Stop taking portal kids and follow Purdue, Wisconsin & Sparty

[NewJerseyHawk]

There's a lot of things to clean up.

I don't get overwhelmed with one game and try to watch basics of the game and most of last night and last year is

A) 3 missing recruiting classes from 2021 to 2023.

B) Lack of wing defense and players to matchup with the pieces on Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa.

C) The portal is NOT the solution to RU and the portal is a subset of 2021, 2022 and 2023 recruiting misses.

Should RU be under .500.....?? No, but i can confirm with some level of confidence that MOST of our problems are portal related.....

Why?? Because as much as the staff has been poorly focused on the basics, you still have to have players across all 4 recruiting classes, to function as a program that is not Kentucky, Duke or Kansas.....

Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA and even though Iowa lost their best player to a broken finger, are the prototypes to winning on a consistent level. Those programs have fewer portal additions and grow organically the bulk of their rosters.

The portal teams that don't have elite NIL funds (RU, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska are always going to be gamea behind.....the portal programs with lots of NIL, are going to be up and down, but very inconsistent (Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, USC, Oregon, Washington).

Here are the last 9 portal additions since 2021

Hyatt
Spencer
J Will
Austin Williams
Noah Fernandes
PJ Hayes
Derkack
Acuff
Martini

This is just not a path of sustainable success, there's 2 out of 9 players considered as solid B1G players....(Hyatt and Spencer).

Build it through 2025 and 2026 and move on.....

 

[Plum Street]

There's a lot of things to clean up.

I don't get overwhelmed with one game and try to watch basics of the game and most of last night and last year is

A) 3 missing recruiting classes from 2021 to 2023.

B) Lack of wing defense and players to matchup with the pieces on Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa.

C) The portal is NOT the solution to RU and the portal is a subset of 2021, 2022 and 2023 recruiting misses.

Should RU be under .500.....?? No, but i can confirm with some level of confidence that MOST of our problems are portal related.....

Why?? Because as much as the staff has been poorly focused on the basics, you still have to have players across all 4 recruiting classes, to function as a program that is not Kentucky, Duke or Kansas.....

Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA and even though Iowa lost their best player to a broken finger, are the prototypes to winning on a consistent level. Those programs have fewer portal additions and grow organically the bulk of their rosters.

The portal teams that don't have elite NIL funds (RU, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska are always going to be gamea behind.....the portal programs with lots of NIL, are going to be up and down, but very inconsistent (Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, USC, Oregon, Washington).

Here are the last 9 portal additions since 2021

Hyatt
Spencer
J Will
Austin Williams
Noah Fernandes
PJ Hayes
Derkack
Acuff
Martini

This is just not a path of sustainable success, there's 2 out of 9 players considered as solid B1G players....(Hyatt and Spencer).

Build it through 2025 and 2026 and move on.....

Jeez . Most of those guys have been awful
Spencer and Hyatt are the top 2 and are rutgers graduates

Who is the 3rd best of that Group? Williams
? Sad

 

[NickRU714]

Sorry but this makes little to no sense.

If you can’t build through recruiting (see #1) then how exactly are you building out a competitive roster?
Do we keep the recruiting misses and just ride it out with Jalen Miller, Antonio Chol and Woolf?

I mean sure recruit better HS players.
But if that continues to not work then not sure the alternative than transfers.

 

[NickRU714]

The fact is the staff has failed at both.

 

[bethlehemfan]

Jeez . Most of those guys have been awful
Spencer and Hyatt are the top 2 and are rutgers graduates

Who is the 3rd best of that Group? Williams
? Sad

Hyatt wasn’t very good tbh

 

[Joey Bags]

Wisconsin uses the portal, what are you talking about?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Wisconsin uses the portal, what are you talking about?

They haven't taken 9 kids in 3 years, maybe I am wrong.

The last relevant portal kids was AJ Storr, who was there for 1 year and left for Kansas, where he's struggling at around 7PPG there.

Obviously every program adds a player or two via the portal, but unless that player is filling in a spot or a bench role, the bulk of the pieces have to be in place. Spencer was a rare situation with veterans all over the starting lineup and we still struggled because of the lack of bench players around those starters.

 

[NJHoops17]

They haven't taken 9 kids in 3 years, maybe I am wrong.

