Realistic expectations for next season

[RUChoppin]

I have a question too, how many wins would Stony Brook have had if
they had our Big Ten schedule?

It's an interesting question... Stony Brook ranked 94th in the kenpom rankings this year. Rutgers finished 292nd. Here is our schedule and the associated kenpom rankings.

Teams we beat (assuming they'd beat them, too):
Div-III RU-Newark
351 Central Connecticut
333 Howard
328 Central Arkansas
309 UMass Lowell
270 FDU
223 Minnesota

Teams we lost to that were ranked more than 30 places lower than Stony Brook (let's say they'd win 5 of 6):
235 St. John's
223 Minnesota
145 PA St
130 Illinois
130 Illinois
125 Wake Forest

Teams we lost to that were ranked within 20 places of Stony Brook (let's say they'd win 2 of 7):
98 Nebraska
98 Nebraska
98 Nebraska
81 George Washington
78 Ohio State
78 Ohio State
77 Northwestern St

Teams we lost to that were 20 places or more better than Stony Brook (maybe they pick up 1 of 12 here):
72 Monmouth
58 Michigan
48 Clemson
40 Creighton
31 Wisconsin
24 Seton Hall
23 Iowa
22 Maryland
14 Purdue
13 Indiana
5 MSU
5 MSU

So, would Stony Brook may have come away with 14-15 wins this season with our schedule? It's certainly possible - with an American East roster.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Shack, who's our best shooter and what was his fg% and 3pt.%?

You can teach this group many things but shooting isn't one of them. We'll play better D but without consistent shooting, I don't know how we c I NE close to .500.

I agree with Bac and Mis. We will see progress regarding fundemental, but it really won't trandlaye into a significantly better W/L record.

First off...despite ALL of our issues this year....OFFENSE was the least of our problems. I think we would have been a much better offensive team this past year even with the youth had we stayed healthy. People underestimate the importance of the bigs in SETTING screens to get guys open on offense and what their injuries meant. We will be VERY solid in the back court next year with Sanders, Johnson, and Williams. I saw enough offensive basketball skill for a .500 team next year...IF

We play defense. Everything for next year starts and ends with that. We have three guards and three forwards and 2 seniors without counting on freshman for contribution (or Goode). No one plays more than 30-32 mpg a game and the effort needs to be balls to the walls. Defense matters....that is something our new coach will get on the correct track day one

 

[RUJMM78]

I'm very concerned about the center position. All we have coming back is Diallo who was NOT good when he played early in the season (throw out the final few games) and Doorson who just got his walking boot off a few weeks ago after a freshman campaign where he was a 10 minute per game backup. We don't have the luxury of a Jack or a Lewis to move to center next year. The power forwards on the roster (Freeman/Foreman) are not capable of matching up with centers in our league. If we don't get a mature physical juco-type big guy we are going to be in a world of hurt even IF Diallo and Doorson are able to return at full strength.

Rutgers playing at a disadvantage at the center position has been an ongoing problem.Recruiting a consistent 3 point shooter also is top priority.I would say with the current squad 12 -13 wins would be a major achievement but would not excite top tier recruits .

 

[AreYouNUTS]

Shack - where are we getting 16 wins from? Improvement for sure, no question, but what 16 teams are we going to beat?

 

[RU82]

If we can get out shooting percentage on lay ups above 50% that will be a positive first step.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

If we can get out shooting percentage on lay ups above 50% that will be a positive first step.

My lord I would be in heaven if we made 50% of our layups.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

Which is why I say no player or assistant is bigger than the program. You get once chance to do it right. This is a last-place team either way.

Get ready to be a last place Big 10 team next year and maybe even the year after. 3-15 type of team in conference at least next year.

Goal is to be more competitive and specifically to begin upgrading the roster. That is going to take time and will also require a class A staff.

But he needs time.

I t

 

[G- RUnit]

Bigger problem was offense. Missed way too many layups and wide open threes. Sucked the life out of the players.

Just want to see improvement season to season.

 

[RU MAN]

N/A

 

[michstfr]

And keep in mind Pikiell himself. Solid coach but he is now going to be asked to match wits with Thad Matta, John Beilein, Tom Izzo, Mark Turgeon, Matt Painter etc.

Little bit of an upgrade than coaching in the American East where my guess is most of you could not name more than 1 or 2 coaches if that at all.

Chris Collins is slowly building a solid program at Northwestern but even there he thru year 3 and no NCAA's (or NIT's for that matter).

This is one bear of a conference where a program like Ohio St missed the NCAA's this year. You need BIG TIME players and strong staff to make a real difference.

 

[rutger80]

I don't know that you can quantify it with numbers at this point as far as wins and losses, but where improvement will be seen are in the defensive and rebounding rankings. That's where it has to start and based on Pikiell's teams, that's a likely starting point. Competitive basketball first and then as more B1G level players are brought in, the wins (hopefully) will follow.

 

[MadRU]

Just no more seasons with single digit win totals would be a nice start, and progressing year to year in all aspects of play and fan interest. Building it up to respectability win/loss wise. Get back to a home court advantage.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

1. There is not an on/off switch. Players will need to learn/relearn how to play hard/tough
2. We want Pikiell to do it his way with "his players."

Build it slow, but build it right. If that means going backwards (I mean sideways) initially so be it.

 

[PaKnight]

You have to tell me who is on the team first.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

1. There is not an on/off switch. Players will need to learn/relearn how to play hard/tough
2. We want Pikiell to do it his way with "his players."

Build it slow, but build it right. If that means going backwards (I mean sideways) initially so be it.

St. John's did it this way. But they hired shark recruiters to replace outgoing transfers.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Matt Painter??? Not impressed with him as coach.

Let me debunk the offense not a problem. I'll leave offense alone and improve defense to 1 point per possession for every game....only the Illinois and Iowa get flipped as W. our offense was, statistic wise, even worse than our D.

.953 points per possession scored 315th
1.063 point per possession allowed 222nd

Our only chance of winning last year was to go short possessions.

 

[Hamilton's Cannon]

Double-digit wins, just (10 - 12). Most come from OOC - start beating lower conference teams and steal a game or two. Don't expect much in conference, 1 - 3 wins (but cannot go winless in conference!).

 

[Caliknight]

It's all about the system put forth, playing hard, fundamentals, recruiting. I want to see those things, along with execution.

The wins and losses aren't as important right. The foundation is.

 

[RickB113]

I need to see Nigel Johnson. I honestly think Corey has a chance as early as next season to be an All Big Ten guard. He is THAT good, but he still needs to be coached up and he needs Nigel to be as good as advertised because that will take some pressure off him. If everyone else is back and healthy we have a shot at something. A full healthy roster this season would have won 12 games IMO. So to go to 15 is possible. A healthy Sanders, Freeman, Johnson combo has a chance to be very good. Can we create a home court advantage again at the RAC come big ten play? The RAC can still be a tough tough home court.