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My take on Gene

O

ouchmyknee

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Nov 10, 2006
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its taken me a few days to chime in on this and while I didn’t want to start a new thread, I just felt that all the old ones have been hijacked at this point and most have devolved into Gene trashing.

I’m pissed the Gene quit on his team, but so is the team. I’ve heard that this was a surprise to everyone and, frankly, the players are pissed. But, they’re taking this and having it fuel their “us against the world” mentality that is sort of their mindset this offseason.

Now, I know a lot of people are going after Kyk, but from what I know he isn’t all wrong. Granted he seems to be exaggerating a little. Seems as though the team has a swagger we haven’t had in quite some time and they have been playing a ton of pickup. During these games, there def is some trash talking. There were some times where guys were going after Gene, but it was all in good fun. I would hope this wasn’t the reason he left. If it was, then he wasn’t the tough guy we thought. Side note, the trash talking and piling on was what I was told drove Mac McClung to decommit. He thought he was god’s gift and our guys brought him back down to earth.

Anyways, no one knows why Gene left. The guys felt like he quit on them, but they’re using it as extra motivation.

As for tampering...probably, but that is so common. One quote I did hear second hand was “he had more loyalty to his friends than to his brothers”. Take that for what it’s worth.

Would we be better with Gene? Of course. Will it derail our season? No. This team is on a mission. We will see a totally different team next year because the collective mindset is soooo different.
 
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ouchmyknee said:
its taken me a few days to chime in on this and while I didn’t want to start a new thread, I just felt that all the old ones have been hijacked at this point and most have devolved into Gene trashing.

I’m pissed the Gene quit on his team, but so is the team. I’ve heard that this was a surprise to everyone and, frankly, the players are pissed. But, they’re taking this and having it fuel their “us against the world” mentality that is sort of their mindset this offseason.

Now, I know a lot of people are going after Kyk, but from what I know he isn’t all wrong. Granted he seems to be exaggerating a little. Seems as though the team has a swagger we haven’t had in quite some time and they have been playing a ton of pickup. During these games, there def is some trash talking. There were some times where guys were going after Gene, but it was all in good fun. I would hope this wasn’t the reason he left. If it was, then he wasn’t the tough guy we thought. Side note, the trash talking and piling on was what I was told drove Mac McClung to decommit. He thought he was god’s gift and our guys brought him back down to earth.

Anyways, no one knows why Gene left. The guys felt like he quit on them, but they’re using it as extra motivation.

As for tampering...probably, but that is so common. One quote I did hear second hand was “he had more loyalty to his friends than to his brothers”. Take that for what it’s worth.

Would we be better with Gene? Of course. Will it derail our season? No. This team is on a mission. We will see a totally different team next year because the collective mindset is soooo different.
Click to expand...

This is fairly consistent to what I have been hearing
 
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RUtix4me said:
Another my take thread lol
Click to expand...
Nothing wrong with this but it’s funny so many of us believe we are special. It’s awesome we all live in our own little world where we feel our opinions matter. It’s a message board full of anonymous older dudes with strong opinions about what they think and want all of us to hear them. There are about 75 more boards just like this one. Lots of guys and gals wasting tons of time on the internet like I just did.
 
ouchmyknee said:
its taken me a few days to chime in on this and while I didn’t want to start a new thread, I just felt that all the old ones have been hijacked at this point and most have devolved into Gene trashing.

I’m pissed the Gene quit on his team, but so is the team. I’ve heard that this was a surprise to everyone and, frankly, the players are pissed. But, they’re taking this and having it fuel their “us against the world” mentality that is sort of their mindset this offseason.

Now, I know a lot of people are going after Kyk, but from what I know he isn’t all wrong. Granted he seems to be exaggerating a little. Seems as though the team has a swagger we haven’t had in quite some time and they have been playing a ton of pickup. During these games, there def is some trash talking. There were some times where guys were going after Gene, but it was all in good fun. I would hope this wasn’t the reason he left. If it was, then he wasn’t the tough guy we thought. Side note, the trash talking and piling on was what I was told drove Mac McClung to decommit. He thought he was god’s gift and our guys brought him back down to earth.