The last relevant portal kids was AJ Storr, who was there for 1 year and left for Kansas, where he's struggling at around 7PPG there.

Obviously every program adds a player or two via the portal, but unless that player is filling in a spot or a bench role, the bulk of the pieces have to be in place. Spencer was a rare situation with veterans all over the starting lineup and we still struggled because of the lack of bench players around those starters.

While I agree with the OP, Wisconsin does use the portal a decent bit (John Tonje, Max Klesmit, Kamari McGee this year). The difference is their transfers often end up being really good

 

[rufeelinit]

Seems like you are advocating an old school approach and I am not sure that works in an environment where money talks and transferring out is so easy. You won’t get highly regarded HS kids without a bag and if we hit on developing 3 stars and below aren’t we still at risk of them leaving for a better financial situation?

The lack of depth on the roster this is a problem but to me the issues go much deeper.

Did you like our offensive possessions toward the end of the game? Even talented kids needs plays run for them to help get good looks rather giving them the ball and just say see what you can do. Our on ball defense was atrocious across the board and offered no resistance on drives to the basket. Atleast look like a well coached team.

 

[fluoxetine]

Uh what are we supposed to do when our players leave via the porter then? Were we supposed to suit up walkons?

 

[fluoxetine]

Sorry but this makes little to no sense.

If you can’t build through recruiting (see #1) then how exactly are you building out a competitive roster?
Do we keep the recruiting misses and just ride it out with Jalen Miller, Antonio Chol and Woolf?

I mean sure recruit better HS players.
But if that continues to not work then not sure the alternative than transfers.

I mean you could probably make the argument (and one poster has approximately 100,000 times regarding one particular player) that we would have been better off just keeping the players we recruited than we are today.

But that requires the player to want to stay so..

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

The fact is the staff has failed at both.

I don't know if the 2024 freshman class is considered a "success ", by most B1G standards, but compared to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is.

Unless RU is a massive NIL portal player like Indiana, we are not getting top portal kids.

What I also find ironic is how much bad information circulates as fact.....there are posters actually saying Pike needs to attack the portal like Schiano.....??? LMAO

Schiano has the 44th ranked 2025 portal class for this coming season with TWO kids who have played at a Power 5 level....Zilinskas at Center and the corner from PSU.....RU has the 2nd lowest Power 5 additions in the B1G, behind Iowa, who only took 1 in football......RU football is ranked 14th out of 18 B1G schools for 2025 portal additions but somehow fans are convinced that is different from Pike and RU portal additions in 2021 to 2024 for hoops.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Problem is Pike is not close to Painter, Gard, or Izzo. Pike succeeded with under the radar kids that took time to develop without much risk of losing them. Painter, Gard, and Izzo are able to reload each year. Part of that is due to NIL and reputation, and part of it is due to the fact that each of them is a way better coach than Pike.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Uh what are we supposed to do when our players leave via the porter then? Were we supposed to suit up walkons?

You have to assume that a program is not going to lose every player to the portal. And if you are recruiting 3 to 5 freshman every year, you will always have depth on the roster OR in place already, that knows the system, knows the staff and isn't starting from scratch.

I know that taking another 3 to 4 portal kids this offseason, is another lost season next year. I can see ONE at most making sense and I am not chasing down kids and overpaying them via the portal.

If you recruit 3 to 4 kids per HS class, 2 likely stick, one leaves and one is a bench player that develops. Eventually after 3 classes in a row, you have 9 to 10 players in the system that are on the same page. By year 4, that number is 10 to 12, with 3 to 4 of the 16 that don't pan out ..

I just don't see RU football or RU hoops winning bidding wars on the portal market....it's more likely we can recruit and retain a 4* out of HS than the portal route. If we are being fair, even 4* HS recruits in football are being poached, because I think schools have figured out that it's cheaper to pay the kids that are in your program already. The key is getting those kids from HS and then development and retention.

 

[NickRU714]

Assuming everyone returns (only 11 players):
JWill
Derkack
Davis
Lathan
Grant
Dortch
Ogbole
4 freshman

Note: those returning players combined for 14pts last night (Davis 10, Lathan 2, Grant 2, Derkack 0)

That kinda seems like setting up for a lost season either way.
I guess we're hoping for the next NCAA bid in 2027 or 2028?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Problem is Pike is not close to Painter, Gard, or Izzo. Pike succeeded with under the radar kids that took time to develop without much risk of losing them. Painter, Gard, and Izzo are able to reload each year. Part of that is due to NIL and reputation, and part of it is due to the fact that each of them is a way better coach than Pike.

