GTFOH with this crap.
Should cliff be the solo team captain this year?
- Thread starter RUsojo
- Start date
Like with Myles Johnson, my feeling is that it’s better for the program if they leave rather than get starter minutes they don’t deserve due to Pike’s loyalty. I think Cam recognized this too, anticipating his minutes would decrease with the incoming players while Paul’s won’t.
On top of that, Paul will undermine what should be a faster pace offense next year. And he’s a liability on defense. With the incoming talent, he’s a bad fit as a starter.
So yes, better that he leaves. There’s no way Pike will cut his minutes to the level he merits both in terms of talent and style of play.
ok, I appreciate you taking the time to explain...BUT...this is an insane take.
all due respect, I trust Pike's take on this vs. yours.
and this isn't some role player...this kid has been a warrior, an ambassador and a massive contributor. yeah sure, he had a rough set of games coming down the stretch last year but that's because he was severely injured. a huge reason we made the tournament the year before is because he single-handedly took over a bunch of key games.
again, it's your opinion and you're entitled to it, but for me, hoping the kid doesn't come back is beyond ridiculous.
If pike refuses to bench Paul again next year then part of me would be fine if he doesn’t come back. He held us back last year.
Yup - without Cam, it's hard to see how this is a problem.
Yeah, between the injuries and anything else, as much as he was trying, he just seemed burned out in his play by the end of the season. It happens to pro/Olympic athletes at times as at well. If he ends up coming back to RU, hopefully he'll be healthier and in a better place mentally so that he can have the final season of his dreams. And he may be contemplating other options right now, whatever they may be. Presumably, Pike knows what's going on and is making plans accordingly. For whatever faults Paul has a player, he's certainly given his all to the best of his ability over the last 4 years to RU.
Did you miss the big ten tournament when moving Simpson to the point almost revived the season? If he had done that for the Minnesota and northwestern games we probably go dancing. Glad I could help.
Paul wasn’t on the bench, so try again.
Paul was moved off the ball so he couldn’t bog down the offense. Now with gavin and mag back, he shouldn’t be starting by the time conference play roles around. Being to slow to adjust cost us last season, can’t happen again.
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I’m still waiting for your answer to who should have been playing while Paul was benched last year? You said if Pike refuses to bench him again, implying he should have been benched last year. So who should have played in his place? You are also making a lot of assumptions of the play next year. 1. How a freshman is going to acclimate to big ten play and 2. How Mag is going to come back after the injury.
You’re playing semantics because you don’t have a real argument. The point was he should have been moved from the pg spot much earlier but wasn’t because of pikes loyalty to him and it ended up costing us a tourney bid and delaying simpsons development. Playing him over Gavin will just be more of the same. Get it now?
Yes I get it, you think you know what you are talking about but are completely clueless. I’m not arguing with you, I asked you a simple question which you still haven’t answered. Time to put you in ignore, it’s a waste of my time reading what you have to say.
Candidate for stupidest thread ever.
One thing has nothing to do with the other. Paul has been an asset at different points of his career at PG. At the end of last year, with the combination we were forced to play, the offense couldn’t get going off traditional half court ball rotations which is Paul’s bread and butter. So Pike switched things up and put the ball in the hands of someone who was more comfortable in iso creating for himself.
This has nothing to do with the style we will play next season, in fact, it’s likely Pike brought in Noah to ensure he doesn’t have to play that style. It’s not a long term recipe to win unless you have a team of multiple iso players like Miami had. We were able, as you say, to turn things around because we still had a strong defense so it helped that our offense was a little less anemic.
If we’re not playing that style, and Noah brings the ball up, Paul would start over Simpson unless Simpson’s shooting improves a lot.
We have no idea if there are any “shenanigans”
His coaches and teammates may be fully aware and respectful of his situation- which is, you know, a young man trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life.
Just cause a bunch of schmucks on a message board haven’t been informed doesn’t mean there are any “shenanigans” going on
Let’s not act so entitled
Maybe they are just fine tuning his NIL deal? That would make sense as retention negotiations likely factor in alternative earning potential - the recent structured feedback from pro work outs may be relevant.
LOL - every reply to that post of mine proves the point.
"how dare you question Saint Mulcahy"?
I like Paul, I hope he comes back and plays great. Acting like the uncertainty over if he's back or not has no negative impact on the team is dumb. Nobody who is good enough to get minutes is transferring in with that uncertainty and if the coaches, players and potential transfers know, then it would be public info, which it's not.
Do you really think a) transferring is in the cards for him or b) Pike hasn’t been looped in every step of the way on what the deal is? I would be shocked if either of these were the case. He may not be your favorite player, but one thing that would be hard to question is his loyalty to Rutgers.
The most likely thing going on is that, much like Caleb, he went to Pike a long time ago and said something to the effect of - “look, I’d like to come back if I can help the team. Obviously, there are other places I could go to get money. I’m not looking for a bidding auction, but can we work something out”. That’s the only thing that makes sense and surely he would not announce until all the details were in place.
