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RU vs Wisconsin 1/27/24

WBB is the new WVB
Might go winless in conference
Can any single program step up this year?
It’s becoming to me very alarming some programs have improved but to many are mired in mediocrity and Hobbs really has to step it as spending has increased exponentially but results haven’t
 
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Oregon is right now pretty much a laughing stock, doing little with talent; ASU with no talent at all and a coach with good credentials. Some other programs are not doing well either, although I can't say which are laughing stocks

Good points, I’ve wondered what's going on with Arizona (after their championship runner-up) and Oregon (more transfers out than in) . It goes to show you that in this new era, success can be fleeting if you don't have the right culture and coach in place to sustain it. The portal has changed everything.....even in WBB it's not all that unusual for star players transfer multiple times (e.g. Taylor Texas-Duke-OSU, Owusu MD-Oregon-Penn State, etc). Frankly it's hard for a fan to get behind a single team when there's so much churn.
 
Can you name a P5 coach who went 0fer a conference and kept their job?
Yes. Last year, Rutgers gymnastics went 0-9 in the B1G. Hobbs extended the head coach for 5 years and gave her a 50% raise. The coach is U. Salma Salim.
 
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1. She had two years to put together a full roster and hasn't come close.
2. She still needs 4-5 more players to have
a full roster next year.
3. She might go 0-20 in conference. Can you name a P5 coach who went 0fer a conference and kept their job?
I'm with you on #1. If you remember, a year ago people pushed back on me and a couple others who said she could have found a couple players in the portal as she entered the job. She added KB but there were more out there. People said she shouldn't just add to be adding. It could throw off the chemistry while she is focusing on culture in year 1. Seems like some of those same people are now counting that first summer of Coach's tenure. 🤔

Hard to tell what she needs for next season without knowing who uses their extra year and the existence of the portal age. KB could be the only player we lose, potentially. A big loss, in my opinion, but the hope is that Chyna will be ready to step it up a level or two.

I'm not sure, but didn't the Gymnastics program along with the above mentioned women's volleyball suffer similar struggles in conference play? Are those coaches catching it from RU faithful??

It's been a little while, and my memory is getting a bit foggy on the subject, but didn't Schiano's teams suffer like this for a few years when we entered the Big East?? And again under Flood?? Ash?? or whoever when we entered the BIG???

It's a good thing the AD stuck with Schiano that first time. I remember him getting blasted by VT, WV, .... 70-0, 63-7 like scores. Greg was over on the sideline with his pen and pad making his notations. You couldn't see the improvement on the field, but he was steady building with culture, strength and cond., nutrition, and slowly adding P5-level players. We woke up a season or two later, and he's beating Frank Beamer and the like.

From what I understand, the gymnastics and volleyball coaches are progressing also. ......and are in year 3 or 6 ................... not year 1.5 of their tenure.

IDK what next year holds for our ladies. I hope for the best, with the undertanding that there could be portal departures or injuries or whatever. All that said, ,..... Coquese could have the breakthrough season we so anxiously are waiting for.

If we are honest with ourselves, no one was expecting this to be the year of a deep tourney run. We may have had higher expectations than what we are seeing so far, but we really didn't know how much our portal transfers and frosh would be able to impact the season. Currently, we are talented, but we are just not experienced and court savvy. After you see that they all are a work in progress(except KB), how do you put it on the coach that the team struggles??

Only time will tell. We can't rush time. Can't judge next season's results before next season has even arrived. We didn't hire Kim Mulky or Vic schafer. Coquese didn't have her own elite players to bring with her. She needs to be afforded the time to see if she can attract elite players. It's moving slow, but you have to admit, she is far from striking out, after getting the two recent commitments. This spring will be the defining moment for what we are talking about here.
 
Yes. Last year, Rutgers gymnastics went 0-9 in the B1G. Hobbs extended the head coach for 5 years and gave her a 50% raise. The coach is U. Salma Salim.
You beat me to it while I was being long-winded again. She's building that program up well, from what I've heard.
 
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You beat me to it while I was being long-winded again. She's building that program up well, from what I've heard.
The gymnastics program has 29 members on the squad, versus only 8 on the women's basketball team. The gymnastics coach has no trouble attracting gymnasts to the program. One could argue why a sport in which 6 gymnasts compete requires a 29 member team. However, it points to a program that has a focus on student-athlete participation.