That's all potentially true, but Purdue is not a blue blood and neither is Wisconsin. And no one is saying Michigan State outbids Indiana via the portal, because they don't. Indiana has WAY more funds dedicated to hoops, but if it is not developed properly like Purdue, you will not have the same level of consistency.

Purdue has passed Indiana not because of NIL, but because this is the game plan of recruit and develop. Wisconsin made the NCAAs 21 out of 22 years with this business model of avoiding the AAU scenes or bag man and taking this approach. It's not like they're missing the NCAAs, but seemingly more successful than most.

Unless you or someone we don't know as a billionaire is donating money at levels of UNC, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky or the SEC schools, this is the path that makes sense to me.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Assuming everyone returns (only 11 players):
JWill
Derkack
Davis
Lathan
Grant
Dortch
Ogbole
4 freshman

Note: those returning players combined for 14pts last night (Davis 10, Lathan 2, Grant 2, Derkack 0)

That kinda seems like setting up for a lost season either way.

And I would argue that if the HS recruiting is again successful in 2026 (we'll know this spring or summer) that we would have 6 potential Top 150 kids on the roster in 2026.

Is RU going to outbid Kentucky or others for an elite portal kids who is primarily looking for money?? The answer is likely NO.....

 

[RUDivision]

I don't know if the 2024 freshman class is considered a "success ", by most B1G standards, but compared to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is.

Unless RU is a massive NIL portal player like Indiana, we are not getting top portal kids.

What I also find ironic is how much bad information circulates as fact.....there are posters actually saying Pike needs to attack the portal like Schiano.....??? LMAO

Schiano has the 44th ranked 2025 portal class for this coming season with TWO kids who have played at a Power 5 level....Zilinskas at Center and the corner from PSU.....RU has the 2nd lowest Power 5 additions in the B1G, behind Iowa, who only took 1 in football......RU football is ranked 14th out of 18 B1G schools for 2025 portal additions but somehow fans are convinced that is different from Pike and RU portal additions in 2021 to 2024 for hoops.

Could not agree more! Schiano lovers will come crashing down this year.

 

[newell138]

Ironically this post comes after a game where the only reason it was close was because of Acuff

 

[fluoxetine]

You have to assume that a program is not going to lose every player to the portal. And if you are recruiting 3 to 5 freshman every year, you will always have depth on the roster OR in place already, that knows the system, knows the staff and isn't starting from scratch.

I know that taking another 3 to 4 portal kids this offseason, is another lost season next year. I can see ONE at most making sense and I am not chasing down kids and overpaying them via the portal.

If you recruit 3 to 4 kids per HS class, 2 likely stick, one leaves and one is a bench player that develops. Eventually after 3 classes in a row, you have 9 to 10 players in the system that are on the same page. By year 4, that number is 10 to 12, with 3 to 4 of the 16 that don't pan out ..

I just don't see RU football or RU hoops winning bidding wars on the portal market....it's more likely we can recruit and retain a 4* out of HS than the portal route. If we are being fair, even 4* HS recruits in football are being poached, because I think schools have figured out that it's cheaper to pay the kids that are in your program already. The key is getting those kids from HS and then development and retention.

But why do I assume that? Last year we took the portal players we did because Spencer and Mulcahy left, for example. Did we want Griffiths to leave? Hell, did we want Simpson to leave?

"Retain your players" is great strategy.. if it's actually doable.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

While I agree with the OP, Wisconsin does use the portal a decent bit (John Tonje, Max Klesmit, Kamari McGee this year). The difference is their transfers often end up being really good

McGee and Kermit were last year with AJ Storr.....Tonje is this year.....Wisconsin has a core of players that are HS recruiting pieces...Winter, Blackwell, Hepburn, Essigien....while Hepburn and Essiegien left after last year, they were HS recruiting pieces that made up their core roster. They had bench options that replaced those who left OR found a portal piece here or there.

The point is MOST of Wisconsin roster construction is HS based and we can't add 3 to 4 portal kids every offseason and expect to win consistently.

