I’m personally not suggesting those two coaches as replacements, but a lot has changed in the last 30 years. Being in the B1G is such a major advantage that we did not have until somewhat recently, and only even more recently we’ve gotten the full financial benefits. We should be able to attract talented head coaching candidates.
Poll: IF we miss the tournament, is it time to fire Pike?
- Thread starter kt124
- Start date
The interested part (there will always be someone) isn't about money so much as "Oh wow, they fired the guy who actually did it there."
I don’t think it looks that crazy if he misses the tournament three years in a row (assuming we miss this year for the sake of the hypothetical) and especially given the expectations that there were for this year’s team
Mawot went down at the worst time possible - the team went into a 2 week tailspin with 5 huge games on tap. And Spencer also slumped. The 23 team had a better resume, but played it worst basketball at the worst time, the committee takes into account how a team is trending and we didn’t have enough time to show we were back to being good.
Except... except. We aren't Virginia, Villanova, or a school of that ilk. You have to think of the reputation of the school.
Pikes missed the tournament in 22-23 because Mag got hurt. The committee essentially said so. He still went on the road and upset the number 1 team in the country and they were buzzing before that ACL.
Last year was a disaster, mostly because they missed on Griffiths and Cam and Paul bailed really late meaning they had to scramble in the portal. That doesn't absolve Pikes, but I do believe it was an abberration.
This year... well, we'll see. They are entertaining to watch. They haven't clicked yet completely and it may be too late. Missing this year would be a huge disappointment.
But people would look at it and say "Look at what this guy did at Rutgers... RUTGERS..." and they FIRED him? Pretty sure he'd need to fail a couple more times for him to get fired and people wouldn't be surprised and still want the job.
Just to add - we also lost Ndongo late, who turned out to be a very good player in the ACC.
Agreed. But we were 8-3 in the B1G when Mag went down. Still - losing 6 rather than 7 of your last 9 still not good.
As I’ve said before, I’m grateful for Pikiell taking the job when he did; he did a great job in stabilizing the program and breaking our horrendous tournament drought. But we’ve been regressing as a program the past few seasons, and one round of 32 appearance in 9 years shouldn’t make a coach untouchable. Pike helped make us a big boy program but if he can’t maintain it we need to find someone who can.
yes and while it’s obviously not Pike’s fault that Mag got injured, it’s still his job to make the necessary adjustments to make up for it. he was an important player for us but let’s not act like he was straw that stirred the drink.
Dave gets it, especially the last paragraph. Basketball people on a national basis know what an incredible job he’s done. As far as the “Poll” I wouldn’t even honor it with a vote.
boot licking mentality - we’re not a little A-10 or Big East program anymore. just because Pike got us out of the gutter doesn’t mean we have to keep him forever.
This shouldn't even be a question. Dude should be shitcanned if we miss Tournament, and even worse, finish near bottom of conference. A generational embarrassment. Fire him day after season over for RU.
Status quo won't work in the B1G Ten.Changes in the coaching staff might be required in order to improve the half court offense which is easy to defend because there is a lack of player and ball movement .Failure to incorporate the 3 point shot after recruiting Hayes,Martini and Acuff is a major factor for the 7-5 record.The defense/rebounding this season had been a big failure.The decision not to play more zone and pressing defenses to confuse opponents is another area where there has been no adjustments.
Obviously with the NIL player transfers will become the norm.Pikiell leans on player development over multiple seasons which doesn't work under the NIL.
Obviously with the NIL player transfers will become the norm.Pikiell leans on player development over multiple seasons which doesn't work under the NIL.
Pike is the definition of mediocre. It's kind of wierd how people react to that. He gets celebrated for his mediocrity because we have been so bad, but at the same time our fans are afraid to acknowledge that same mediocrity as being exactly who he is. A bad season under Pike is 14-16 wins. A great season by Pike is scrapping for the tournament and maybe winning a game if the stars align (an ode to John O's jump the shark moment for those around back then). Point is, there is little variance in his ceiling and floor. I didn't vote because the options failed to include the obvious outcome. We are stuck with him for a while because our fans and administration (whenever we actually get one) is more than fine with mediocrity. We know that to be true because we read these boards
agreed on most of your points, but the purpose of the poll was to get a sense of what the fanbase thinks we SHOULD do, not necessarily what we WILL do. and I couldn’t find any reason to list “No, we should give him two more years” as a choice because what are we going to learn in that time that we wouldn’t already know by the end of next season? we have plenty of data on pike
Again, I don't expect you to like this argument, but we got really unlucky in 22-23.
