My Current Take on Steve Pikiell

[NJHoops17]

In what has been a disastrous season, Rutgers has fallen below expectations for many reasons that fans have acknowledged.

Let me preface by saying that Pike has done a tremendous job building RU into a much better program than it was when he was hired. Ending the 30 year NCAA tournament streak is of course noteworthy, and dancing two years in a row is very much a good accomplishment for a program that had been so bad for so many years . . .

That being said, Pike’s teams have arguably regressed each year since the 2019-2020 season (RU would have likely been a 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament had the season not been cut short due to COVID).
2020-2021: 10 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in second round (very good season)
2021-2022: 11 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in first four (good job getting to tournament but probably still below expectations for many)
2022-2023: First four out, probably should have made the tournament
2023-2024: 15-17 record
2024-2025: Currently 10-10

The key reasons for this regression, as noted by many in other threads:

1. Poor recruiting (besides this year), transfer portal additions, and player retention — as has been pointed out numerous times in other threads, Pikes 2021-2023 high school recruiting classes were very poor, with the exception I’d say being Derek Simpson (more on him later). As for the transfer portal, Pike has had a very low success rate on transfer in comparison to many other Power 5 schools. As for player retention, Pike has had multiple players enter the portal (various reasons), and at times he has not retained the BEST players (e.g. retaining JMike to Simpson)
2. Poor gameday coaching — Pike has always been a defensive-minded coach, but his poor offensive game plan (criticized by many) has been an issue, especially the last couple seasons. There is not enough movement/cutting on offense, too much ISO, etc.
3. Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

Many will attribute this regression to NIL and the transfer portal. While I do agree to an extent, it’s a misconception that Pike can’t win with his past formula he had most success with from 2019-2023 (see Houston, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin as current examples).

And amidst recent struggles, one HAS to recognize that the program was an absolute mess when he took over the job. It has taken so many coaching attempts to right the ship, and we finally found a coach who has had success and brought two (three if not for COVID) NCAA tournament appearances.

So is Pike “the guy”? Both the “Pike should be on the hot seat” or the “Pike is the coach for the next decade” crowds have compelling arguments, but in my opinion it’s very unclear and tough to say. I tend to lean towards no due to the reasons I listed above being VERY glaring. Additionally, it may be a hot take but I think Pike’s teams underperformed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons (particularly 2021/2022). Looking at the 2021/2022 team, I think Pike had a very good roster that with better game day preparation in several games (particularly the 3 consecutive Quad 4 losses) should have been an easy 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and comfortably earning an at-large bid rather than on the bubble on Selection Sunday.

That being said, Pike will likely remain the coach for RU the next few years minimum, so here are the key ways he can rejuvenate his old formula for winning WITH the NIL and transfer portal environment:

1. Have a strong, consistent foundation with high school recruiting/transfer portal additions: Similarly to other strong Big 10 schools (Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.), RU should look to recruit about 4 players each year, with all 4 being hopefully being top 150 recruits. Of those four top 150 recruits, maybe 1-2 of those players are top 100 four star recruits. This will build a strong foundation and depth for the roster. As for the transfer portal, look to bring in 2-3 transfers each year. Rather than all of the transfers being from mid-major schools, try to have at least one be from a power 5 school. From my memory, I believe since 2019 the only power 5 transfers RU has recruited have been Jacob Young (Texas) and Aundre Hyatt (LSU) – both ended up being very solid players for Rutgers, and would honestly be the 3/4 best players on this year’s team.
2. Strong emphasis on using available NIL funds on player retention: The best sustained success in CBB, especially today’s environment, is by having an experienced roster and maintaining as much continuity as possible. By not chasing the TOP power 5 transfers and high school prospects every year, it will allow for more available NIL to be budgeted on player retention, especially now with revenue-sharing for RU.
3. As for game day coaching, I believe Pike needs to bring in some offensive-minded coaches to help with each game plan. However, with my previous two suggestions, it is not as paramount as it is with this year’s current roster, because I believe more experience and depth can offset this (see RU’s success from 2019-2023).

I know it’s a really long analysis, but I think this is the blueprint that Pike would be able to win the most games with.

 

[seansherm]

In what has been a disastrous season, Rutgers has fallen below expectations for many reasons that fans have acknowledged.

Let me preface by saying that Pike has done a tremendous job building RU into a much better program than it was when he was hired. Ending the 30 year NCAA tournament streak is of course noteworthy, and dancing two years in a row is very much a good accomplishment for a program that had been so bad for so many years . . .