 

[Mr Magoo]

That's all potentially true, but Purdue is not a blue blood and neither is Wisconsin. And no one is saying Michigan State outbids Indiana via the portal, because they don't. Indiana has WAY more funds dedicated to hoops, but if it is not developed properly like Purdue, you will not have the same level of consistency.

Purdue has passed Indiana not because of NIL, but because this is the game plan of recruit and develop. Wisconsin made the NCAAs 21 out of 22 years with this business model of avoiding the AAU scenes or bag man and taking this approach. It's not like they're missing the NCAAs, but seemingly more successful than most.

Unless you or someone we don't know as a billionaire is donating money at levels of UNC, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky or the SEC schools, this is the path that makes sense to me.

Regarding Indiana and Purdue, I agree with you…and as I’ve said before, the only coach clearly worse than Pike in the B1G is Woodson, and at least he’s bailing like he should be.

However, Wisconsin lost Storr and Hepburn last season and a major big kid graduated. They plugged in Tonje and a couple of others and didn’t miss a beat. yes some of that is NIL but a lot is coaching and accountability. I remember several people on here questioning how Wisconsin could even match up with us this year before the season started. Watching Wisconsin play and you almost never see the lazy passes and cuts, cluelessness on offense, jumping out fo the gym in head fakes, fouling jump shooters and lack of accountability in almost every aspect of the game. We look like a silly AAU team compared to them. True, sometimes we play well enough to beat them, but our coaching doesn’t compare. The same is true for MSU and Purdue.

It obvious we don’t have veteran leadership on our team and when you also don’t have leadership, accountability and attention to detail from our “player’s coach”, you get this season.

 

[NickRU714]

But why do I assume that? Last year we took the portal players we did because Spencer and Mulcahy left, for example. Did we want Griffiths to leave? Hell, did we want Simpson to leave?

"Retain your players" is great strategy.. if it's actually doable.

And it goes both ways.

Did we want Jalen Miller to stay?
Did we want Chol to stay?
Did we want Woolf to stay?

This whole strategy of "continuity" that everyone loves only works if the players are worth keeping.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

i agree with njh premise...the application in 2025 I am worried about

 

[RUDivision]

And it goes both ways.

Did we want Jalen Miller to stay?
Did we want Chol to stay?
Did we want Woolf to stay?

This whole strategy of "continuity" that everyone loves only works if the players are worth keeping.

Agreed 💯! Whose job is it to recruit kids that we want to stay and build the program? Not only does Pike fail in the portal and with transfers he has been abysmal building out the depth of the roster through recruiting.

 

[PhillyRU]

I don't know if the 2024 freshman class is considered a "success ", by most B1G standards, but compared to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is.

Unless RU is a massive NIL portal player like Indiana, we are not getting top portal kids.

What I also find ironic is how much bad information circulates as fact.....there are posters actually saying Pike needs to attack the portal like Schiano.....??? LMAO

Schiano has the 44th ranked 2025 portal class for this coming season with TWO kids who have played at a Power 5 level....Zilinskas at Center and the corner from PSU.....RU has the 2nd lowest Power 5 additions in the B1G, behind Iowa, who only took 1 in football......RU football is ranked 14th out of 18 B1G schools for 2025 portal additions but somehow fans are convinced that is different from Pike and RU portal additions in 2021 to 2024 for hoops.

For the record, Schiano’s portal haul is rated lower in part because he took many fewer players than most other Power 5 coaches. On3’s portal rankings, which “measure a team’s production during the transfer process, compared relative against its roster and not a comparison against other schools,” ranks Rutgers 7th.

 

[RUJMM78]

What matters is winning.Teams that have a history of winning attract players that fit the head coaches system on offense and defense.In Rutgers case there have been more misses than hits when it comes to high school recruiting.The portal transfers are supposed to fill the missing pieces on the roster.Rutgers problem is the coaching and the talent don't meet the needs for success in the B1G Ten.At best Rutgers will be a bubble team for a NCAA bid.Achieving success is now more difficult with the addition of the four west coast teams that have the resources that Rutgers lacks.What Rutgers is getting from the B1G Ten is a big pay check.The sports teams ,however,are mostly bottom tier programs.Nobody that matters seems to care.

 

[seansherm]

Uh what are we supposed to do when our players leave via the porter then? Were we supposed to suit up walkons?

