It's a desirable job. It's a Big Ten head coach position paying big bucks. Anyway, not making Tournament with two guys being drafted in top 5 is simply inexcusable. Can't happen. Keeping him would look pathetic, rightly so.
Poll: IF we miss the tournament, is it time to fire Pike?
- Thread starter kt124
- Start date
I'm not going to keep arguing, but I think your idea of who the coaching hot board would be would vary differently from what it actually would be.
anyone can see that we have 2 great players and no one else. A good team needs 7-8 productive players to complement 1 or 2 stars. Pike is a good coach but is not a good evaluator of talent in the transfer portal. He really messed up the roster transition.
It was one season. And as he pointed out above, Pike lost 3 projected starters in April/May well beyond any hope of replacing them.
I would only say that whether he is a "good coach" based on his strategic approach to each game and in-game substitutions is questionable, to say the least.
The dude gave away the Princeton game running Martini out there for as long as he did.
Lathan is going to be very good. JWill is fine. I’d like to see more of Grant. Big E is getting better and has put together some decent performances.
I think it’s less about the talent and more about actually playing together as a team (which will help get Acuff and Hayes more looks). They’ve looked confused at times on D and turn the ball over too much. Rebounding has been hit or miss but trending up.
This is fair. Princeton did a phenomenal job of getting Lee on Martini and it as a disaster. But Lee was cooking all game long, on everyone.
You keep ignoring how everyone nationally (these same people you claim will gasp in horror that RU fired a coach who took them to a tournament 3-4 years ago) will mock Rutgers for having 2 top 3/5 lottery picks and not making the tournament. That is the bigger story and a total travesty.
-Signed a huge Pike fan.
The Princeton coach is not working at the next level. Ivy League coaches get their kids to stay 4 years. They don't need to replace 80% of their roster each season like most coaches do now. Apples and oranges. It's also why I think Pike is struggling. His recruit and develop strategy can't work in this environment.
Difference between the national media and how the coaching/inside basketball professionals view Rutgers. I'm not worried that Jeff Goodman wouldn't take the job.
They already view us shitty. I don't think that will change drastically and if someone is that obtuse where they cannot understand why we would fire a coach after 4 straight years of missing the tournament and being in a downward trajectory and one of those years we had two lottery picks and failed then I wouldn't want them to begin with.
But we are dealing with quite the hypothetical. Hopefully he rights this ship and quickly.
Serious question. Not being a jerk. How long have you been a fan?
I think basically they look at it as “Well if this guy can get fired at Rutgers after a few bad years after all he did, how short is my leash?” It’s not about wanting the job, it’s about wanting the job and understanding that you’d have the time and resources to succeed plus the ability to work through any struggles. This is potentially the “f up” year for Pikes. Two years ago was a big time injury that derailed things and last year was what it was…bad timing with transfers. This year…you might even argue it’s NIL. “So if Pikes can’t get it done…why would I?” At a place that is traditionally tough to win at—a candidate might ask. The good candidates are gonna demand a lot of money and a lot of NIL type resources.
We can pay better than 80% of the other schools because of our TV money
We have a top 10 home court advantage in America
We pay our existing HC top 25 money in the country
We would have fired Pike after 10 years here, with 4 straight seasons of not making the tournament
We will be able to land a solid coach I would argue. A lot to sell and we can pay well. This isn't 2015 RU when our admins were cheap AF, arena dead and a rotating door of 4-5 year coaches with scandals.
There are gonna be NIL demands and resources to be asked for. It’s not just going to be about coaching salary.
And you’d basically crush any momentum we have in the NIL space. Think a lot of the folks who are leading the charge and building out the infrastructure (eg Geo) are motivated to do this in part to help Pike get what he needs to compete.
Thank goodness fans aren't in charge. Why in the world would we think those guys are better than Pike?
Yeah, a bad season again next year would make it time to question things.
Do you have any idea how much money Rutgers athletics losses
I have an idea…lets hire the Kennessaw State coach!
If we did replace him, the only two criteria I'd care about is that the replacement coach have (1) shot free throws better than 90% when he was a player and, (2) was a Top Ten percent rebounder for his position when he was a player. Because I can't take another 10 years of watching teams that can't shoot free throws and doesn't box out for rebounds.
