Pike: “100 percent on me” for Iowa loss- two thoughts

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

1. Yes, his poor in game coaching, prep, recruiting and portal misses, etc are 100 percent on him. But here’s something else…
2. Failing to call out piss poor efforts and lacksadasial attitudes, even generally - so afraid of offending players. Where’s the accountability??
And that, in the words of Yoda, is why he fails.

 

[LeapinLou]

Pike's words:
- We're Young
- We're Close
- 100% on me

All of these things are true. And I'm not making excuses for Dylan and Ace, but they just aren't themselves. I don't know if it's illness, the grind of a longer season, or the disappointment setting in. But before yesterday, everything was still on the table. For them to look and play like that was so disappointing. Congratulations to Iowa for really wanting it and never giving up. They were undermanned and 0-5 on the road. And despite that, they outscored us by 20 points over the last 15 minutes in the RAC. That's hard to believe.

 

[Mholinko]

Pike's words:
- We're Young
- We're Close
- 100% on me

All of these things are true. And I'm not making excuses for Dylan and Ace, but they just aren't themselves. I don't know if it's illness, the grind of a longer season, or the disappointment setting in. But before yesterday, everything was still on the table. For them to look and play like that was so disappointing. Congratulations to Iowa for really wanting it and never giving up. They were undermanned and 0-5 on the road. And despite that, they outscored us by 20 points over the last 15 minutes in the RAC. That's hard to believe.

It’s not that hard to believe

The RAC hasn’t been the RAC since 2021 when we beat purdue

Even the announcers point out that fans sit on their hands half the time and only get up because the person in front of them stood up

The fans (and I am a season ticket holder too) contribute very little to the atmosphere anymore

 

[rutgershoopsinsider]

I have to check the numbers so sorta spit balling here, but I believe Rutgers has lost 12 of its last 20 B1G home games at The RAC

The RAC is no longer a dominant homecourt advantage

 

[soundcrib]

Nothing special about The RAC.

 

[stribucher]

The entire season is 100% on Pike. If you switched coaches last night with same rosters, I will tell you McCaffery wins 9 out of 10 times. It is time to acknowledge that Pike is worst coach in B1G and we have a $15M, 5 year problem behind by former athletic director. Probably have 1-2 lame duck years of Pike before new AD fires him and taxpayers have to shell out $10M for Pike to go away. All goodwill is gone from how Pike took us out of the gutter.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

 

[FIJI'83]

The entire season is 100% on Pike. If you switched coaches last night with same rosters, I will tell you McCaffery wins 9 out of 10 times. It is time to acknowledge that Pike is worst coach in B1G and we have a $15M, 5 year problem behind by former athletic director. Probably have 1-2 lame duck years of Pike before new AD fires him and taxpayers have to shell out $10M for Pike to go away. All goodwill is gone from how Pike took us out of the gutter.

Agree. McCaffery is a much superior coach. His players were in constant motion and shooting off of screens. What a contrast to our offense where 4 players stand while the one with the ball goes ISO. Also amazing the difficulty Pikell’s teams have inbounding the ball in the face of pressure. Nothing good will happen until Pikell is gone … assuming his replacement is capable.

 

[King of S]

It’s not that hard to believe

The RAC hasn’t been the RAC since 2021 when we beat purdue

Even the announcers point out that fans sit on their hands half the time and only get up because the person in front of them stood up

The fans (and I am a season ticket holder too) contribute very little to the atmosphere anymore

When the players don’t show enthusiasm, why should the fans?

 

[RCBeta79]

The constant RAC noisy atmosphere has dwindled since the renaming to Jersey Mike's.

All the coaches are to blame.

1. Not focused before the start of the second half...clowning around
2. No excuse for the turnover long throws inbound passes...have set inbound plays
3. No excuse for a turnover after a timeout...have a set play
4. The latter part of the second half turned into an NBA game with Ace or Dylan one-on-one moves at the end of the shot clock resulting in bad shots and turnovers
5. No offensive movement in the second half with players standing around, while watching one-on-one NBA plays
6. Throwing up 3-point shots with no one under the basket to get rebounds/put backs
7. How many times did Iowa get layups with a clear out on the left side for an easy layup
8. Uninspired basketball during the last 4 minutes
9. This team may only win one more game, unless they play team ball with movement and quick passes shown in the first half of the game

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

No way they win 4 in a row. I thought this illusion would be gone by now. Team far too inconsistent and frankly not talented enough from bottom to top.