That being said, Pike’s teams have arguably regressed each year since the 2019-2020 season (RU would have likely been a 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament had the season not been cut short due to COVID).
2020-2021: 10 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in second round (very good season)
2021-2022: 11 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in first four (good job getting to tournament but probably still below expectations for many)
2022-2023: First four out, probably should have made the tournament
2023-2024: 15-17 record
2024-2025: Currently 10-10

The key reasons for this regression, as noted by many in other threads:

1. Poor recruiting (besides this year), transfer portal additions, and player retention — as has been pointed out numerous times in other threads, Pikes 2021-2023 high school recruiting classes were very poor, with the exception I’d say being Derek Simpson (more on him later). As for the transfer portal, Pike has had a very low success rate on transfer in comparison to many other Power 5 schools. As for player retention, Pike has had multiple players enter the portal (various reasons), and at times he has not retained the BEST players (e.g. retaining JMike to Simpson)
2. Poor gameday coaching — Pike has always been a defensive-minded coach, but his poor offensive game plan (criticized by many) has been an issue, especially the last couple seasons. There is not enough movement/cutting on offense, too much ISO, etc.
3. Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

Many will attribute this regression to NIL and the transfer portal. While I do agree to an extent, it’s a misconception that Pike can’t win with his past formula he had most success with from 2019-2023 (see Houston, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin as current examples).

And amidst recent struggles, one HAS to recognize that the program was an absolute mess when he took over the job. It has taken so many coaching attempts to right the ship, and we finally found a coach who has had success and brought two (three if not for COVID) NCAA tournament appearances.

So is Pike “the guy”? Both the “Pike should be on the hot seat” or the “Pike is the coach for the next decade” crowds have compelling arguments, but in my opinion it’s very unclear and tough to say. I tend to lean towards no due to the reasons I listed above being VERY glaring. Additionally, it may be a hot take but I think Pike’s teams underperformed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons (particularly 2021/2022). Looking at the 2021/2022 team, I think Pike had a very good roster that with better game day preparation in several games (particularly the 3 consecutive Quad 4 losses) should have been an easy 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and comfortably earning an at-large bid rather than on the bubble on Selection Sunday.

That being said, Pike will likely remain the coach for RU the next few years minimum, so here are the key ways he can rejuvenate his old formula for winning WITH the NIL and transfer portal environment:

1. Have a strong, consistent foundation with high school recruiting/transfer portal additions: Similarly to other strong Big 10 schools (Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.), RU should look to recruit about 4 players each year, with all 4 being hopefully being top 150 recruits. Of those four top 150 recruits, maybe 1-2 of those players are top 100 four star recruits. This will build a strong foundation and depth for the roster. As for the transfer portal, look to bring in 2-3 transfers each year. Rather than all of the transfers being from mid-major schools, try to have at least one be from a power 5 school. From my memory, I believe since 2019 the only power 5 transfers RU has recruited have been Jacob Young (Texas) and Aundre Hyatt (LSU) – both ended up being very solid players for Rutgers, and would honestly be the 3/4 best players on this year’s team.
2. Strong emphasis on using available NIL funds on player retention: The best sustained success in CBB, especially today’s environment, is by having an experienced roster and maintaining as much continuity as possible. By not chasing the TOP power 5 transfers and high school prospects every year, it will allow for more available NIL to be budgeted on player retention, especially now with revenue-sharing for RU.
3. As for game day coaching, I believe Pike needs to bring in some offensive-minded coaches to help with each game plan. However, with my previous two suggestions, it is not as paramount as it is with this year’s current roster, because I believe more experience and depth can offset this (see RU’s success from 2019-2023).

I know it’s a really long analysis, but I hope you found it insightful. Go RU!

I agree player retention needs to be a key component. Pike's culture can't be learned in a year. We can talk about how bad of a shooting team last years was, but it was still a top 40 defensive team. The last two years we've let/lost multiple upperclassmen to the portal, or guys we've spent the time on and were becoming upperclassmen. I promise this defense wouldn't look so bad if Simpson, Wolf, and Mag were still here. Cliff got a huge check, to a top ten team, that one is tough to match.

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

In what has been a disastrous season, Rutgers has fallen below expectations for many reasons that fans have acknowledged.

