on the roster last year (Johnson + new players).
32% of total minutes played this year are by players that Pike brought in.

Yes, we dealt with injuries last year... but that was exacerbated by having an unused scholarship, too.

And even if everyone were healthy last year, there's no way Mr. "Rebounding isn't in my package" was going to get that team to rebound anywhere close to the way this year's team has. This isn't just about having healthy players.

Are you saying he new players Pike brought in are better or worst? If they are better than you further proved my point. Injury problem last year was that it was all in the front court. My Only point here is that people need to stop making excuses for Pike on his record. Like I said before, Pike can be a great coach for us if he can do what others couldn't. Get the top players to come to RU.

 

[jtung230]

That doesn't answer the question. What would you have called for this team with this roster?

Read my post.

 

[RUonBrain]

Are you saying he new players Pike brought in are better or worst? If they are better than you further proved my point. Injury problem last year was that it was all in the front court. My Only point here is that people need to stop making excuses for Pike on his record. Like I said before, Pike can be a great coach for us if he can do what others couldn't. Get the top players to come to RU.

Thanks for the post Eddie.

 

[dpwhite]

Read my post.

Sorry. Misread your post the first time. I have to watch the play again, but I believe Corey's ability to get to the hole was taken away from him by the defense. It certainly was when they over played him and they turned the ball over.

 

[jtung230]

Sorry. Misread your post the first time. I have to watch the play again, but I believe Corey's ability to get to the hole was taken away from him by the defense. It certainly was when they over played him and they turned the ball over.

It was designed for Johnson all the way. CJ and Freeman where setting up the fence. CJ of course was moving on the pick and Johnson ran too wide to get the proper screen.

 

[jtung230]

Thanks for the post Eddie.

LOL, almost as funny as Pike getting COY.

 

[bac2therac]

"Bingo...listen I do not want to disparage the team" --- then why do so? some can say all day that they are better, a tough out etc. but always need to add the butt--as if we don't understand their shortcomings or that is needed to legitimize their comments---it would be refreshing to just see blind loyalty once in awhile , it won't hurt

sorry then read someone else

 

[winfield102]

Blind loyalty? That always ends up well. Wow.

 

[RutgersDon]

Are you saying he new players Pike brought in are better or worst? If they are better than you further proved my point. Injury problem last year was that it was all in the front court. My Only point here is that people need to stop making excuses for Pike on his record. Like I said before, Pike can be a great coach for us if he can do what others couldn't. Get the top players to come to RU.

No excuses to the two last Rutgers presidents who failed to adequately fund sports at Rutgers and built unneeded pyramids on College Avenue for 100's of millions of dollars

 

[jtung230]

Agree with the first part Don but RU needed to upgrade the college Ave campus to keep up with the it's peers.

 

[RUChoppin]

Are you saying he new players Pike brought in are better or worst? If they are better than you further proved my point. Injury problem last year was that it was all in the front court. My Only point here is that people need to stop making excuses for Pike on his record. Like I said before, Pike can be a great coach for us if he can do what others couldn't. Get the top players to come to RU.

Argument #1: The only difference from last year is health. Implication: Coaching had nothing to do with the team's improvement.
Response: That's not correct.

Argument #2: Well, the players are just better this year. Implication: Coaching had nothing to do with the team's improvement.
Response: Who, exactly, brought in those players, if not for the coaching staff? Who brought in the players that departed?

Kenpom has us at #126 right now and Sagarin at #125 - if we were to finish there, it would be our highest finish in either set of ratings since 2012-13 (where we finished just over 100 in each... and had a worse DRating). It's movement in the right direction - with the improvement largely coming in the basics of how to play the game (defense, rebounding, hustle, ball movement, etc).

EJ was terrible for three years, and the product on the court showed it (not just the W/L... it frequently failed to pass the eye test). Pike is starting the climb out of that hole, and we've seen a dramatic improvement of the product on the court. If you can't see that, I don't know what to tell you.

We'll see what the last 4+ games bring, and then we'll see what sort of roster turnover we see after the season. We've seen the gains made by a culture change in the program... if we can then upgrade talent while retaining those fundamental changes, we should start to see more lift. (Under 100 Kenpom/Sagarin hasn't happened since Rice's first year in 2010-11... and under 75 hasn't happened since we last made the NIT in 2005-06).

 

[rudad02]

And it gave them 2 points from the foul line at the other end, a 4 point swing with no time off the clock. A huge shitty call and then 2 straight possessions right after that 2 touch fouls to give them another 4 points from the line. Refs definitely had a huge impact in the last 4 minutes.

Absolutely correct. Need to make a BIG stink about this type of treatment or it will simply continue. Aside from costing us wins, it is frustrating & demoralizing for our guys.

 

[jtung230]

Choppin, you missed my point. I'm not comparing the two coaches. I'm just tired of all the excuses. We are not the best shooting team but this is not a bad team. I applaud coach Pike for getting the players to play tough and getting us into position to win games. But his end of game coaching is falling short IMO.