Anyways, no one knows why Gene left. The guys felt like he quit on them, but they’re using it as extra motivation.

As for tampering...probably, but that is so common. One quote I did hear second hand was “he had more loyalty to his friends than to his brothers”. Take that for what it’s worth.

Would we be better with Gene? Of course. Will it derail our season? No. This team is on a mission. We will see a totally different team next year because the collective mindset is soooo different.
Click to expand...


Two things. Regarding EO I believe ultimately his performance and value will relate to your board name @ouchmyknee

If trash talking drove off McClung...I'm not happy: he is a star on the rise / posted some great #'s as a true frosh for G-town.

MO
 
ouchmyknee said:
its taken me a few days to chime in on this and while I didn’t want to start a new thread, I just felt that all the old ones have been hijacked at this point and most have devolved into Gene trashing.

I’m pissed the Gene quit on his team, but so is the team. I’ve heard that this was a surprise to everyone and, frankly, the players are pissed. But, they’re taking this and having it fuel their “us against the world” mentality that is sort of their mindset this offseason.

Now, I know a lot of people are going after Kyk, but from what I know he isn’t all wrong. Granted he seems to be exaggerating a little. Seems as though the team has a swagger we haven’t had in quite some time and they have been playing a ton of pickup. During these games, there def is some trash talking. There were some times where guys were going after Gene, but it was all in good fun. I would hope this wasn’t the reason he left. If it was, then he wasn’t the tough guy we thought. Side note, the trash talking and piling on was what I was told drove Mac McClung to decommit. He thought he was god’s gift and our guys brought him back down to earth.

Anyways, no one knows why Gene left. The guys felt like he quit on them, but they’re using it as extra motivation.

As for tampering...probably, but that is so common. One quote I did hear second hand was “he had more loyalty to his friends than to his brothers”. Take that for what it’s worth.

Would we be better with Gene? Of course. Will it derail our season? No. This team is on a mission. We will see a totally different team next year because the collective mindset is soooo different.
Click to expand...

Trash talking in pickup basketball games? Really? I never heard of that :rolleyes:. Going hard and challenging each other? I never heard of that either.
 
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Sounds more like disfunction than a team on a mission, unfortunately.
 
RutgersMO said:
Two things. Regarding EO I believe ultimately his performance and value will relate to your board name @ouchmyknee

If trash talking drove off McClung...I'm not happy: he is a star on the rise / posted some great #'s as a true frosh for G-town.

MO
Click to expand...
That doesn’t make sense. He committed and then left. He wasn’t playing ball with the guys. I doubt he left because of that.
And by the way- HELL YEAH that we have a chip on our shoulder and that the EO cop out just fueled it more.

I would still like one more piece of front court depth thought :)
 
The trash talking thing to a point where it may bother certain players I think has more to it than just jabbing guys playfully.

When you’re doing intra squad games a little chat is fine. But if it’s so intense and personal that we have 2 accounts where it’s turned guys off. Then I suspect the environment of the pickup games is more play ground rather than “let’s get each other better and support each other”

The guys jabbing might be well intentioned and think they’re creating a competitors environment but that environment is good when you play guys you never see again. It’s not good when it’s your teammates and the goal is for everyone to get better and gain confidence.

It’s a totally different environment that unless you’ve played a lot of both organized and pickup basketball , you would probably just dismiss it.
 
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He is no longer here. I no longer care. Wish him neither well nor ill. We move on with what we've got.

But the idea that this will help add to the "chip on our shoulder" and not hurt the team is insane. The kid can play. Yes, we have someone with a similar game, but until he does it against our schedule I'll keep a wait-and-see attitude.

But I still expect quality efforts and a run at the postseason. I just won't be as pissed off if it doesn't happen.
 
ScarletKid2008 said:
The trash talking thing to a point where it may bother certain players I think has more to it than just jabbing guys playfully.