Let me preface by saying that Pike has done a tremendous job building RU into a much better program than it was when he was hired. Ending the 30 year NCAA tournament streak is of course noteworthy, and dancing two years in a row is very much a good accomplishment for a program that had been so bad for so many years . . .

That being said, Pike’s teams have arguably regressed each year since the 2019-2020 season (RU would have likely been a 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament had the season not been cut short due to COVID).
2020-2021: 10 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in second round (very good season)
2021-2022: 11 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in first four (good job getting to tournament but probably still below expectations for many)
2022-2023: First four out, probably should have made the tournament
2023-2024: 15-17 record
2024-2025: Currently 10-10

The key reasons for this regression, as noted by many in other threads:

1. Poor recruiting (besides this year), transfer portal additions, and player retention — as has been pointed out numerous times in other threads, Pikes 2021-2023 high school recruiting classes were very poor, with the exception I’d say being Derek Simpson (more on him later). As for the transfer portal, Pike has had a very low success rate on transfer in comparison to many other Power 5 schools. As for player retention, Pike has had multiple players enter the portal (various reasons), and at times he has not retained the BEST players (e.g. retaining JMike to Simpson)
2. Poor gameday coaching — Pike has always been a defensive-minded coach, but his poor offensive game plan (criticized by many) has been an issue, especially the last couple seasons. There is not enough movement/cutting on offense, too much ISO, etc.
3. Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

Many will attribute this regression to NIL and the transfer portal. While I do agree to an extent, it’s a misconception that Pike can’t win with his past formula he had most success with from 2019-2023 (see Houston, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin as current examples).

And amidst recent struggles, one HAS to recognize that the program was an absolute mess when he took over the job. It has taken so many coaching attempts to right the ship, and we finally found a coach who has had success and brought two (three if not for COVID) NCAA tournament appearances.

So is Pike “the guy”? Both the “Pike should be on the hot seat” or the “Pike is the coach for the next decade” crowds have compelling arguments, but in my opinion it’s very unclear and tough to say. I tend to lean towards no due to the reasons I listed above being VERY glaring. Additionally, it may be a hot take but I think Pike’s teams underperformed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons (particularly 2021/2022). Looking at the 2021/2022 team, I think Pike had a very good roster that with better game day preparation in several games (particularly the 3 consecutive Quad 4 losses) should have been an easy 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and comfortably earning an at-large bid rather than on the bubble on Selection Sunday.

That being said, Pike will likely remain the coach for RU the next few years minimum, so here are the key ways he can rejuvenate his old formula for winning WITH the NIL and transfer portal environment:

1. Have a strong, consistent foundation with high school recruiting/transfer portal additions: Similarly to other strong Big 10 schools (Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.), RU should look to recruit about 4 players each year, with all 4 being hopefully being top 150 recruits. Of those four top 150 recruits, maybe 1-2 of those players are top 100 four star recruits. This will build a strong foundation and depth for the roster. As for the transfer portal, look to bring in 2-3 transfers each year. Rather than all of the transfers being from mid-major schools, try to have at least one be from a power 5 school. From my memory, I believe since 2019 the only power 5 transfers RU has recruited have been Jacob Young (Texas) and Aundre Hyatt (LSU) – both ended up being very solid players for Rutgers, and would honestly be the 3/4 best players on this year’s team.
2. Strong emphasis on using available NIL funds on player retention: The best sustained success in CBB, especially today’s environment, is by having an experienced roster and maintaining as much continuity as possible. By not chasing the TOP power 5 transfers and high school prospects every year, it will allow for more available NIL to be budgeted on player retention, especially now with revenue-sharing for RU.
3. As for game day coaching, I believe Pike needs to bring in some offensive-minded coaches to help with each game plan. However, with my previous two suggestions, it is not as paramount as it is with this year’s current roster, because I believe more experience and depth can offset this (see RU’s success from 2019-2023).

I know it’s a really long analysis, but I hope you found it insightful. Go RU!

A very simple answer to your insightful analysis:
It’s predicated on Pike’s willingness to embrace change. Which he hasn’t demonstrated to date.

 

[dpwhite]

CHATGPT

 

[RRRRUUUU]

Adapt or die, The Steve Pikiell story. We’ll find out how it ends soon enough.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Adapt or die, The Steve Pikiell story. We’ll find out how it ends soon enough.

He's already adapted by taking a large class of freshman in 2024 (3 that should stick with a junior in Derkack) and another 4 in 2024, with a likely 5th freshman that could be added this spring.