Running a developmental program requires you to retain your talent, that's where you use your NIL Sure, occasionally you'll have to replace someone, but shouldn't ever be 10 guys.

 

[seansherm]

Assuming everyone returns (only 11 players):
JWill
Derkack
Davis
Lathan
Grant
Dortch
Ogbole
4 freshman

Note: those returning players combined for 14pts last night (Davis 10, Lathan 2, Grant 2, Derkack 0)

That kinda seems like setting up for a lost season either way.
I guess we're hoping for the next NCAA bid in 2027 or 2028?

They combined for 47 the game before, 29 the game before that. Role players numbers will fluctuate and then rise when they are bigger focal points in the future. Ideally anyway. i could see three double digit scorers in that group next year.

 

[cm_13]

Uh what are we supposed to do when our players leave via the porter then? Were we supposed to suit up walkons?

Simple, when guys inform Pike that they’re planning on entering the transfer portal, Pike just needs to say “No” and then lock the APC doors until October.

 

[BigEastPhil]

Fwiw, I don’t believe Iowa had any portal players.

Recalling the Purdue roster, I believe they have minimal portal players as well, if any.

Besides lack of portal players, what both programs above plus Sparty etc have are strong recruiting classes; offensive and defensive schemes that work effectively ; terrific coaching staff and the ability to retain their players.

We haven’t done any of the above well for the past 3 years !

 

[RUDivision]

They combined for 47 the game before, 29 the game before that. Role players numbers will fluctuate and then rise when they are bigger focal points in the future. Ideally anyway. i could see three double digit scorers in that group next year.

What happens when those role players are now starters and teams are not doubling and tripling stars on the court?

Those role players are playing at an enormous advantage this year.

When they get the ball
1. Wide open
2. Playing 4 on 3 offense and still they can not be consistent.

When that is taken away next year and they are the focus of other team’s defense. You will see why they are role players and mid major talent.

 

[NJHoops17]

McGee and Kermit were last year with AJ Storr.....Tonje is this year.....Wisconsin has a core of players that are HS recruiting pieces...Winter, Blackwell, Hepburn, Essigien....while Hepburn and Essiegien left after last year, they were HS recruiting pieces that made up their core roster. They had bench options that replaced those who left OR found a portal piece here or there.

The point is MOST of Wisconsin roster construction is HS based and we can't add 3 to 4 portal kids every offseason and expect to win consistently.

I agree 100%. My main point is that Wisconsin has a very high success rate with their transfers. Pike has a lot of misses, especially in recent years. I think there should be 1 MAYBE 2 transfers each year, but hopefully they are typically Power 5 transfers each cycle. Pike I believe has only recruited 2 Power 5 transfers (Jacob Young and Aundre Hyatt) and both of them I'd say exceeded expectations.

I'm not saying get the TOP Power 5 transfers that cost a lot of NIL, but the ones that have Power 5 experience and are used to this level of competition (ex: A bench player that got decent minutes in Big Ten, Big East, Big 12, etc., but is looking for starter opportunity). Especially with revenue-sharing I'm hoping as well that Rutgers can retain and develop their core of HS recruits with a Power 5 transfer or two each year.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

This is the path for what works for pike

Questions are

1.) after three classes that yielded Jmike , the class of 2024 and 2025 need to be retained and developed . Can we retain

2.) can we continue to add solid classes (Somerville , grant and Dortch is a very solid class even without ace and Dylan ) for the next couple of years

We will know a lot more by November ….

 

[RU84]

Iowa was the better team last night. They started one portal transfer and he only scored 4 pts. The three starters that really hurt us are home grown 3 star HS recruits. Dix who killed us with 26 points is a 3 star who had more points than our two 5 star lottery picks combined! I realize it's one game but imagine if you had a core of HS recruits like that complementing Ace and Dylan rather than the random 1 -2 year portal transfers we plugged in.

 

[seansherm]

What happens when those role players are now starters and teams are not doubling and tripling stars on the court?

Those role players are playing at an enormous advantage this year.

When they get the ball
1. Wide open
2. Playing 4 on 3 offense and still they can not be consistent.

When that is taken away next year and they are the focus of other team’s defense. You will see why they are role players and mid major talent.

Perhaps, but letting them grow and develop is the only way you find out. Going out and getting another bunch of never done it at this levels and hoping it works won't.

