Unprecedented pressure next year? What are the expectations?

[Scarlet Craig]

So, I guess next year short of 1976 maybe will be our most talented team ever. How will the team handle the hype especially after this meh season? For me, this is our BEST chance in decades to become permanently relevant at the top tier of college hoops. Success will enable continued high level of recruiting but what if it doesn’t meet expectations? I’m interested in where every one else’s head is at. Is it Final Four or bust?

Can’t wait to see next years team and I’m confident it will get us over the pretty good to elite “hump” for the long term!

 

[RUJMM78]

The team with Duncan and Hughes was the second most talented.

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

Will not be a final four team, but will probably make the tourney. Other teams also have highly rated players, and these are freshmen playing against stronger, more experienced guys. Expectations need to be realistic, imo.

 

[zebnatto]

Final Four or Bust is way too great an expectation. As talented as the are, Dylan and Ace are frosh playing against guys 23, 24 years old. I’d be happy with top four in league, eight or under tournament seed, Sweet Sixteen.

 

[RC1978]

Every year I watch the blue bloods with multiple 5 and 4 stars throughout their roster and they end up losing to teams that they should never have lost to. Most of the times it is because of what people have posted above. They play teams that have players that have played with each other for 3 or 4 years and are now in there early 20's play against 5 star 18 year old's.

Granted they win most of their games but we will have 2 great players next year that will give us more wins then hopefully we have had in 20 years but we cannot take that for granted. I cannot wait for the boo birds getting on Pike when we lose one those games everyone thought we should win.

 

[AdventureHasAName]

They are getting the two best high school players in the country. If they aren't a Top 10 team, it's a failure.

 

[RAC93]

Final Four or Bust is way too great an expectation. As talented as the are, Dylan and Ace are frosh playing against guys 23, 24 years old. I’d be happy with top four in league, eight or under tournament seed, Sweet Sixteen.

I have to agree with this, anything beyond sweet sixteen should be seen as the cherry on top. Only thing that would increase my expectations would be if we found experienced veterans in the portal to go with the young talent, plus Mag and even Cliff return…..if that were to happen I would bump up expectations to final four. But assuming next year is Ace, Dylan, plus additional recruits, plus current roster and no great veteran player additions through portal, and no Cliff, I would halt expectations at sweet sixteen.

 

[dconifer]

So, I guess next year short of 1976 maybe will be our most talented team ever. How will the team handle the hype especially after this meh season? For me, this is our BEST chance in decades to become permanently relevant at the top tier of college hoops. Success will enable continued high level of recruiting but what if it doesn’t meet expectations? I’m interested in where every one else’s head is at. Is it Final Four or bust?

Can’t wait to see next years team and I’m confident it will get us over the pretty good to elite “hump” for the long term!

A bit overoptimistic, I think, both about next year's finish and about becoming a permanent "elite"...

 

[jerseybird]

They are getting the two best high school players in the country. If they aren't a Top 10 team, it's a failure.

On the 1975-1976 team, Sellers & Dabney were seniors, Jordan was a junior, Copeland was a sophomore and Bailey was a freshman who was inserted into the starting lineup when Mike Palko got hurt. Beware, because Freshmen be Freshmen!

 

[Jerseylegends]

Unless they hit the transfer portal for an experienced guard and big man if cliff leaves I won't get my hopes up..

 

[dconifer]

On the 1975-1976 team, Sellers & Dabney were seniors, Jordan was a junior, Copeland was a sophomore and Bailey was a freshman who was inserted into the starting lineup when Mike Palko got hurt. Beware, because Freshmen be Freshmen!

The best player on my high school team, senior year, accepted a scholarship to Rutgers. I guess he remembered Rutgers 1976, which was only a few years earlier...

 

[richthedentist]

Unless they hit the transfer portal for an experienced guard and big man if cliff leaves I won't get my hopes up..

Definitely a center at the least but we are a big attraction now I don’t want Cliff back

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Until we know how will be on the team it is way too early to tell. If the same team minus Cliff comes back I think we are going to significantly disappoint.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Can we see what happens this year and how pieces develop , who our roster is …before annointing expectations …in any form ?!?!?!?

 

[hinson32]

The team with Duncan and Hughes was the second most talented.