With 2026 recruiting really picking up speed in the next 3 months, another 2 to 3 freshman like Aiden Derkack among others, will restock the roster with 11 to 12 kids spread out across 3 recruiting classss

Sommerville
Dortch
Grant

Ware
Mark
Nwuli
Powers
TBD 5th frosh

2026 guard
2026 guard/wing

If JMike Davis sticks after this season, we would have 2 spots....if any of the 2024 kids transfer, we would have the opportunity to backfill for the short term or with a multi-year transfer.

The team needs a scoring wing and some progress from Grant, Dortch and Sommerville and some reasonable development from Jordan Derkack the final 11 to 13 games this year, so we have some depth and bench scoring next year.

 

[RUJMM78]

Changes in the coaching staff is as important as roster formation.Rutgers brought in three transfers to improve 3 point scoring and their performance has been very disappointing.Part of the blame rests with the coaching staffs failure to implement a half court offense that emphasizes player and ball movement which will create open 3 point shots in the corner as well as spacing for dribble drives to the basket.Iso offense doesn't work with a roster of players that can't create and make shots off the dribble.Teams at far lower levels of competition run a far better half court offense.Hurley to his credit at UConn understood two years ago that changes had to be made to the half court offense.The result was two straight national championships.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

I'd be a lot happier if we boxed out and made free throws.

 

[darkcheck]

How much to scholarship roster sizes going from 13-15 impact us. Pike never used the 13th anyway (foolish to me), but I mean in the fact that the “have” schools can now poach, take and pay those fringe top 100-150 kids we used to be able to get. I know some will say they’ll come here because they want playing time, but even the kids who are 14th on UConn, Dukes, Missouri or most sec benches will think they’re getting a ton of playing time when they commit

 

[rubaseball78]

Pike has peaked.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

For those interested, here's the latest Pikiell podcast...

 

[RUBlackout]

Changes in the coaching staff is as important as roster formation.Rutgers brought in three transfers to improve 3 point scoring and their performance has been very disappointing.Part of the blame rests with the coaching staffs failure to implement a half court offense that emphasizes player and ball movement which will create open 3 point shots in the corner as well as spacing for dribble drives to the basket.Iso offense doesn't work with a roster of players that can't create and make shots off the dribble.Teams at far lower levels of competition run a far better half court offense.Hurley to his credit at UConn understood two years ago that changes had to be made to the half court offense.The result was two straight national championships.

As hurley said he studied how to adapt his offense to his players setting them up for success. He wasn’t stubborn to run his offense and have the players fit into that

 

[PJVegas]

Pike has peaked.

The new Pike’s Peak: Harper & Bailey. NIL tee shirt sales maybe.

 

[cm_13]

In what has been a disastrous season, Rutgers has fallen below expectations for many reasons that fans have acknowledged.

Let me preface by saying that Pike has done a tremendous job building RU into a much better program than it was when he was hired. Ending the 30 year NCAA tournament streak is of course noteworthy, and dancing two years in a row is very much a good accomplishment for a program that had been so bad for so many years . . .

That being said, Pike’s teams have arguably regressed each year since the 2019-2020 season (RU would have likely been a 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament had the season not been cut short due to COVID).
2020-2021: 10 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in second round (very good season)
2021-2022: 11 seed in NCAA tournament, lost in first four (good job getting to tournament but probably still below expectations for many)
2022-2023: First four out, probably should have made the tournament
2023-2024: 15-17 record
2024-2025: Currently 10-10

The key reasons for this regression, as noted by many in other threads:

1. Poor recruiting (besides this year), transfer portal additions, and player retention — as has been pointed out numerous times in other threads, Pikes 2021-2023 high school recruiting classes were very poor, with the exception I’d say being Derek Simpson (more on him later). As for the transfer portal, Pike has had a very low success rate on transfer in comparison to many other Power 5 schools. As for player retention, Pike has had multiple players enter the portal (various reasons), and at times he has not retained the BEST players (e.g. retaining JMike to Simpson)
2. Poor gameday coaching — Pike has always been a defensive-minded coach, but his poor offensive game plan (criticized by many) has been an issue, especially the last couple seasons. There is not enough movement/cutting on offense, too much ISO, etc.
3. Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

Many will attribute this regression to NIL and the transfer portal. While I do agree to an extent, it’s a misconception that Pike can’t win with his past formula he had most success with from 2019-2023 (see Houston, Purdue, Iowa, Wisconsin as current examples).