 

[BigEastPhil]

My thoughts :

- For many fans, myself included , going to the games as of late has been a chore. As such. we’re not as enthusiastic as we have previously been !

- We go the games and see with our eyes a squad with very little killer instinct / very little team cohesiveness and a team that we know will find a way to lose the game

- At halftime last night even up 9, I asked “ when will game be a 1 possession game “

- Speaking for myself, for some reason , I never felt the emotional attachment to this team as I have had with many other prior squads !

 

[RUJMM78]

The RAC crowd has impact when the team responds to the support.In Rutgers case the defense allows uncontested layups and the offense can't even inbound a pass or run a half court offense with player/ball movement.The problem is roster formation and teaching basic basketball fundamentals.

 

[Salvi's Headband]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

WE WERE UP BY 8 POINTS 5 MINUTES INTO THE SECOND HALF! THE CROWD COULD HAVE CARRIED US! We weren't awful the whole game.

 

[Mholinko]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

Not for nothing we didn't do any of these things particularly well even when we were good... we were fueled by great defense and forcing turnovers which we don't do well now either

I have never seen us run a good offense at Rutgers pretty much in my life time (35 years old)

I have ALWAYS admired Fran McCaffrey's knowledge of offense and how he always runs sets that get his guys good shots going all the way back to when he was at Siena. That is the type of guy we should have targeted long ago and I think he would have loved an east coast job like this.

 

[RutgersClassof2004]

My thoughts :

- For many fans, myself included , going to the games as of late has been a chore. As such. we’re not as enthusiastic as we have previously been !

- We go the games and see with our eyes a squad with very little killer instinct / very little team cohesiveness and a team that we know will find a way to lose the game

- At halftime last night even up 9, I asked “ when will game be a 1 possession game “

- Speaking for myself, for some reason , I never felt the emotional attachment to this team as I have had with many other prior squads !

Absolute clown show. Two Top Ten picks (yes, time to start moving them down, IMO) and we are under .500.

 

[FAT MOON]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

Hayes being first off the bench was mind numbing.

I don't know what was more insane. The fact that he actually dropped not one but two Iowa defenders or the fact that he bricked both wide open 3s afterward.

 

[PhillyRU]

Even after yesterday’s debacle Rutgers has the No. 16 ranked home court advantage in college basketball per KenPom, and many of the higher ones are artificially inflated by their altitude. The reality is bad basketball teams lose games no matter where they're played.

Also for what it's worth, Rice lost to KenPom sub-100 teams at home in two of his three seasons, Waters in three of his five seasons, Bannon in 3 of his four. The RAC has been a great venue for a long time, but the myth of its invulnerability has been mythologied a bit.

 

[The RUT]

I’m just not sure how you can go from the Illinois game to the Iowa game and blame the RAC.

Two things have happened recently:

1. You have an offensive focused team and Rutgers fans have always been more supportive of defensive minded teams. This is true in both basketball and football.

2. Because of the Ace/Dylan additions, we attracted a more casual fan base at the RAC. There are 100% people coming to games specifically for those two.

 

[Salvi's Headband]

I’m just not sure how you can go from the Illinois game to the Iowa game and blame the RAC.

Two things have happened recently:

1. You have an offensive focused team and Rutgers fans have always been more supportive of defensive minded teams. This is true in both basketball and football.

2. Because of the Ace/Dylan additions, we attracted a more casual fan base at the RAC. There are 100% people coming to games specifically for those two.

I'm not sure I really believe 1. Everyone cheers when ball goes in hole. That's about as basic an impulse as you get from a basketball crowd.

 

[The RUT]

I'm not sure I really believe 1. Everyone cheers when ball goes in hole. That's about as basic an impulse as you get from a basketball crowd.

Of course everyone cheers when the ball goes in the hoop.

To what extent though? The RAC has always been at its loudest when the team gets defensive stops and goes on runs.

Team plays TEAM defense and the RAC fans are right on top of you breathing down your neck with each failed possession.

You don’t feel the pressure of the fans as much when you aren’t struggling to put the ball in the hoop.