 

[The RUT]

The problem isn’t the portal, it’s that we don’t have a SYSTEM.

When those teams recruit through high school or the portal, they’re recruiting specific players to fit a role in the coaches system.

We don’t.

We recruit players that are “pikes guys” or guys that play on mid major teams and make our daunting defense look average.

We run a very selfish program. It’s why legit players who want to win don’t stick around.

 

[Simce91]

I don't know if the 2024 freshman class is considered a "success ", by most B1G standards, but compared to 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, it is.

agree, however the key to this is whether or not Sommerville, Grant and Dortsch are still here in 2/3 years

 

[FAT MOON]

There's a lot of things to clean up.

I don't get overwhelmed with one game and try to watch basics of the game and most of last night and last year is

A) 3 missing recruiting classes from 2021 to 2023.

B) Lack of wing defense and players to matchup with the pieces on Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa.

C) The portal is NOT the solution to RU and the portal is a subset of 2021, 2022 and 2023 recruiting misses.

Should RU be under .500.....?? No, but i can confirm with some level of confidence that MOST of our problems are portal related.....

Why?? Because as much as the staff has been poorly focused on the basics, you still have to have players across all 4 recruiting classes, to function as a program that is not Kentucky, Duke or Kansas.....

Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA and even though Iowa lost their best player to a broken finger, are the prototypes to winning on a consistent level. Those programs have fewer portal additions and grow organically the bulk of their rosters.

The portal teams that don't have elite NIL funds (RU, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska are always going to be gamea behind.....the portal programs with lots of NIL, are going to be up and down, but very inconsistent (Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, USC, Oregon, Washington).

Here are the last 9 portal additions since 2021

Hyatt
Spencer
J Will
Austin Williams
Noah Fernandes
PJ Hayes
Derkack
Acuff
Martini

This is just not a path of sustainable success, there's 2 out of 9 players considered as solid B1G players....(Hyatt and Spencer).

Build it through 2025 and 2026 and move on.....

Think better way to say all of this is that we have to do a better job of retaining our guys. Need Grant and Sommerville and Lino Mark etc to stay here for 3+ years. They need to be paid to do so. Focus your efforts on recruiting well out of HS and then doing everything in your power to keep the kids you want. Hope you can get a few hometown discounts. Try and get one impact portal guy (Spencer) and one roll player (Hyatt) to plug gaps from recruiting misses or transfers out. And yes obviously need more NIL to do this.

I think you are correct that we're never going to win the portal wars. And it also seems pretty clear that if you allow Pike to get a kid for multiple years they will get better playing in his defensive system. Get back to winning with defense, rebounding and toughness. We're just never going to be a program that can have our pick of the litter so we'll end up with similar players to the ones leaving. Except they will be starting from scratch.

 

[needmorecowbell]

There's a lot of things to clean up.

I don't get overwhelmed with one game and try to watch basics of the game and most of last night and last year is

A) 3 missing recruiting classes from 2021 to 2023.

B) Lack of wing defense and players to matchup with the pieces on Michigan State, Maryland, Iowa.

C) The portal is NOT the solution to RU and the portal is a subset of 2021, 2022 and 2023 recruiting misses.

Should RU be under .500.....?? No, but i can confirm with some level of confidence that MOST of our problems are portal related.....

Why?? Because as much as the staff has been poorly focused on the basics, you still have to have players across all 4 recruiting classes, to function as a program that is not Kentucky, Duke or Kansas.....

Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, UCLA and even though Iowa lost their best player to a broken finger, are the prototypes to winning on a consistent level. Those programs have fewer portal additions and grow organically the bulk of their rosters.

The portal teams that don't have elite NIL funds (RU, Minnesota, Penn State, Nebraska are always going to be gamea behind.....the portal programs with lots of NIL, are going to be up and down, but very inconsistent (Indiana, Ohio State, Maryland, USC, Oregon, Washington).

Here are the last 9 portal additions since 2021

Hyatt
Spencer
J Will
Austin Williams
Noah Fernandes
PJ Hayes
Derkack
Acuff
Martini

This is just not a path of sustainable success, there's 2 out of 9 players considered as solid B1G players....(Hyatt and Spencer).

Build it through 2025 and 2026 and move on.....

It’s all about roster management. Pike needs to really focus on the right players for his style and get them from HS first and fill gaps with the portal.