And amidst recent struggles, one HAS to recognize that the program was an absolute mess when he took over the job. It has taken so many coaching attempts to right the ship, and we finally found a coach who has had success and brought two (three if not for COVID) NCAA tournament appearances.

So is Pike “the guy”? Both the “Pike should be on the hot seat” or the “Pike is the coach for the next decade” crowds have compelling arguments, but in my opinion it’s very unclear and tough to say. I tend to lean towards no due to the reasons I listed above being VERY glaring. Additionally, it may be a hot take but I think Pike’s teams underperformed in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons (particularly 2021/2022). Looking at the 2021/2022 team, I think Pike had a very good roster that with better game day preparation in several games (particularly the 3 consecutive Quad 4 losses) should have been an easy 7 or 8 seed in the NCAA tournament and comfortably earning an at-large bid rather than on the bubble on Selection Sunday.

That being said, Pike will likely remain the coach for RU the next few years minimum, so here are the key ways he can rejuvenate his old formula for winning WITH the NIL and transfer portal environment:

1. Have a strong, consistent foundation with high school recruiting/transfer portal additions: Similarly to other strong Big 10 schools (Purdue, Wisconsin, Iowa, etc.), RU should look to recruit about 4 players each year, with all 4 being hopefully being top 150 recruits. Of those four top 150 recruits, maybe 1-2 of those players are top 100 four star recruits. This will build a strong foundation and depth for the roster. As for the transfer portal, look to bring in 2-3 transfers each year. Rather than all of the transfers being from mid-major schools, try to have at least one be from a power 5 school. From my memory, I believe since 2019 the only power 5 transfers RU has recruited have been Jacob Young (Texas) and Aundre Hyatt (LSU) – both ended up being very solid players for Rutgers, and would honestly be the 3/4 best players on this year’s team.
2. Strong emphasis on using available NIL funds on player retention: The best sustained success in CBB, especially today’s environment, is by having an experienced roster and maintaining as much continuity as possible. By not chasing the TOP power 5 transfers and high school prospects every year, it will allow for more available NIL to be budgeted on player retention, especially now with revenue-sharing for RU.
3. As for game day coaching, I believe Pike needs to bring in some offensive-minded coaches to help with each game plan. However, with my previous two suggestions, it is not as paramount as it is with this year’s current roster, because I believe more experience and depth can offset this (see RU’s success from 2019-2023).

I know it’s a really long analysis, but I think this is the blueprint that Pike would be able to win the most games with.

• Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

I’m not going to argue that Pike has been good the last two years, but this part is kind of nonsense. For starters he gave Grant more minutes than Martini against Texas A&M, the very next game after Alabama. Grant looks very good now, he did not look good in that game.

As for Simpson/Mulcahy, I find it hard to make the argument that anything Pike did with the rotation between the Indiana game and Mawot Mag’s injury was a mistake. Rutgers was a top 25 team. The reason he didn’t make an adjustment until February was because there weren’t any adjustments to be made until Mag got hurt. The team was 16-7 (8-4) at that point.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

Honest question: Has Harper and Bailey run a pick-and-roll once the entire season?

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I as a fan and someone who i think is pretty knowledgeable about RU hoops has no freaking clue how Pike should manage the program because i have no idea what the NIL market really is and how much money we have available.

 

[NickRU714]

Honest question: Has Harper and Bailey run a pick-and-roll once the entire season?

Said this all year.

Our #1 play should be this on the right side of the court.
Let Harper drive towards the lane with his left hand.
Ace can roll baseline, stop for his little midrange shot or step back to 3.

Put Hayes at the top of the key and force his man to help on the Harper drive and leave Hayes open for 3.

The center and one of the 3 Musketeers (Derkack, Davis, JWill) can play patty cake in the other corner.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Said this all year.

Our #1 play should be this on the right side of the court.
Let Harper drive towards the lane with his left hand.
Ace can roll baseline, stop for his little midrange shot or step back to 3.

Put Hayes at the top of the key and force his man to help on the Harper drive and leave Hayes open for 3.

The center and one of the 3 Musketeers (Derkack, Davis, JWill) can play patty cake in the other corner.

I would love an explanation why this isn't being done. Duke does it.

 

[Unionst]

I would love an explanation why this isn't being done. Duke does it.