- We had Derek Simpson out there in his 4th game of his true freshman season running the point against Temple because of untimely injuries
- We were still injury hampered against Miami
- We had a game pretty much stolen from us
- We had a key player miss the entire back stretch of the season
- Despite this, almost everyone still thought we were in and we got snubbed.
If Pike put 22-23 quality teams out there every season he/we would make the tournament the vast majority of the time.
I mean 40th is kind of bubble area so being around the bubble at 40th in kenpom is not really underachieving. Making the tournament at 80th in kenpom is overachieving relative to your kenpom.
I also don't agree that we were really "squarely on the bubble" in 19-20 or 20-21, at least not at the time Selection Sunday rolled (or would have rolled in the case of 2020) around.
A lot of other people being dumb is not a good excuse for being dumb.
BTW, OP, the 'leave on his own terms' voting option is CVS / Gymnastics Pat level BS. No program here should ever be held hostage again by a selfish coach and preoccupied boss. Not saying Pike is that, but a terrible option to even suggest. Pike has earned his money to date. That's it.
Nothing. But why not include the most likeliest outcome in a poll asking what people think will happen?
First off…Pike isn’t going anywhere
Second, RU fans always think small minded. “We wouldn’t get a good coach bc we fired the guy who helped us get to the tourney.” What a crock of shit!
Money talks first and foremost…second a coach could come be in the BIG on a large stage and want to take this team to new heights. We would have coaches lined up. Don’t kid yourselves as we have money to spend too.
Second, RU fans always think small minded. “We wouldn’t get a good coach bc we fired the guy who helped us get to the tourney.” What a crock of shit!
Money talks first and foremost…second a coach could come be in the BIG on a large stage and want to take this team to new heights. We would have coaches lined up. Don’t kid yourselves as we have money to spend too.
No, he doesn't get fired, BUT, the idea does not become crazy that his seat starts to get warm. He's got the program at a bubble team level each year now, which is a huge lift from where he started. Poor year again next year, then seat is hot.
I think I know what you’re saying…seat only gets hot after next year at the earliest ?
Then how can you be so flippant and sure that RU can easily outbid everyone for a new coach and pay for everything else and immediatley will be an upgraded team with the snap of a finger? For instance Pike's contract is approximately $4m per season through 2030-31. If he gets fired RU will still be on the hook for that......regardless of if Hobbs was here or not.
They don’t know what they’re talking about. We had like 6 bites at the apple to find a coach. If it were easy to hire a winner, you’d think we’d have done it before Pike…
it should be easier now to attract a winner than it was before Pike (a credit to him, but again we don’t owe him a lifetime contract for it)
A garbage can for Pike should be waiting courtside if they lose to Columbia
Don't really care what BK thinks. He's as responsible for getting us into this mess as Pike. Now would it be a reason for BK to not take the job
I'm not judging a coach based on his record.. It's what he does with the talent he has. Holloway has no talent. I'm looking at things like willingness to block out, fundamental defense, team play, running an offense, individual offensive fundamentals, etc.
Ha, so you want a 3rd year coach who can’t bring in talent and hasn’t won to replace a coach who has held his own against some of the best coaches in the country and brought in a top 2 class.
And you want us to think you’re a serious poster?
I don't think that is true of all basketball people on a national level. Have you seen any TV commentator say a coach does a bad job? Never, especially true of the guys on BTN.
I don't really give a crap what you think of my posts. I'm fairly qualified to make a judgement based on the offensive and defensive fundamentals I see on the court.
It's not the conference. It's the school name. Sorry, we haven't had enough success to can our most successful guy in 30 years even if this season turns into a colossal failure and then expect someone good to take the job.
even when the “most successful guy” has stopped having success for a few years now though?
