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We're No. 1! - RU at the top of the polls in lacrosse

Would be sweet to send busloads of people to support them in state college. We need this team to breakthrough and win some titles.
 
Oh absolutely BUT I don't understand, why in this particular thread, you choose to make that comment and don't even bother saying something positive about the team. That's the problem.

Who told Old Cabbagge the media poll "isn't the primary poll"?
 
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Weather forecast for UDel on Saturday...65 and sunny. Anyone who wants to watch a #1 Ranked RU team should make the easy road trip.

It could be a really entertaining game. Delaware likes to play lacrosse to try and win, not manage the game to try and win. There is a difference. Should make for a game where there are tons of plays being on offer. And we make a lot of them so get there early.
 
Just too awesome. This is a sport we should have been good at, but No. 1 in the poll? Damn -- and to see two other Big Ten teams in the top four, all undefeated?

THIS is the world we want to inhabit. A great team in a great conference. Congratulations, gentlemen.
 
RU should do a study on what it took Coach Brecht and the administration to get to this point in the journey. Though every sport is different, if you hire the right person, provide them the right resources (he still needs to more) and understand it truly is a process, good things can happen. I am starting to see some parallels between the ascension of the lax program and that what I am seeing early in hoops. Number 1 is a culture change through hard work and focus on that which you can control. Usually effort and hard work. Recruiting is second. The talent level every year under Brian has gotten better and better. After a few years those blowouts started turning into close games. In 15 our record sucked but if you were paying attention, you noticed we lost a lot of games by 1 goal, and closed the season by destroying NCAA quarter finalist OSU. That was the turning point. The winning always comes last it seems.

There have definitely been speed bumps a long the way, mostly because of the inept administration, but once Hobbs came on board things started truly humming as Brian had done the heavy lifting. With Coach Brecht delivering, I am expecting that we will see more and more resources directed to the program. As it should be.

Rutgers is now a lacrosse school.
 
RU should do a study on what it took Coach Brecht and the administration to get to this point in the journey. Though every sport is different, if you hire the right person, provide them the right resources (he still needs to more) and understand it truly is a process, good things can happen. I am starting to see some parallels between the ascension of the lax program and that what I am seeing early in hoops. Number 1 is a culture change through hard work and focus on that which you can control. Usually effort and hard work. Recruiting is second. The talent level every year under Brian has gotten better and better. After a few years those blowouts started turning into close games. In 15 our record sucked but if you were paying attention, you noticed we lost a lot of games by 1 goal, and closed the season by destroying NCAA quarter finalist OSU. That was the turning point. The winning always comes last it seems.

There have definitely been speed bumps a long the way, mostly because of the inept administration, but once Hobbs came on board things started truly humming as Brian had done the heavy lifting. With Coach Brecht delivering, I am expecting that we will see more and more resources directed to the program. As it should be.

Rutgers is now a lacrosse school.
You can also see incremental improvement in wrestling as well. I think Goodale is going to have the wrestling team really explode on the scene next year. Football fans need to take a deep breath and let it play out...I think we take a step forward in Year 2 under Ash.
 
I don't follow wrestling but I bet if you looked at it there would be some similar traits to their rise also.
 
I don't follow wrestling but I bet if you looked at it there would be some similar traits to their rise also.
Wrestling in 10 years went from being on the chopping block to now a perennial Top 10 team producing multiple All Americans, in the most difficult conference in college. The B1G in wrestling is harder than the SEC is in football.
 
Wrestling in 10 years went from being on the chopping block to now a perennial Top 10 team producing multiple All Americans, in the most difficult conference in college. The B1G in wrestling is harder than the SEC is in football.
Damn, we finished 12th in the country and were only the 6th best team in the B1G.
 
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...if you hire the right person, provide them the right resources (he still needs to more) and understand it truly is a process, good things can happen.
Hmmm. Now where have I heard that before? Sounds vaguely familiar. ;)
 
Looking at that list of the most recent Top 25 ranking across several Rutgers sports programs....."which one is not like any of the others?" All have been ranked in Top 25 in this century, except....men's hoops -- 38 years and counting.
 
I am not sure that they are the best team in the country, but this team is really good. Like a serious shot at the final four. They play excellent defense and usually win a lot of face offs. They are very good in all phases of the game and are talented at all positions. The lacross poll can be a funny thing. Teams move around a lot throughout the year. I watch a lot of lacrosse and you can tell who the legit first tier teams are every year. This year Rutgers is the real thing.
 