Really bad coaching. Our offense is obscenely bad. We’ll be back to some 40 something point games next year.

 

[RUJMM78]

Knowing that there is a problem with the offense is the easy part.Getting the coaching staff to admit change is necessary is the hard part,Recruiting players to implement the change is the third part .Success/failure can then be determined.

 

[seansherm]

I would love an explanation why this isn't being done. Duke does it.

Probably because you are drawing, most likely, the best two defenders in, who aren't going to screw up dealing with it. I like the idea of it, but I'm not 100% sure it would be as successful as we think in reality. Certainly there are times it would work.

 

[NickRU714]

Probably because you are drawing, most likely, the best two defenders in, who aren't going to screw up dealing with it. I like the idea of it, but I'm not 100% sure it would be as successful as we think in reality. Certainly there are times it would work.

Are our two best offensive players better than the other teams two best defenders?
Seems like most nights they are.
Let them play perfect defense - still like our odds of Dylan getting to the hoop or Ace shooting over someone.

I'd much rather take that chance than our 4th best offensive player (JWill?) doing anything against literally any defender.

 

[kt124]

can’t wait to hear about our team gpa later tonight

 

[seansherm]

Are our two best offensive players better than the other teams two best defenders?
Seems like most nights they are.
Let them play perfect defense - still like our odds of Dylan getting to the hoop or Ace shooting over someone.

I'd much rather take that chance than our 4th best offensive player (JWill?) doing anything against literally any defender.

Probably, yeah, but they already are mostly better than the defenders. Dylan can already pretty much get to the hoop, well could when he was healthy, and Ace can already shoot over everyone. Unfortunately, I'm not sure more Ace and Dylan really make anything better, they already make 48% of our shots. Need others to score more efficiently and better defense.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

In reality it would be back breaking to see our opponent literally take a 3rd player and just be 4 feet off of the screen and force the ball out.

That would happen after a few times....not sure why we can't sprinkle it in from time to time.

 

[NickRU714]

Let’s goProbably, yeah, but they already are mostly better than the defenders. Dylan can already pretty much get to the hoop, well could when he was healthy, and Ace can already shoot over everyone. Unfortunately, I'm not sure more Ace and Dylan really make anything better, they already make 48% of our shots. Need others to score more efficiently and better defense.

No way. I’m going the other way.
Get that up to 90% of our shots.

If we’re going to lose anyway then make some headlines.
Ace goes for 40? 50?
70 combined points?

I’m running that play until they throw 4 guys at them.

 

[FAT MOON]

In reality it would be back breaking to see our opponent literally take a 3rd player and just be 4 feet off of the screen and force the ball out.

That would happen after a few times....not sure why we can't sprinkle it in from time to time.

lol yep...

they just might be good enough to overcome it too but there is no way you aren't gonna see teams take at least one extra defender to shut that down and then it's one of our other guys shooting an open 3...will we hit it enough to make them respect it? not super likely.

 

[Scangg]

• Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

I’m not going to argue that Pike has been good the last two years, but this part is kind of nonsense. For starters he gave Grant more minutes than Martini against Texas A&M, the very next game after Alabama. Grant looks very good now, he did not look good in that game.

As for Simpson/Mulcahy, I find it hard to make the argument that anything Pike did with the rotation between the Indiana game and Mawot Mag’s injury was a mistake. Rutgers was a top 25 team. The reason he didn’t make an adjustment until February was because there weren’t any adjustments to be made until Mag got hurt. The team was 16-7 (8-4) at that point.

The problem was not getting Grant minutes in the early soft schedule so that he would be ready for TAMU. That wasn't putting Grant in a position to succeed

Same with Dortch debut at MSG vs MSU

Both bad situations

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No way. I’m going the other way.
Get that up to 90% of our shots.

If we’re going to lose anyway then make some headlines.
Ace goes for 40? 50?
70 combined points?

I’m running that play until they throw 4 guys at them.

Somerville will love that.

 

[seansherm]

No way. I’m going the other way.
Get that up to 90% of our shots.

If we’re going to lose anyway then make some headlines.
Ace goes for 40? 50?
70 combined points?

I’m running that play until they throw 4 guys at them.

From a fan point of view, yeah, it would be great watch. From a team mate point of view, not sure I'd put forth any effort to help them.

 

[LotusAggressor]

I would love an explanation why this isn't being done. Duke does it.

Duke has players who know how to screen.