 

[Shelby65]

Agree. McCaffery is a much superior coach. His players were in constant motion and shooting off of screens. What a contrast to our offense where 4 players stand while the one with the ball goes ISO. Also amazing the difficulty Pikell’s teams have inbounding the ball in the face of pressure. Nothing good will happen until Pikell is gone … assuming his replacement is capable.

McCaffery brings in players who excel in motion offense, good passers, etc. Same as Purdue. We recruit different abilities for a different system. We have mostly shot hunters, and when the shots fall all game we win. Our players are poor passers.

So, with the players we have we run what gives us the best chance.

Analogy: it's not a play-calling failure when a poor run blocking team doesn't run as much as teams with better OLs. The offensive system must match abilities. Pike's Xs and Os match the roster he built. So it's incorrect to criticize the iso and two man game.

Does anyone think we'd be better with JMike passing to a cutting Martini ? Or Ace to Acuff ? Or Sommerville either as the passer or cutter ? Holy mother of god we'd score under 20 ppg if we had our players try to do that. The offense we run best fits our abilities.

 

[R1766U]

The constant RAC noisy atmosphere has dwindled since the renaming to Jersey Mike's.

All the coaches are to blame.

1. Not focused before the start of the second half...clowning around
2. No excuse for the turnover long throws inbound passes...have set inbound plays
3. No excuse for a turnover after a timeout...have a set play
4. The latter part of the second half turned into an NBA game with Ace or Dylan one-on-one moves at the end of the shot clock resulting in bad shots and turnovers
5. No offensive movement in the second half with players standing around, while watching one-on-one NBA plays
6. Throwing up 3-point shots with no one under the basket to get rebounds/put backs
7. How many times did Iowa get layups with a clear out on the left side for an easy layup
8. Uninspired basketball during the last 4 minutes
9. This team may only win one more game, unless they play team ball with movement and quick passes shown in the first half of the game

Well we do have Pike constantly flailing his arms to the crowd to get into it.

Don't forget the incessant piped in music/noise that dominates most of the down time.

This entire program is screwed.

 

[rufeelinit]

Well we do have Pike constantly flailing his arms to the crowd to get into it.

Don't forget the incessant piped in music/noise that dominates most of the down time.

This entire program is screwed.

I was just going to post the same thing about Pike always throwing his arms in the air to get the crowd going. I am tired of that crap. Play better and that is not necessary. Maybe he should use similar motions to get the guy to put their hands up and guard someone.

 

[richthedentist]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

And why do you automatically take out Grant who is basically the only one rebounding 3 minutes into each half and then bury him on the bench is beyond me and as if everyone says Brandin Knight is responsible for the rotations than he has GOT to go but Pikell won't let him go due to his loyalty and that will just seal Pikells fate

 

[richthedentist]

McCaffery brings in players who excel in motion offense, good passers, etc. Same as Purdue. We recruit different abilities for a different system. We have mostly shot hunters, and when the shots fall all game we win. Our players are poor passers.

So, with the players we have we run what gives us the best chance.

Analogy: it's not a play-calling failure when a poor run blocking team doesn't run as much as teams with better OLs. The offensive system must match abilities. Pike's Xs and Os match the roster he built. So it's incorrect to criticize the iso and two man game.

Does anyone think we'd be better with JMike passing to a cutting Martini ? Or Ace to Acuff ? Or Sommerville either as the passer or cutter ? Holy mother of god we'd score under 20 ppg if we had our players try to do that. The offense we run best fits our abilities.

Pikell has no X's and O's lets be real

 

[Shelby65]

Pikell has no X's and O's lets be real

Shelby isn’t making excuses for Pike or the offense. But it is a type of offense. Watch any NBA game and you will see much more similarity with ours than Iowa’s.

Yes we have Xs and Os tailored to the skills of our players, so obviously very different than Iowa’s.

 

[RAC93]

The play has to compliment the crowd with crisp passing, rhythm plays and shot making. We don't have guards 1 to 4 that make shots and there's no one that can say in mid February, what the player rotation is, once the starters are announced.

The staff owns the majority of this, but I feel like we got killed with injuries and a lack of consistent play from seniors via the portal (JWill, Martini, Acuff and Hayes).....Derkack has been uneven for most of his 1st year and that's 5 upperclassman....asking 4 freshman and JMike to carry the load is tough.