Everyone with a pulse knows we're not spending additional money to fire him while he's still under contract. Maybe the Harpers can have a few more kids and next season we'll recruit three lottery picks and maybe, possibly squeak into the tournament?
Everyone with a pulse knows we're not spending additional money to fire him while he's still under contract. Maybe the Harpers can have a few more kids and next season we'll recruit three lottery picks and maybe, possibly squeak into the tournament?
Agree about next season. But if we miss the tourney this year and then finish with a losing record next season too, I think at that point it’s possible we would make a move.
If "fans" are only willing to donate because of the coach and stop donating because he got fired then they aren't actually fans of the school and just the coach.
So much for "it's the name on the front not the back".
Fake argument.
If that was a concern then Pike (and every other coach in the Atheltic Department) wouldn't keep getting raises.
That's not an argument that makes sense. The fact that they are okay with spending the amount they are currently spending does not imply they are okay spending an unlimited amount.
I suppose the answer is it isn't an issue until it is an issue.
In addition, things are changing so fast....if there is a budget wouldn't be better spent getting players over additional money for a coach.
Correct.
But the fact that the AD loses money does not imply they are not okay spending an unlimited amount.
Especially considering the recent evidence of losing money not being an impediment to ever increasing coaching salaries.
We really have no idea either way definitively.
It would be very dumb and shortsighted though.
Even if Schiano and Pike decided to retire at the end of their contracts (or earlier), ideally the AD won't be looking to cut staff salaries.
Such as occurred with the disastrous replacement of Schiano with Flood.
I do think we have a better budget now and a lot of fans (me included probably) are still assuming we will hire on the cheap because that's what we have been doing historically. But I'm not sure we have the kind of budget that would allow us to poach winning P5 coaches.
If you had a basketball budget of $12,000,000 (number out of thin air) for players and a coaching staff would you look to spend 1/2 of that on a coaching staff or spend a 1/4 on coaching staff and 3/4 for players.
I am not sure where we are on things in terms of paying players and obviously don't know if there is a budget, but there has to be some budget we have to stick to. Keeping a coach may make it be forced to stretching a budget, but hiring a new one is open ended which I would thinks would have more constraints.
I am not sure where we are on things in terms of paying players and obviously don't know if there is a budget, but there has to be some budget we have to stick to. Keeping a coach may make it be forced to stretching a budget, but hiring a new one is open ended which I would thinks would have more constraints.
Agree. The only people who think Pike is a great coach are on this board. The rest of the country views him as a nice coach. Good man who increasingly looks to be out of his element in delivering anything more than he has. His upside is that he doesn't have a ton a downside. He's Mr mediocre
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Next coach doesn't need to resurrect us. Pike to his credit already delivered that. He just needs to be better than mediocre
if Pike can’t get it done with two nba lottery picks, I don’t think players are the issue
If you fire Pike the next coach will start from scratch. New President, new AD, new coaching staff and likely an entirely new roster. A lot of unknowns. The only constants would be the fanbase and infrastructure. What we know about the constants are that we are behind the curve in fan donations and infrastructure when compared to most of our peers in the BIG. That does not mean that a new coach can't do better than Pike. Just means that it is not as easy as saying things will magically change for the better.
Case in point. Many of the people who clammored to have Schiano back now want him gone. Fans are fickle.
Just sticking to the coaching community and athletics world, they view Pikiell as a miracle worker. They are fully aware of the clown show Rutgers was pre-Pikiell. No “top notch” coach who in your mind is clearly better than Pikiell is taking the job after seeing him thrown under the bus.
missing the tournament with the #2 recruiting class in the country is the opposite of working a miracle
So what would it take to not be viewed as “him thrown under the bus”?
21-22: lost NCAA tournament play-in
22-23: misses NCAA tournament
23-24: finished next to last in Big Ten
24-25: missed NCAA tournament with Ace/Dylan (?)
25-26: missed NCAA tournament (?)
26-27: missed NCAA tournament (?)
Would that take it?
Just trying to see where the line is that current results override past “miracle”results to the coaching community.
Or is there no line and current results won’t ever matter?