 

[essexknight]

CHATGPT

Deepseek can get the answer faster and cheaper

 

[Smols]

Deepseek can get the answer faster and cheaper

As long as you don't ask it anything about Taiwan or Uyghurs.

 

[Hondo77]

I'd be a lot happier if we boxed out and made free throws.

But that is so passé.

/s

 

[NJHoops17]

• Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

I’m not going to argue that Pike has been good the last two years, but this part is kind of nonsense. For starters he gave Grant more minutes than Martini against Texas A&M, the very next game after Alabama. Grant looks very good now, he did not look good in that game.

As for Simpson/Mulcahy, I find it hard to make the argument that anything Pike did with the rotation between the Indiana game and Mawot Mag’s injury was a mistake. Rutgers was a top 25 team. The reason he didn’t make an adjustment until February was because there weren’t any adjustments to be made until Mag got hurt. The team was 16-7 (8-4) at that point

• Being too late on season-long adjustments: As many have stated, Pike took way to long to give Dylan Grant more minutes instead of a guy like Zach Martini — there wasn’t significant change until the Wisconsin/Purdue games, when it should have been after the Alabama game in Vegas. In 2022/2023, Pike should have given Derek Simpson more minutes than Mulcahy after the upset against Indiana at the RAC (December), but he didn’t make significant changes until mid-February

I’m not going to argue that Pike has been good the last two years, but this part is kind of nonsense. For starters he gave Grant more minutes than Martini against Texas A&M, the very next game after Alabama. Grant looks very good now, he did not look good in that game.

As for Simpson/Mulcahy, I find it hard to make the argument that anything Pike did with the rotation between the Indiana game and Mawot Mag’s injury was a mistake. Rutgers was a top 25 team. The reason he didn’t make an adjustment until February was because there weren’t any adjustments to be made until Mag got hurt. The team was 16-7 (8-4) at that point.

- I know Grant got more playing time than Martini against Texas A&M, but Pike gave Martini minutes in crunch time just to give him minutes, and he had two really bad turnovers that cost RU the game
- Same goes for Mulcahy — there were signs throughout that season that despite the 16-7 record, Mulcahy was struggling. He had a lot of crucial turnovers and just wasn’t good at all down the stretch (@Minnesota, Northwestern, etc.) Even though he had a low FG%, Simpson had far fewer turnovers in big moments. A good coach would have recognized that Mulcahy wasn’t necessarily the biggest factor in their wins, and reducing his minutes probably gives RU 2-3 more wins overall that year

 

[mikeyo]

As hurley said he studied how to adapt his offense to his players setting them up for success. He wasn’t stubborn to run his offense and have the players fit into that

Hurley has sent 8 players to the NBA so far. Might not be the fairest comparison. He's had way better talent overall

 

[needmorecowbell]

I would love an explanation why this isn't being done. Duke does it.

Duke can run sets like that frequently because they have top 100 players at every spot. It’s apples and oranges. For most teams you need to run multiple offenses to keep teams guessing, otherwise they figure out a way to stop it and force you off your spot. I think some fans think the other teams aren’t playing defense and it’s only the offense out there. On top of that Pike clearly spends most of his efforts on defense. In college it’s really hard to be good at both offense and defense unless you just have superior talent at every spot. We all want a more cohesive offense but if we are honest about the team, the defense has been the bigger issue. They have been better the since Jan but it’s been very unPike like all year. If I’m Pike, next year I go back to high effort, athletic long defenders and push the tempo. That fits his style way better than this team.

 

[needmorecowbell]

Hurley has sent 8 players to the NBA so far. Might not be the fairest comparison. He's had way better talent overall

Hurley is crazy good right now. He will also burn out in a few years. He can’t last long at that intensity.

 

[cm_13]

The problem was not getting Grant minutes in the early soft schedule so that he would be ready for TAMU. That wasn't putting Grant in a position to succeed

Same with Dortch debut at MSG vs MSU

Both bad situations

No arguments there. Grant absolutely should have been getting minutes in the early non conference games.

 

[needmorecowbell]

No arguments there. Grant absolutely should have been getting minutes in the early non conference games.

He wasn’t because they brought in transfers to play. Everyone was struggling early and the staff was trying to figure things out. Grant just wasn’t ready yet. Now he is. He didn’t play organized basketball last year and he’s a freshman. On top of that, no coach wants to play 4-5 freshmen.