The gymnastics head coach came on the job in May 2018, so tenure is nearly five years.

Coquese's inability to give away scholarships or attract walk-ons is a red flag that Hobbs should be addressing.
 
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Coquese's inability to give away scholarships or attract walk-ons is a red flag that Hobbs should be addressing.
What Is It Reaction GIF by Nebraska Humane Society
Is she trying to just give away scholarships? And should she be looking to attract walk-ons at this point?
 
Good points, I’ve wondered what's going on with Arizona (after their championship runner-up) and Oregon (more transfers out than in) . It goes to show you that in this new era, success can be fleeting if you don't have the right culture and coach in place to sustain it. The portal has changed everything.....even in WBB it's not all that unusual for star players transfer multiple times (e.g. Taylor Texas-Duke-OSU, Owusu MD-Oregon-Penn State, etc). Frankly it's hard for a fan to get behind a single team when there's so much churn.
I can tell you Arizona's problem, which doesn't explain ASU's, Oregon is probably a coach issue, they say.

Arizona last year brought in a lot of portal players for (hopefully) short term success and recruited for this year strongly. So, virtually every player on the roster left at the end of last year for better playing time. Adia has appeared at multiple fan events and admitted she made a huge error in handling the roster. In general, she was counting on loyalty and waiting your turn when players now want to play immediately and will transfer for 5 extra minutes of playing time. Plus of course the NIL money.

So this year is rebuilding (from the beginning saying we may not make post-season) - she recruited a core of 4 very good freshmen, and limited - but targeted portal (and not one and done like last year). She always planned to give a lot of minutes to the freshmen, but, unfortunately she had 12 players on roster and now has 7 healthy (sometimes 8). So she plans to carry at least 13 going forward. But it is all about retention for her, as she thinks the best teams are those that are strategic about retaining their core talent.
 
But it is all about retention for her, as she thinks the best teams are those that are strategic about retaining their core talent.
Something she has been HORRIBLE with since the championship game season. IMO, the best teams are strategic about who they recruit. The retention comes from getting buy-in and coach showing a mutual level of commitment to develop the players. This talk of being strategic about retention yells of scheming on a player's scholarship to give it to the next flavor of the month.

You would know better than I, but something just doesn't seem right with Coach Barnes. The few press conferences I've seen were not endearing. I was surprised at how quickly she has been able to reload with recruits after the first mass exodus with Vonleh, Sanchez, K. Love, and co.

She came across as blatantly stating that she was determined to replace her recruited players with better ones from the portal. She pretty much let recruits know that she is about winning and won't hesitate to recruit over you at the first opportunity. She seems a bit messy. So much talent was recruited over and has since left.
 
I'm with you on #1. If you remember, a year ago people pushed back on me and a couple others who said she could have found a couple players in the portal as she entered the job. She added KB but there were more out there. People said she shouldn't just add to be adding. It could throw off the chemistry while she is focusing on culture in year 1. Seems like some of those same people are now counting that first summer of Coach's tenure. 🤔

Hard to tell what she needs for next season without knowing who uses their extra year and the existence of the portal age. KB could be the only player we lose, potentially. A big loss, in my opinion, but the hope is that Chyna will be ready to step it up a level or two.

I'm not sure, but didn't the Gymnastics program along with the above mentioned women's volleyball suffer similar struggles in conference play? Are those coaches catching it from RU faithful??

It's been a little while, and my memory is getting a bit foggy on the subject, but didn't Schiano's teams suffer like this for a few years when we entered the Big East?? And again under Flood?? Ash?? or whoever when we entered the BIG???

It's a good thing the AD stuck with Schiano that first time. I remember him getting blasted by VT, WV, .... 70-0, 63-7 like scores. Greg was over on the sideline with his pen and pad making his notations. You couldn't see the improvement on the field, but he was steady building with culture, strength and cond., nutrition, and slowly adding P5-level players. We woke up a season or two later, and he's beating Frank Beamer and the like.

From what I understand, the gymnastics and volleyball coaches are progressing also. ......and are in year 3 or 6 ................... not year 1.5 of their tenure.