I don't think he's transferring, I hope he comes back and plays great.
The uncertainty hurts the team.
that was a good one...I think even Sojo would find that funny (good natured ball busting anyway)
Doesn’t prove anything. You won’t find a single post of mine where I act like a mulcahy-fanboy
My post is completely devoid of bias or assumption - we have ZERO idea what is going AND we are not entitled to know.
To the contrary- you have an obvious bias - you automatically assume that there are some “shenanigans” going on since Paul/RU have not informed us message board schmucks. It’s laughable really.
I know nothing so I assume nothing
My post could not be more neutral
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It’s quotes like this that makes what you say a little disingenuous. I would defend any player including “Saint” Paul. And I have said this before, you don’t have any idea what has been said between Paul and Pike, nor do you know what’s going on in Paul’s head. There was an interview he did last year where the reporter asked him why everyone hates him. Can you imagine being 22-23 and every away game (and even home games) people hating on you? Maybe he’s still deciding whether he wants to do it anymore. When Ron played you could see it got to him when he would hear “not your father”. And BTW Paul gave his NIL money last year to the band and the managers. I don’t know if it was all or just some, but that’s the type of character this kid has.
I sat we make Ace the captain. Let him come out every game and take the coin toss.
After coin toss, tell the opposing team to enjoy the last time they have any type of chance to beat RU
After coin toss, tell the opposing team to enjoy the last time they have any type of chance to beat RU
I took it as props to Cliff but a little confused since I read your other post on Cliff basically talking about everything he does wrong. Probably would have been a great post if done all at once. Kid has all kinds of athletic ability. Great kid. Works extremely hard. Has some work to do on his post game but more importantly passing, outside shooting and dribbling to make the NBA.
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Not sure where I said anything bad about cliff. I have said repeatedly since summer after his freshman year how good he is and how this board is unnecessarily hard on him. Sure it was me?
My bad I just went back. You started the Cliff’s usage thread about not feeding him so much in the post and it was the others who pointed out all of his flaws. Nobody can stop him if we get him the ball down low with even a little space. Many fans are hardest on the best players and soft on the guys who play a few minutes. Anyway, I think Cliff and Paul are Captains but knowing Paul he doesn’t care about that. Probably Cliff too. They are the leaders coming back and others will lead too. Probably need to add one more bigger body unless Pike thinks Choi can give some minutes down low.
Great point. I forgot about that. Maybe he’s planning something like that again on a bigger scale and working out the details. Who knows? There are plenty of reasons he could be delaying announcement and if Pike and the staff know what he’s doing it’s not “hurting the team” in the least. It’s just driving us fans crazy.
It matters.
Paul is likely exploring options, so he doesn’t even know, nevermind Pike.
The uncertainty hurts recruiting the portal and also spooked Cam who didn’t want to lose PT due to Mulcahy loyalty and other incoming players.
Even if Pike does know, he wouldn’t tell portal players.
Paul is likely exploring options, so he doesn’t even know, nevermind Pike.
The uncertainty hurts recruiting the portal and also spooked Cam who didn’t want to lose PT due to Mulcahy loyalty and other incoming players.
Even if Pike does know, he wouldn’t tell portal players.
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Likely based on what? None of us have any idea. Your creating a narrative where it may be the case that Pike and our staff have known for a while exactly what his plans are. If that’s the case, and he eventually announces a return, the delay didn’t impact the team at all. Any portal player out there is going to assume Paul will be there from a PT perspective. That only hurts us if he doesn’t return (which all the articles predict that he will).
Not wasting my time reading this while thread. It is SIMPLE. PAUL IS A CAPTAIN ON THIS TEAM! if you knew anything about his character you’d agree 100%.
We are actually quite lucky Paul is likely coming back, because it allows us to absorb the hit of Cam leaving. The odds of finding anyone who will remotely contribute from the portal at this late date is infinitesimal.
Also, the idea that Cam was concerned about losing minutes is a joke. The fact that UCLA and UConn are ready to slot him in as a starter, but that he would somehow lose minutes here is not anywhere close to reality.
Not true. Those schools are losing starting guards. He’d start here too, but with Paul likely staying, Noah coming and Simpson certainly getting more than last year….he bolted.
Since he didn’t ask RU for more NIL there was clearly something he didn’t like about his expected role. Obvious.
I thought he made it clear. Spencer, McConnell and Simpson. I am not agreeing, but, I thought his opinion was obvious.
Certainly you wouldn’t expect a team leader to not be aware of the sentiment of uncertainty that not making an announcement can bring to a program.
I don’t know what’s going on but not making an announcement must mean you are not ready to confirm to your fan base you are returning to RU. I don’t know why that is.
I am very glad Cliff specifically told the fans he’s coming back for one more year rather than leave it open. Imagine the conversations that would be going on had 5/31 passed and cliff still hadnt said anything.
