Rutgers men's basketball looking for answers - Good article

[RU-Choppin-Ohio]

Good article

J.P. Pelzman‏@JPPelzman 2h2 hours ago


ICMYI: I took a look at how Rutgers men's hoops has gotten to its current state, and what can be done to fix it: http://www.northjersey.com/sports/rutgers-men-s-basketball-looking-for-answers-1.1510634?page=all…

 

[B1GNJHoops]

I agree it was a good article.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

How is the athletic program going to convince me to donate to the practice facility when he doesn't care how I feel?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The Eddie comments are essentially looking for someone to take him out of the misery of being the coach of the program, while allowing him to gather the remaining balance of the contract owed. Obviously Eddie cares, but this is well beyond one coaches opinion on whether the fans are savvy enough to determine whether we are 6-18 and not 9-15 because of injuries, coaching, lack of depth or a combination of all 3.

I think once the change is made with the head coach, whether at the end of this year or what could be an unfairly raised bar for next year (when injuries could strike again, then what??) we can then find someone that is more image aware than results. I think the image or record of the program is worse than it's actual standing in talented assembled to play and recruiting overall. Recruiting has turned into a popularity contest of ranking kids more than what the kids actually do on the court when they get a chance to perform. And because RU hasn't done what let's say a Penn State has done with their 2016 recruiting, there is a perception that PSU has significantly more talent on the way than the bulk of the Big Ten, but that would be wrong on so many levels.

RU has done a very good job recruiting, given the circumstances and it's not going to be wildly popular with the local programs that mostly have their hands out looking for a reason to talk positively about a program. On the other hand, St. John's has lost 15 straight games and many would still sign up for Chris Mullin as a Head Coach, because he has a winning pedigree....he perhaps may have that, but 15 straight losses is still 15.....The difference with St. John's is some or a few of those games were situations where St. John's was closer in score than perhaps Vegas expected, where RU has been completely wiped out in the bulk of their conference losses and has a 3 year track record with Eddie vs Year one of Mullin.

Eddie getting a 4th year, without a contract extension to recruit and with pressure to probably get to .500 next year (yes a low bar), would get another free pass for some, if Freeman's knee doesn't respond and he's not the player we expected to get.....or If Doorson's foot doesn't respond or Diallo's knee isn't 100%...

I still think Eddie solves this problem by winning at least 3 games the rest of the way, regardless of the lineup gaps....out-scrape PSU and Minnesota at home and show some follow up like the Illinois game and people would lighten up a bit....at least temporarily anyway....

 

[ScarletRunner]

The Eddie comments are essentially looking for someone to take him out of the misery of being the coach of the program, while allowing him to gather the remaining balance of the contract owed. Obviously Eddie cares, but this is well beyond one coaches opinion on whether the fans are savvy enough to determine whether we are 6-18 and not 9-15 because of injuries, coaching, lack of depth or a combination of all 3.

I think once the change is made with the head coach, whether at the end of this year or what could be an unfairly raised bar for next year (when injuries could strike again, then what??) we can then find someone that is more image aware than results. I think the image or record of the program is worse than it's actual standing in talented assembled to play and recruiting overall. Recruiting has turned into a popularity contest of ranking kids more than what the kids actually do on the court when they get a chance to perform. And because RU hasn't done what let's say a Penn State has done with their 2016 recruiting, there is a perception that PSU has significantly more talent on the way than the bulk of the Big Ten, but that would be wrong on so many levels.

RU has done a very good job recruiting, given the circumstances and it's not going to be wildly popular with the local programs that mostly have their hands out looking for a reason to talk positively about a program. On the other hand, St. John's has lost 15 straight games and many would still sign up for Chris Mullin as a Head Coach, because he has a winning pedigree....he perhaps may have that, but 15 straight losses is still 15.....The difference with St. John's is some or a few of those games were situations where St. John's was closer in score than perhaps Vegas expected, where RU has been completely wiped out in the bulk of their conference losses and has a 3 year track record with Eddie vs Year one of Mullin.

Eddie getting a 4th year, without a contract extension to recruit and with pressure to probably get to .500 next year (yes a low bar), would get another free pass for some, if Freeman's knee doesn't respond and he's not the player we expected to get.....or If Doorson's foot doesn't respond or Diallo's knee isn't 100%...

I still think Eddie solves this problem by winning at least 3 games the rest of the way, regardless of the lineup gaps....out-scrape PSU and Minnesota at home and show some follow up like the Illinois game and people would lighten up a bit....at least temporarily anyway....

I agree with a lot of this, particularly regarding some wins down the stretch against the lesser B1G programs. 3 wins and he is almost certainly a lock to return - particularly when factoring in the injuries - with a mandate to get to .500 overall next year... That seems reasonable to me.

While there have been a lot of misses in recruiting, I give Eddie credit for Corey and Foreman, who both had superior options, and Laurent, who I believe has the potential to be a real contributor. And I have no problem with a coach not playing the game with the local programs and AAU circuit, so long as he is getting players.

 

[rufeelinit]

I think if this was year one for EJ then the comparison with Mullin would be more accurate. Also Mullin has established a much better staff than what EJ has put together here. No question EJ has gotten some bad breaks with injuries this year but it really comes down to how many additional games you think we would have won with a full roster this year. I don't think we have more than a couple more Ws. I am not overly impressed with who we beat out for the three recruits verbally committed for next year. I also think Nigel Johnson has been hyped beyond realistic expectations given his body of work at KSU. He may be better than most of our current guys in practice, but once the other team shows up lets see if he is more like Keith Hughes or Wally Judge. While it may not be entirely fair, I continue to believe we are better served by cutting our losses at the end of the year. A win or two against the likes of Minnesota should not be deciding factors.

 

[ScarletRunner]

I think if this was year one for EJ then the comparison with Mullin would be more accurate. Also Mullin has established a much better staff than what EJ has put together here. No question EJ has gotten some bad breaks with injuries this year but it really comes down to how many additional games you think we would have won with a full roster this year. I don't think we have more than a couple more Ws. I am not overly impressed with who we beat out for the three recruits verbally committed for next year. I also think Nigel Johnson has been hyped beyond realistic expectations given his body of work at KSU. He may be better than most of our current guys in practice, but once the other team shows up lets see if he is more like Keith Hughes or Wally Judge. While it may not be entirely fair, I continue to believe we are better served by cutting our losses at the end of the year. A win or two against the likes of Minnesota should not be deciding factors.

Very fair post, and about where I stand. My main reason for being OK with Eddie remaining for one more year is the $ issue, and getting a year closer to breaking ground on facilities. He's clearly extremely unlikely to get further than that, but I am OK with him playing out the string.

I agree that hearing Nigel Johnson get talked up gives me thoughts of Wally Judge, and the hype for the incoming recruits also seems very unrealistic given their offer sheets and the fact that they're still available.

 

[B1GNJHoops]

Will Rutgers be in better financial position to buy out Eddie in 2017 than 2016? According to his contract, it's cheaper in 2016. Pay now or pay more later.