IDK what next year holds for our ladies. I hope for the best, with the undertanding that there could be portal departures or injuries or whatever. All that said, ,..... Coquese could have the breakthrough season we so anxiously are waiting for.

If we are honest with ourselves, no one was expecting this to be the year of a deep tourney run. We may have had higher expectations than what we are seeing so far, but we really didn't know how much our portal transfers and frosh would be able to impact the season. Currently, we are talented, but we are just not experienced and court savvy. After you see that they all are a work in progress(except KB), how do you put it on the coach that the team struggles??

Only time will tell. We can't rush time. Can't judge next season's results before next season has even arrived. We didn't hire Kim Mulky or Vic schafer. Coquese didn't have her own elite players to bring with her. She needs to be afforded the time to see if she can attract elite players. It's moving slow, but you have to admit, she is far from striking out, after getting the two recent commitments. This spring will be the defining moment for what we are talking about here.
I agree with a lot of what you say until you said currently we are talented!!
What games are you watching we are not talented at all if we were talented we would win a couple of games here or there but we are not talented at all unfortunately
 
What games are you watching
😂😂😂

I agree with a lot of what you say until you said currently we are talented!!
What games are you watching we are not talented at all if we were talented we would win a couple of games here or there but we are not talented at all unfortunately
Ok, I can see how the statement that we are talented can be seen as a stretch, when you look at it relative to top 25 teams. But by that same token, I could say, what games are you watching?, if you say we are not talented at all.

The truth lies in the middle. Yes, you know I've been saying we need the elite talent to get back to elite status. I just don't think people get recruited to major D1 programs if they have no talent. There at least has to be the recognition of talent that may need to be realized through coaching up and hard work on the part of the player. This is where our current players are, in my opinion. Right now it's a mental, and physical thing..not a talent thing, completely. They have to continue to learn the game and get a lot stronger(mainly our young guards). You'll see the talent I'm talking about when that happens.

You cannot say that you don't see the creative athleticism of Lisa Thompson, or powerful athleticism of Chyna and Destiny. Mya also has some athletic creativity with her game. Kaylene's knack for getting steals, and ability to put it in the basket. Antonia's height and length, with the potential to be a versatile player, is talent in my opinion. If you want to be technical, Jill's ability to shoot is a skill, but I actually was including that in my "talented" statement. She's also got a good Bball IQ along with KB. The rest of them are still trying to figure it out(learning how to let their talent shine through).

Don't want to leave Awa out. She's extemely strong and athletic with great anticipation skills. That's what made her a Juco MVP and a true D1 athlete.
 
Something she has been HORRIBLE with since the championship game season. IMO, the best teams are strategic about who they recruit. The retention comes from getting buy-in and coach showing a mutual level of commitment to develop the players. This talk of being strategic about retention yells of scheming on a player's scholarship to give it to the next flavor of the month.

You would know better than I, but something just doesn't seem right with Coach Barnes. The few press conferences I've seen were not endearing. I was surprised at how quickly she has been able to reload with recruits after the first mass exodus with Vonleh, Sanchez, K. Love, and co.

She came across as blatantly stating that she was determined to replace her recruited players with better ones from the portal. She pretty much let recruits know that she is about winning and won't hesitate to recruit over you at the first opportunity. She seems a bit messy. So much talent was recruited over and has since left.
There were locker room issues the year with Love. Adia did indeed rather blatantly recruit (through the portal, mostly) over existing recruits. Last year, it would be more accurate to say that she planned on using one year portal players while the freshman played sparingly and "developed".

As I said, I have attended 3 events and at every one she has said, in essence, not an exact quote "I messed up, I mishandled the roster, I developed players but didn't retain them because I didn't play them as much as they deserved". Also said that this year, we are going to rebuild with a core group that will get minutes and we are going to take losses because of that. (Of course, she never expected injuries reducing the group to 7 - we have 4 injured, 3 definitely out for the season after surgeries)

She gets the buy-in and recruits because she is genuine. The players have always liked her. Virtually everyone that has left has been playing time issues (and a bit of NIL in one case). Some, I do blame her, as she was overly loyal to portal players that should have been playing better than they were. Some, not so much. But she has changed her philosophy and needs the chance to see how it goes.
 
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