Do I think RU can win the next 4 in a row, with 3 on the road?? Absolutely, but if the staff randomly decides JMike plays 29 minutes one game and 11 minutes the next one and PJ Hayes suddenly becomes the 1st guard off the bench vs Iowa, you're asking for problems as a staff and that impacts the fanbase.

Fans cheer when they know what to expect.....

Players play harder, when they know what to expect in terms of minutes and playing time.

Mishandling and poor roster development plans for Grant, Sommerville and Dortch, have RU in a hole, because the seniors are essentially, just not as consistent as the freshman are....

Could not agree with you more about the rotations. I have no idea who is playing, how many minutes they will get, etc.. from game to game with this team. Many role players have had uneven to bad performances, but so has Pike. Acuff has 2 good games, then his playing time is reduced, then last night, “SURPRISE”, he jumps out of the closet and gets to play and starts draining threes again. JMike starts turning a corner in the month of February and playing solid ball but to your point, he only gets 11 minutes last night?!?!?! And he produces 10 points in his meager 11 minutes. Hayes is the 6th man, first guy off the bench?!?! The dude had been on a milk carton for the past month and now he’s a key piece to beat Iowa?!?!

I am not saying the role players have been consistently good this year, BUT when one of them shows up and performs for a game or two or maybe more, they don’t get rewarded with possibly a starting spot or at a minimum more minutes off the bench. I have no idea, and I think Pike has no idea (much scarier considering this is his job) who he will give minutes to next game and we are entering Game 26 of a 31 game season. That’s a pretty scary job of coaching. It’s like Pike spins a wheel, if it lands on Dortch, he yells for him to get in the game, spin again, Derkack get in the game. No rhyme or reason in too many games, some games he’s done better but he has been as uneven this year with his rotations as our role players have performed.

 

[ru-baby]

His players were in constant motion and shooting off of screens.

CONSTANT MOTION vs standing around. The difference was stark and striking to me yesterday.

So much calling for the ball 30 feet from the hoop and just standing waiting for Ace or Dylan to drive. It was really something to see as the contrast.

The second shock is why in the world would you have Jwill be an inbounder???? Usually a team designates one or two that are careful with the ball. It's an absolute headscratcher and the difficulty in inbounding is absurd. Either the players start too far from the endline after a made basket or everyone in the world knows Ace will curl to the corner on an under the basket play AND NO ONE else really looks to get open.

Again it goes to lack of movement and standing around

 

[Shelby65]

Could not agree with you more about the rotations. I have no idea who is playing, how many minutes they will get, etc.. from game to game with this team. Many role players have had uneven to bad performances, but so has Pike. Acuff has 2 good games, then his playing time is reduced, then last night, “SURPRISE”, he jumps out of the closet and gets to play and starts draining threes again. JMike starts turning a corner in the month of February and playing solid ball but to your point, he only gets 11 minutes last night?!?!?! And he produces 10 points in his meager 11 minutes. Hayes is the 6th man, first guy off the bench?!?! The dude had been on a milk carton for the past month and now he’s a key piece to beat Iowa?!?!

I am not saying the role players have been consistently good this year, BUT when one of them shows up and performs for a game or two or maybe more, they don’t get rewarded with possibly a starting spot or at a minimum more minutes off the bench. I have no idea, and I think Pike has no idea (much scarier considering this is his job) who he will give minutes to next game and we are entering Game 26 of a 31 game season. That’s a pretty scary job of coaching. It’s like Pike spins a wheel, if it lands on Dortch, he yells for him to get in the game, spin again, Derkack get in the game. No rhyme or reason in too many games, some games he’s done better but he has been as uneven this year with his rotations as our role players have performed.

It’s not hard to understand. Matchups. Hayes and Acuff are slow, weak defenders. Last night they weren’t as much liabilities like they are against quicker teams. The idea was their offensive production would outweigh their D weakness.

Every opponent is different.

Yesterday, Ace and Harper should have dominated.

 

[RAC93]

It’s not hard to understand. Matchups. Hayes and Acuff are slow, weak defenders. Last night they weren’t as much liabilities like they are against quicker teams. The idea was their offensive production would outweigh their D weakness.

Every opponent is different.

Yesterday, Ace and Harper should have dominated.