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RU should do a study on what it took Coach Brecht and the administration to get to this point in the journey. Though every sport is different, if you hire the right person, provide them the right resources (he still needs to more) and understand it truly is a process, good things can happen. I am starting to see some parallels between the ascension of the lax program and that what I am seeing early in hoops. Number 1 is a culture change through hard work and focus on that which you can control. Usually effort and hard work. Recruiting is second. The talent level every year under Brian has gotten better and better. After a few years those blowouts started turning into close games. In 15 our record sucked but if you were paying attention, you noticed we lost a lot of games by 1 goal, and closed the season by destroying NCAA quarter finalist OSU. That was the turning point. The winning always comes last it seems.

There have definitely been speed bumps a long the way, mostly because of the inept administration, but once Hobbs came on board things started truly humming as Brian had done the heavy lifting. With Coach Brecht delivering, I am expecting that we will see more and more resources directed to the program. As it should be.

Rutgers is now a lacrosse school.

Great post. That was certainly the Schiano blueprint and I agree it looks like the approach Brecht has followed - and hopefully the approach we're seeing in Ash and Pikiell. Good stuff.
 
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I am not sure that they are the best team in the country, but this team is really good. Like a serious shot at the final four. They play excellent defense and usually win a lot of face offs. They are very good in all phases of the game and are talented at all positions. The lacross poll can be a funny thing. Teams move around a lot throughout the year. I watch a lot of lacrosse and you can tell who the legit first tier teams are every year. This year Rutgers is the real thing.

We will find out if they are. I've now seen every other top team play. No one can say who is going to win it but I haven't seen a team we wouldn't compete well with.

The team isn't afraid of anyone, that's for sure.
 
RU should do a study on what it took Coach Brecht and the administration to get to this point in the journey. Though every sport is different, if you hire the right person, provide them the right resources (he still needs to more) and understand it truly is a process, good things can happen. I am starting to see some parallels between the ascension of the lax program and that what I am seeing early in hoops. Number 1 is a culture change through hard work and focus on that which you can control. Usually effort and hard work. Recruiting is second. The talent level every year under Brian has gotten better and better. After a few years those blowouts started turning into close games. In 15 our record sucked but if you were paying attention, you noticed we lost a lot of games by 1 goal, and closed the season by destroying NCAA quarter finalist OSU. That was the turning point. The winning always comes last it seems.

There have definitely been speed bumps a long the way, mostly because of the inept administration, but once Hobbs came on board things started truly humming as Brian had done the heavy lifting. With Coach Brecht delivering, I am expecting that we will see more and more resources directed to the program. As it should be.

Rutgers is now a lacrosse school.

I think Ash is trying to do the same in football.
 
The Big Ten is crazy good this year in Men's LAX, any team could win the conference.

Here is the rest of our schedule:

Here’s the rest of the schedule:

  • at Delaware
  • at #17 John Hopkins
  • at #20 Michigan
  • vs. #10 Maryland
  • at #3 Penn State
  • vs. #4 Ohio State
 
We will find out if they are. I've now seen every other top team play. No one can say who is going to win it but I haven't seen a team we wouldn't compete well with.

The team isn't afraid of anyone, that's for sure.
i agree. there is no clear cut alpha male this year. i like ND a lot, but i could totally see RU beating them 9 to 8 any day.
 
Oh absolutely BUT I don't understand, why in this particular thread, you choose to make that comment and don't even bother saying something positive about the team. That's the problem.

Who told Old Cabbagge the media poll "isn't the primary poll"?

Good lord. I don't know. I chose to make that comment to point out something that was relevant. Bottom line is that the OP was incorrect, and I pointed it out. He didn't seem to mind my comment. I thought it was important enough to post because the USILA Coaches poll is the one I usually see cited. I think of it as the primary poll. I wasn't trying to be negative or a dick in any way. I have said tons of positive stuff about the lacrosse team in other threads. Obviously, being #1 in any poll is great.

I really didn't think I'd need to defend my being a fan after this many years on the site. For the record, I am a huge fan of the lacrosse program and go to home games. FWIW, I am also a donor, with all of my Rutgers donations going to either the lacrosse or wrestling programs.
 
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Cograts to MLAX. Go RU!