 

[RUJMM78]

Choppin, you missed my point. I'm not comparing the two coaches. I'm just tired of all the excuses. We are not the best shooting team but this is not a bad team. I applaud coach Pike for getting the players to play tough and getting us into position to win games. But his end of game coaching is falling short IMO.

There isn't one consistent shooter on the Rutgers team which makes the opponents task on defense easier than it should be.Major improvement will only happen with far better recruiting which needs to happen at the end of this season.

 

[RUChoppin]

Choppin, you missed my point. I'm not comparing the two coaches. I'm just tired of all the excuses. We are not the best shooting team but this is not a bad team. I applaud coach Pike for getting the players to play tough and getting us into position to win games. But his end of game coaching is falling short IMO.

You have to be *in* the games at the end before you can start winning them. Last year we were losing these games by 10-20 points... and now they are blown late leads to lose in single digits. Lot more fight in this team - just don't have the leaders/playmakers to knock down the clutch shots in the closing minutes.

Coaching is putting players in a position to win - can't make the plays for them. We've been in a position to win several games this year that slipped away because of late game execution.

Hoping that another year's maturity and practice with this group irons out some more of the wrinkles, and upperclassmen will be better able to step up late in games. Not expecting miracles next year, but hopefully still another step forward.

 

[jtung230]

Now you are on point. Coaching is about putting your players in position to win. Do you think setting up Johnson for a 3 was the right call?

 

[RUChoppin]

Now you are on point. Coaching is about putting your players in position to win. Do you think setting up Johnson for a 3 was the right call?

Johnson more than Sanders, who took one the play before. Johnson's been the best 3-pt shooter on the team since conference play started, and was already 3/5 in the game (and 5/6 in the game prior).

We had opportunities down the stretch. Our best FT shooter missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Our best shooter from range (in conference play) missed a three. Our best dribble penetration guy dribbled the ball off his foot. Defense giving up 2 of 4 three point attempts in the final two minutes, after allowing just 5/18 (28%) up to that point.

We were desperate for a big play in the clutch, and no one produced one.

 

[winfield102]

Choppin,

You're making my point. We consistently miss 3's and free throws. We can basically count on it. We also don't have a guy that can make a big play in the clutch (see all the leads we've given up down the stretch). Stop putting the game on the shoulders of Sanders/Johnson. If they get a shot within the offense, great. Having them force shots off the dribble is a terrible idea.

 

[RUonBrain]

Choppin,

You're making my point. We consistently miss 3's and free throws. We can basically count on it. We also don't have a guy that can make a big play in the clutch (see all the leads we've given up down the stretch). Stop putting the game on the shoulders of Sanders/Johnson. If they get a shot within the offense, great. Having them force shots off the dribble is a terrible idea.

Winfield and jtung230 - 2 peas in a pod.

 

[apgoosebumps]

Of course this team doesnt look bad when comparing to last year but for anyone to say we are not bad this year is kidding themselves.
Lets suppose for the next 2 seasons we see simlar results to this year, I bet the majority on here would call that team in 2 years bad.

 

[RickB113]

While I think it wasn't coaches best game I am still convinced he is a good enough coach for us to win. I am much more disappointed in recruiting. The two guys we have coming in are not guys that will move us up. 2018 needs to be a top 25 type class or it just won't happen for us. Good news is we are off to a good start with that class.

 

[RuBird]

Thought I read somewhere that Coach Pike would let the player who rebounded the best in practice select the music for the next practice. Maybe it is time to change it up. The player who can hit 10 out of 10 FTs gets to choose. If no one hits it then it is a silent practice. Can't hurt

 

[winfield102]

Brain,

Look at your posts. We are discussing the game and your posts are nothing but digs. They belong in the comments section after every online article. Stop trolling and start posting.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

What turned out to a start as a great post as turned absurd again

People...I have been saying this forever this season...that the defensive teams are collapsing big time against our penetration game and post players because we can't hit a 3 enough to justify the risk of letting penetration lanes...so it is HARDER to penetrate and get good looks at the basket because the hedge defenders are there to help and cut down the space

So of course this is even worse toward the end of the game....when defenders know we ARENT shooting from outside and just dare us to beat us with a three....and by the way, they can risk more for steals knowing defense is close by to help and they can foul with our foul shooing issues

Watch the games on recording and you WILL SEE THIS

The precision which we run our offense to compensate for this is really at a high level....and small margin for error...and the coaching is getting us a chance to do this...which is NOT a small thing by the way

 

[winfield102]

Shack,

You are correct. That's why you don't wait until there are 10 seconds left before trying to break down the defense. The odds of it happening are extremely low (see all the games we lost down the stretch) and it ends up forcing us to take a shit type shot off the dribble. NW only had to make 1 stand on defense each possession, late in the shot clock.

Try to get someone a quality look during the entire possession. If it doesn't happen, give it to sanders or Johnson. While they give us our best chance at making something happen, they are not 2 guys that we can count on to deliver. We're asking too much.

With 6-8 minutes left, we were content to bleed clock without even thinking about a shot and then putting the ball in Sanders or johnson's hands.

Meanwhile, it worked for NW because they had shooters.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Totally agree with the OP. Anyone arguing the basic premise is losing this battle. Period.