Probably will go to Iona and make tourney.
He didn't create for anyone else, was not a spot up three point shooter, and had a lot cringe worthy misadventures driving into the paint but he did have a few games where he was on fire and on a team desperate for scoring he provided that on many occasions. Are we a better team than we were yesterday? No, we are not. Luckily the season doesn't start tomorrow so let's see what this staff can do. Time to go to work.This. Our team honestly played best when he wasnt on the floor. Again this is addition by subtraction
Nigel got yanked and never returned to the floor in our last home game against Illinois. When the rest of the RAC and the team were going bananas after Deshawn won the game with his three, Nigel was stonefaced during the postgame celebration. Didn't even pretend to be happy. That was pretty telling at the time. I've seen it before, unfortunately. But, it's also telling that a coach would be willing to make that kind of decision at that late stage of the season, knowing what impact it might have on a player's decision whether to stay or go.
The badmouthing will begin, addition by subtraction, etc, but the bottom line is that on a team devoid of shooting/scoring options, it is a loss and I'd be surprised if we will be able to replace him with a grad transfer of equal potential value to next year's team. I fully understand those that say "it's not about next year" anyway so what's the big deal, but I will always argue that your record always matters if for no other reason that it is the most tangible evidence of progress and makes it easier to sell a vision. So, this is something the staff will need to overcome. We'll just have to sit back and see how the roster shapes up for next season before really assessing how big of a blow this is.
It's interesting that we "invested" two years in a player who only gave us one year on the court. I wonder if the ability of transfers to pack up and leave as grad transfers is going to cause come coaching staffs to think twice about taking regular transfers anymore since they'll have to waste a roster spot for at least two years and potentially only get one year payoff and then "adios." Without the grad transfer rule, coaching staffs had any player who redshirted or already transferred over a barrel. Now, the player has the upper hand assuming he's academically on track.
certainly hope soMaybe we also know why Pikiell said, We'll add another good player next year" in his recent interview. Someone may be tee'ed up already.
Word. I noticed that too, especially when I replayed that game winning shot 100 times on my computer and phone.Nigel got yanked and never returned to the floor in our last home game against Illinois. When the rest of the RAC and the team were going bananas after Deshawn won the game with his three, Nigel was stonefaced during the postgame celebration. Didn't even pretend to be happy. That was pretty telling at the time. I've seen it before, unfortunately. But, it's also telling that a coach would be willing to make that kind of decision at that late stage of the season, knowing what impact it might have on a player's decision whether to stay or go.
Here's the thing; you as insider, no much more about the program than the outsiders looking in. You should know that next season's win/loss is irrelevant to the momentum this program has with a dedicated coach who's proven his own grit and a behemoth of a facility on the way. This should carry our momentum well past this next season. As long as we the fan base understand it and project it then it's what the recruits and outsiders will see.
When everyone goes woe is me or when writers make dumb statements like "there's no way to spin this" its an attack in the form of lies and misinformation on this positive narrative we KNOW we have going.
So i just suggest we take those two precious facts and positives, Pikiell and our facility, and we support it with our hearts and our dollars, because in reality it's that type of support that pulls players towards a school and makes them want to play there for the fans to be part of that culture.
*steps off alter*
I'm not in the "next year means nothing camp" but Politi's tweet that Nigel is the "one player we can least afford to lose" is idiotic even by Politi's uniformed standards. Losing Sanders, Freeman, Williams, or Thiam could easily be considered much bigger losses. I thought Politi at least watched more than just the Ohio State game. Jeez.
He actually threw in an "absolutely" to "could not afford to lose" and also threw in an Indian burial ground reference. Look, I'm not happy about this, especially because we don't who else might be leaving and Corey's status will always be a question mark, but, come on now. Steve, come back to us. I realize that Nigel was technically our second leading scorer but he also only started 13 of 31 games.I know man. I just sit here shaking my head going where do these guys get this stuff from. They try try try to set a bleak outlook for the programs. If you're a smart person you know yo just ignore the dickhead, but, you know you'll go into work on Monday and the guys who are leisurely fans of either Rutgers or college sports will come in touting his article as their primary talking point.
Again may be a bad teammate. Another player with better attitude.
I am going to make an educated guess that the staff wasn't too upset to see Nigel leave and maybe the parting was mutual. I would also guess they expect Corey back and would be looking forward to it.
Coach Pike's joke at the Court Club was that "Nigel thinks he gets a point when a shot of his gets blocked."
Yes, but to be fair he joked around quite a bit about our flaws and idiosyncrasies. We were watching film at the time.Yikes. He said that?
Yes, but to be fair he joked around quite a bit about our flaws and idiosyncrasies.
That being said, there is quite a bit of truth to that one.
Pikiell was on fire that night with the one-liners. I could have listened to him all evening.Coach Pike's joke at the Court Club was that "Nigel thinks he gets a point when a shot of his gets blocked."
And I think he would've gone on all night if BK didn't step in and give him the hook. :smiley:Pikiell was on fire that night with the one-liners. I could have listened to him all evening.
Its not as easy as you say to get a replacement who can score in double figures.Johnson while flawed like all the players on the team was at least able to score over 20 points in multiple games including the win over Ohio State.Get an average grad transfer guard from anywhere in the country and he's easily replaced. It's not like he was the cornerstone of the offense or defense. In fact he was benched several times for his play. There are guys out there, now go get one.
Rutgers wasn't going to the NCAAs (or likely even NIT) next season so Nigel is not the difference there. This is a blow for the short term for sure, but I don't want to panic until I see what the roster looks like for next year.
Yes, players have to leave in order to be able to bringWaiter check please?Opens up a spot for the next guy.
PG?Too much drama added to this thread. Playing time, and potential to be a point guard somewhere else. The me culture.
The position that would suit him best, and that he played in up till college.
While averaging 20 plus a game and shooting 40% on 3-pointers.Probably will go to Iona and make tourney.