This is not about matchups, he has never settled on a core group of 8 or 9 guys with defined roles. Hayes is not a good matchup for anybody team in the BIG and should never be the first guy off the bench, never ever. Hayes played more than JMike who has played better in the month of February. Hayes should be the 10th or 11 man at this point and out of the mix. Pike still does not know what the mix is and we have completed 80% of the season. Russian Roulette substitution game is what Pike has played all year, like a scene out of the Deer Hunter with Knight, Williamson, Thompson and players all behind Pike throwing their money down as bets before Pike pulls the trigger as to who gets in the game next and how long they stay on the floor.

 

[Shelby65]

This is not about matchups, he has never settled on a core group of 8 or 9 guys with defined roles. Hayes is not a good matchup for anybody team in the BIG and should never be the first guy off the bench, never ever. Hayes played more than JMike who has played better in the month of February. Hayes should be the 10th or 11 man at this point and out of the mix. Pike still does not know what the mix is and we have completed 80% of the season. Russian Roulette substitution game is what Pike has played all year, like a scene out of the Deer Hunter with Knight, Williamson, Thompson and players all behind Pike throwing their money down as bets before Pike pulls the trigger as to who gets in the game next and how long they stay on the floor.

not really. it’s relative. Yes normally Hayes is too much a liability on D but yesterday the the calculus was that he, Acuff and Martini would be more effective against a slower team.

The rotations should absolutely not be fixed. Matchups should be taken into account.

We’re not losing because of rotations or Xs and Os. We’re losing because of poor defense and rebounding, and too many ball dominant, selfish shot hunters, especially at guard.

 

[RAC93]

The ca

not really. it’s relative. Yes normally Hayes is too much a liability on D but yesterday the the calculus was that he, Acuff and Martini would be more effective against a slower team.

The rotations should absolutely not be fixed. Matchups should be taken into account.

We’re not losing because of rotations or Xs and Os. We’re losing because of poor defense and rebounding, and too many ball dominant, selfish shot hunters, especially at guard.

The calculus, comical. Hayes is never the answer to any calculus equation, come on man. First guy off the bench? Really? That is a true sign that Pike has no idea who to actually play, Pike is just HOPING at this point. He never tightened up the rotation and established accountability with moving some guys out of the mix completely. Hayes shouldn’t even play anymore at this point. Do we have defensive liabilities like Acuff who moves like a 50 year old? Yes, but everyone on this roster is a defensive liability, everyone looks lost on defense in their own unique way. Hayes and Martini move like 50 year olds as well. Our defense as a whole has been lost all year, all players included. The “this guy is a liability on defense” argument really is meaningless with this team, who isn’t a liability??

 

[whofrewdatmataRU13]

Maybe Pike should start wearing a suit when he is coaching games..... also

Bring back Mike Rice

 

[RUSCFORMERLYRULOU]

It’s such a weird thing with the tracksuits. Coaches traditionally wear suits. It just screams unprofessional .

 

[whofrewdatmataRU13]

It’s such a weird thing with the tracksuits. Coaches traditionally wear suits. It just screams unprofessional .

They look like bums

 

[richthedentist]

Could not agree with you more about the rotations. I have no idea who is playing, how many minutes they will get, etc.. from game to game with this team. Many role players have had uneven to bad performances, but so has Pike. Acuff has 2 good games, then his playing time is reduced, then last night, “SURPRISE”, he jumps out of the closet and gets to play and starts draining threes again. JMike starts turning a corner in the month of February and playing solid ball but to your point, he only gets 11 minutes last night?!?!?! And he produces 10 points in his meager 11 minutes. Hayes is the 6th man, first guy off the bench?!?! The dude had been on a milk carton for the past month and now he’s a key piece to beat Iowa?!?!

I am not saying the role players have been consistently good this year, BUT when one of them shows up and performs for a game or two or maybe more, they don’t get rewarded with possibly a starting spot or at a minimum more minutes off the bench. I have no idea, and I think Pike has no idea (much scarier considering this is his job) who he will give minutes to next game and we are entering Game 26 of a 31 game season. That’s a pretty scary job of coaching. It’s like Pike spins a wheel, if it lands on Dortch, he yells for him to get in the game, spin again, Derkack get in the game. No rhyme or reason in too many games, some games he’s done better but he has been as uneven this year with his rotations as our role players have performed.

And Grant has his best game the previous game and he starts and like its scripted plays the first 3 minutes and then especially in the second half he is buried on the bench and we can't even grab a rebound