When you’re doing intra squad games a little chat is fine. But if it’s so intense and personal that we have 2 accounts where it’s turned guys off. Then I suspect the environment of the pickup games is more play ground rather than “let’s get each other better and support each other”

The guys jabbing might be well intentioned and think they’re creating a competitors environment but that environment is good when you play guys you never see again. It’s not good when it’s your teammates and the goal is for everyone to get better and gain confidence.

It’s a totally different environment that unless you’ve played a lot of both organized and pickup basketball , you would probably just dismiss it.
Click to expand...
Give me a freakin break. Now you’re going to tell me EO got hazed by freshmen. Just stop. On the court the opposing team is not your friend. If you’re getting your butt whipped the opposing team has the right to talk as much sh*t as they want. Off the field of play another story. It’s a team. On the court, it’s high level comp but I still wish the young man good luck even though he waited until a major university made an official announcement to play a game in his hometown because of said player to then announce over social media that he was leaving. Real classy.

GO RU
 
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satnom said:
Give me a freakin break. Now you’re going to tell me EO got hazed by freshmen. Just stop. On the court the opposing team is not your friend. If you’re getting your butt whipped the opposing team has the right to talk as much sh*t as they want. Off the field of play another story. It’s a team. On the court, it’s high level comp but I still wish the young man good luck even though he waited until a major university made an official announcement to play a game in his hometown because of said player to then announce over social media that he was leaving. Real classy.

GO RU
Click to expand...

I am in no way excusing or providing an acceptable reason for the departure. Nor would I expect a senior to even be impacted by what I explained. I’m pissed by it.

But I think the pickup game culture merits its own conversation outside of Eugene. I’m just using the Eugene and McClung instances as potential signs that maybe the pickup environment they use is more playground then practice.

Now we can debate if that’s a bad thing , but it seems it wasn’t the right environment for at least 2 talented players for some reason.
 
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Eugene clearly shows an alpha male personality, and we know from last year’s stories that he was the alpha of the team. Then comes in some new dogs and they might have messed with his spot. I’m not saying this is why EO left, but I have to think it is hard to be the alpha and then lose that spot going into your senior year
 
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McClung decommitted right after his Midnight Madness visit where he was joined by fellow recruits... Ron Harper and Montez Mathis. So maybe there is something to it?

I think the group of four freshman (those two plus McConnell and Johnson) are very tight so I don't think there's dysfunction but their vibe might not be for everyone. If it's enough to drive two separate players away then I think you can make a case that's something Pikiell needs to talk to them about.
 
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I don't know what is true about McClung. I know he is very good. I had heard that he played with a few of our guys and got scared off because Corey was better than him and he wanted to start immediately and he thought Corey would still be at RU. I also heard he thought he might not beat out another guy who might have been Geo or Mathis. I have no idea if this is accurate but he did decommit after the visit. Others said he wanted to play closer to his Roanoke, Virginia home and when Georgetown offered he jumped at the offer. It is what it is. We move forward. I am happy with the guys we have and wish him well. He is good but plays the 2 guard and his outside shooting is now exactly great. He does make some nice highlights but really doesn't make many assists.
 
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ScarletKid2008 said:
I am in no way excusing or providing an acceptable reason for the departure. Nor would I expect a senior to even be impacted by what I explained. I’m pissed by it.

But I think the pickup game culture merits its own conversation outside of Eugene. I’m just using the Eugene and McClung instances as potential signs that maybe the pickup environment they use is more playground then practice.

Now we can debate if that’s a bad thing , but it seems it wasn’t the right environment for at least 2 talented players for some reason.
Click to expand...
This makes me wonder if the trash talking affected Thiam's shooting last season. I guess we will never know.
 
I absolutely love that our team has that edge to them. It's not a coincidence that our teams performance has gotten better along with the swagger. It's the reason we walk into iowas gym and punch them in the mouth after they steal one from us. I want all guys on the team to have that dog mentality.
 
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I don't care about trash talking during pickup games, or McClung (haven't we talked about him enough?!).

I just like the tidbit that the players are ticked off and will use EO's sudden departure as more motivation in an "us vs. them" kind of way.
 