No chance. Bailey, Copeland and Anderson in 79 were more talented. Black, Hinson, Battle, Tillman and Ellerbee were more talented in 83. Geo, Ron, Myles were more talented in 20, 21

 

[Mr Magoo]

Until we know how will be on the team it is way too early to tell. If the same team minus Cliff comes back I think we are going to significantly disappoint.

No doubt. I only want Mag back as a starter next year. That means we need a guard and a center or prepare to be dissapointed.

 

[The RUT]

Sweet 16 is a very fair and reasonable expectation IMO.

 

[cshelley]

Top 8 seed in the tournament, Make it to the 2nd weekend should be realistic depending on which seed we get.
I'm sure there will be some games where we look lack luster and possibly lose to a team we shouldn't have lost to, but on the flip side we will likely win a game or 2 we shouldn't have and Bailey & Harper will produce many exciting moments throughout the season.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

No doubt. I only want Mag back as a starter next year. That means we need a guard and a center or prepare to be dissapointed.

You want cliff

 

[BigEastPhil]

My expectation is that Ace and Dylan and the rest of the Freshman get coached up.

Pike and the coaching staff have done a terrific job with 3*s and below - a la Geo /Harp and
Caleb etc.

To date results with upper echelon recruits - a la Cliff and Gavin - have been below par.

I need and expect to see the former with Ace and with Dylan to ensure the pipeline of top notch recruits wanting to come to RU and to continue to sustain team
success !

 

[NickRU714]

The key factor isn't players 1-2 (Ace and Dylan).
It's players 3-10.

Ace and Dylan raise our ceiling.
But without support it's going to be hard.

We see teams with "elite players" lose.
And they have back to back to great recruiting classes to back up the players.
That is where we will potentially steuggle.

 

[RUskoolie]

People need to completely pump the brakes. They're freshman. Indiana has 3 5 stars in their lineup and we beat them with this roster, think about that.

We also probably have 50% of next years roster not here right now. A lot of churn coming.

Ace is a hype machine but he is rail thin. Idk anymore about banking on these high ranking frosh after seeing Gavin.

 

[Mr Magoo]

You want cliff

I’ll admit that watching Cliff this year has been very frustrating until recently, but I would love to see him play with Harper. However, everything I’ve heard and read indicates there is zero possibility of that happening. Not sure if that might change or not. It sure would be better than having to scour the portal and winding up with an Agee.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

cliff is very valuable this year and would be very valuable next year

 

[The RUT]

Ace is a hype machine but he is rail thin. Idk anymore about banking on these high ranking frosh after seeing Gavin.

Gavin would be deadly on a number of teams IMO. We don’t use him properly at all.

Ace and Dylan can create their own shot, so they should have more success.

My key thing is, Pike needs to understand they’re going to have defensive lapses at time. The commitment to the young guys means you think their offensive output will outweigh their defensive struggles.

I’m curious to see how it plays out

 

[darkcheck]

I disagree. I quickly think of the ‘83 team with Hinson, etc. Yes on Hughes Duncan ‘91. Expectations next year? Make the NCAAs. After 2019-2020 it should have been our goal every year. That’s what disturbs me. Our success in 2019-2021 should have led to better recruiting and a better program now. But it didn’t. So I dispute next year’s success will mean success beyond. Also Cliff isn’t coming back, he can’t receive NIL without a foreign trip. I’m also not sure we’ll draw too well from the portal. Might not have rhe NIL

 

[MCKnight2004]

Cliff leaving and announcing so right away is actually best for team so the portal guys know Immediate starter minutes are available. Cliff testing the waters and not announcing til May, will hurt our recruitment in the portal. Kids with talent and ability want to play right away, and a guarantee of that happening.

 

[Scarlet Shack]

o

No chance. Bailey, Copeland and Anderson in 79 were more talented. Black, Hinson, Battle, Tillman and Ellerbee were more talented in 83. Geo, Ron, Myles were more talented in 20, 21

This

4.) 82-83
3.) 20-21
2.) 78-79
1.) 75-76

 

[Scarlet Shack]

I will say this

This team

Starters
Jwill
Dylan
Mawot
Airous
Cliff

Bench

First guard
Simpson or Jmike

First fowaed
Gavin

First center
Latham

Sexond guard
Simpson or Jmike

Second foward
Bryce or Dylan G

Is a dangerous team come February 1

That staring line has a combo of offensive stars , defensive stars and rebounding ….