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RUChoppin said:
You say that as if it's the only thing motivating them, rather than "taking adversity and using it as motivation".
Click to expand...
I agree with your post 100%. My post was in response to one that, at least, inferred in was going to be the motivating force.
 
Scangg said:
I can't imagine being a D1 player who is so soft that they can't handle pick up trash talking. Embarrassing
Click to expand...

I'm not buying that spin. A rising Senior that has been thru the battles in the Big 10 being scared and complaining about trash talk.... that's nonsense.
 
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RU-Choppin-Ohio said:
I'm not buying that spin. A rising Senior that has been thru the battles in the Big 10 being scared and complaining about trash talk.... that's nonsense.
Click to expand...

If I had a gun to my head....that is what i am going with. Doesn't sound plausible, but the more you think it's the only thing that makes half sense.

Few of my observations....
1. Eugene thought he was above his teammates
2. Teammates weren't overly warm with Eugene

If Eugene primarily doesn't get the respect he thinks HE deserves from his teammates and secondarily from coaches, he comes home hangs with his friend from Providence and it feels comfortable to move and get away and go to a place HE feels he is wanted.
 
Trash talk is trash talk grow some onions and give it back . Reminds me of a little boy crying Im taking my ball and bat home. Grow some backbone be a man.
 
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You call it all trash talking but it has a range from good-natured ribbing to degrading to threatening. It can be a problem among teammates. I remember my Uncle once said, "I hated the North Koreans but not as much as I hated some guys in my platoon." Not uncommon and being the best sometimes makes you more of a target for hostility. This is way more true in basketball than it is in football. I frequenlty felt that if I could not beat and phychologically dominate the guy who lines up against me in practice then I won't be able to do it in a game. That said, I never heard of this being a problem at RU.

I'm thinking someone said somethings to Eugene about his best path to getting into the NBA and he felt it made sense. If that message came directly or indirectly from an other team, that's tampering which is extremely likely here.

As for McClung, Ewing/Georgetown suddenly made the kid a priority. That is tough for RU to compete with a the moment. How did he, a signed player, know that he was a priority for Georgetown? If that message came directly or indirectly from an other team, that's tampering which is extremely likely here.
 
Good-Knight said:
As for McClung, Ewing/Georgetown suddenly made the kid a priority. That is tough for RU to compete with a the moment. How did he, a signed player, know that he was a priority for Georgetown? If that message came directly or indirectly from an other team, that's tampering which is extremely likely here.
Click to expand...

McClung was committed, not signed - so not tampering if another team puts the full court press on him at that point with an intent to flip his commitment (though this happens less in basketball than in football). He committed 8/3/17 and decommitted 10/6/17, and then committed to G'town on 10/15/17. The early signing period in 2017 didn't start until 11/7.

Timeline:
3/9/17 - 2016-17 season ends
3/24/17 - Johnson announces transfer
4/23/17 - Kiss commits
8/3/17 - McClung commits
8/4/17 - Mathis commits
8/11/17 - Harper Jr. commits
10/6/17 - McClung decommits from Rutgers
10/15/17 - McClung commits to Georgetown
11/10/17-3/2/18 - 2017-18 season
3/23/18 - Mensah and Bullock granted releases
3/27/18 - Strickland commits to Wisconsin
3/29/18 - Sanders hires agent to go to NBA
4/15/18 - McConnell commits
4/21/18 - Young commits
6/16/18 - Mulcahy commits
11/9/18-3/13/19 - 2018-19 season
3/11/19 - Thiam dismissed
5/2/19 - Yeboah commits
5/28/19 - Omoruyi announces transfer
 
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Good-Knight said:
You call it all trash talking but it has a range from good-natured ribbing to degrading to threatening.
Click to expand...

I am going to guess 99 to 100% of us don't have the facts here. No way I don't think anyone can come to any conclusion without knowing them.

Some/all of us are speculating, which is fine since this is a message board.

I think this post could potentially be VERY valuable. (not mine, his)
 
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Until we saw balls hurled at Biruta 95%ish of fans would have come to the defense of Rice and said players need to be tough and take discipline. They are 20 year old 6'6'' guys and need to grow a pair.
 
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