If you get Mawot and cliff back for one more year ….it has a chance to put it together late and make a run

 

[Scarlet Craig]

Thanks all, good conversation. I’m glad most have very reasonable expectations because the team will probably stub their toe at the beginning of the year. Upstream, red team.

 

[needmorecowbell]

On the 1975-1976 team, Sellers & Dabney were seniors, Jordan was a junior, Copeland was a sophomore and Bailey was a freshman who was inserted into the starting lineup when Mike Palko got hurt. Beware, because Freshmen be Freshmen!

100%. Forget about expectations. Just enjoy it folks. Rutgers doesn’t get many potential lottery picks. All I know is that the highlights are going to be ridiculous!

 

[needmorecowbell]

I will say this

This team

Starters
Jwill
Dylan
Mawot
Airous
Cliff

Bench

First guard
Simpson or Jmike

First fowaed
Gavin

First center
Latham

Sexond guard
Simpson or Jmike

Second foward
Bryce or Dylan G

Is a dangerous team come February 1

That staring line has a combo of offensive stars , defensive stars and rebounding ….

If you get Mawot and cliff back for one more year ….it has a chance to put it together late and make a run

That would be a very good team.

 

[GotEmmm]

People need to completely pump the brakes. They're freshman. Indiana has 3 5 stars in their lineup and we beat them with this roster, think about that.

We also probably have 50% of next years roster not here right now. A lot of churn coming.

Ace is a hype machine but he is rail thin. Idk anymore about banking on these high ranking frosh after seeing Gavin.

Ace is not rail thin. Gavin is rail thin.

Also, Dylan and Ace aren’t just five stars, they are the #2 and #3 players in the country.

 

[Pils86]

Ace is not rail thin. Gavin is rail thin.

Also, Dylan and Ace aren’t just five stars, they are the #2 and #3 players in the country.

They are both 6-8, Gavin a few pounds heavier.

 

[RUskoolie]

Gavin would be deadly on a number of teams IMO. We don’t use him properly at all.

Ace and Dylan can create their own shot, so they should have more success.

My key thing is, Pike needs to understand they’re going to have defensive lapses at time. The commitment to the young guys means you think their offensive output will outweigh their defensive struggles.

I’m curious to see how it plays out

Gavin cannot defend to save his life. It's not about using him properly. We go negative when he is on the court. If he is on offensively it makes it a wash. He has not had his shot for a month, that's why he gets 6 minutes a game now.

 

[RUskoolie]

Ace is not rail thin. Gavin is rail thin.

Also, Dylan and Ace aren’t just five stars, they are the #2 and #3 players in the country.

I hate to break this to you but sometimes those people bust in college. There are no sure things. Not every 5 star pans out.

 

[hinson32]

Doesn't a lot of this depend on where we are ranked pre-season. If we are not pre season top 25 and get pegged around 5-9 in the BIG poll who can an NCAA bid be deemed not meeting expectations?

Maybe, we won't meet the expectations of this board, but that pretty much happens every year. Heck, go look at the pre-season prediction thread for this season.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Ace is not rail thin. Gavin is rail thin.

Also, Dylan and Ace aren’t just five stars, they are the #2 and #3 players in the country.

They are the #2 and #3 recruits, not players. I am struggling to really understand how/why these players are rated. What does it mean to be the #1 or #2 recruit?

Looking at the tapes it appears pretty obvious if his shot works out Ace will be playing in the NBA and could be a top pick in the NBA draft. Is that what these rankings are suppose to show?

If Ace and Dylan are proficient on one side of the court and are average at best on the other side they are #2 and #3 in terms of helping a B1G school win basketball games.

 

[GotEmmm]

I hate to break this to you but sometimes those people bust in college. There are no sure things. Not every 5 star pans out.

I hate to break it to you, but sometimes they don’t bust and become one and done lottery picks.

 

[hinson32]

They are the #2 and #3 recruits, not players. I am struggling to really understand how/why these players are rated. What does it mean to be the #1 or #2 recruit?

Looking at the tapes it appears pretty obvious if his shot works out Ace will be playing in the NBA and could be a top pick in the NBA draft. Is that what these rankings are suppose to show?

If Ace and Dylan are proficient on one side of the court and are average at best on the other side they are #2 and #3 in terms of helping a B1G school win basketball games.

The stars and rankings are supposed to be predictive of how they will be as NBA players.