I'm looking on the internet for football polls released the morning of November 7, 1869. Notre Dame didn't have a football team yet so they couldn't have been ranked ahead of us.
 
Good lord. I don't know. I chose to make that comment to point out something that was relevant. Bottom line is that the OP was incorrect, and I pointed it out. He didn't seem to mind my comment. I thought it was important enough to post because the USILA Coaches poll is the one I usually see cited. I think of it as the primary poll. I wasn't trying to be negative or a dick in any way. I have said tons of positive stuff about the lacrosse team in other threads. Obviously, being #1 in any poll is great.

I really didn't think I'd need to defend my being a fan after this many years on the site. For the record, I am a huge fan of the lacrosse program and go to home games. FWIW, I am also a donor, with all of my Rutgers donations going to either the lacrosse or wrestling programs.

If the USILA Coaches poll is the one you usually see cited, I'm not sure where you're looking. No doubt it's a relevant poll, but the Inside Lacrosse Media poll is surely the most prominent in college lacrosse. Perfect example: If you go to ncaa.com and click on lacrosse rankings, the Inside Lacrosse poll is the default ranking listed
 
We did get a Top 25 vote for men's basketball from some dude in San Diego this year so there's that.
 
I think Ash is trying to do the same in football.
While I think can point to lacrosse, wrestling and basketball as having the right coaches now... Ash still has something to prove. We saw that the OC was the wrong coach. Hopefully Kill will right the ship there and tehn we will have a better gauge as to what Ash can do with the defense.

The Caliknight post on competitiveness coming before winning is spot-on, imo. In basketball we saw that. Began the conference season with some bad losses.. then they showed some fight and competitiveness.. some wins came.. more will follow next season. And the same was true with Schiano.. blow-outs while Schano was forcing the team to play his style, no matter what.. that became a solid D in 2004 (then we lost the secondary in the homecoming car crash).. and a very good D in 2005 (and a bowl game).. then the GREAT D of 2006.. and halfway through that season the O began to show some life.

It is like everything in life.. all we need is a REAL HOPE. With hope, more recruits will listen to pitches.. more players will work harder in the offseason.. players will stay in games even when down.. with hope. And good coaches at the top.. they provide endless supplies of hope.
 
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While I think can point to lacrosse, wrestling and basketball as having the right coaches now... Ash still has something to prove. We saw that the OC was the wrong coach. Hopefully Kill will right the ship there and tehn we will have a better gauge as to what Ash can do with the defense.

The Caliknight post on competitiveness coming before winning is spot-on, imo. In basketball we saw that. Began the conference season with some bad losses.. then they showed some fight and competitiveness.. some wins came.. more will follow next season. And the same was true with Schiano.. blow-outs while Schano was forcing the team to play his style, no matter what.. that became a solid D in 2004 (then we lost the secondary in the homecoming car crash).. and a very good D in 2005 (and a bowl game).. then the GREAT D of 2006.. and halfway through that season the O began to show some life.

It is like everything in life.. all we need is a REAL HOPE. With hope, more recruits will listen to pitches.. more players will work harder in the offseason.. players will stay in games even when down.. with hope. And good coaches at the top.. they provide endless supplies of hope.
I agree. I think we'll see signs of life this year. If not Clock starts ticking. He has 2 more years to show something.
 
While I think can point to lacrosse, wrestling and basketball as having the right coaches now... Ash still has something to prove. We saw that the OC was the wrong coach. Hopefully Kill will right the ship there and tehn we will have a better gauge as to what Ash can do with the defense.

The Caliknight post on competitiveness coming before winning is spot-on, imo. In basketball we saw that. Began the conference season with some bad losses.. then they showed some fight and competitiveness.. some wins came.. more will follow next season. And the same was true with Schiano.. blow-outs while Schano was forcing the team to play his style, no matter what.. that became a solid D in 2004 (then we lost the secondary in the homecoming car crash).. and a very good D in 2005 (and a bowl game).. then the GREAT D of 2006.. and halfway through that season the O began to show some life.

It is like everything in life.. all we need is a REAL HOPE. With hope, more recruits will listen to pitches.. more players will work harder in the offseason.. players will stay in games even when down.. with hope. And good coaches at the top.. they provide endless supplies of hope.

Ash just completed his first year. If you look at Schiano's, Brecht's, and most any other successful coach who was took over a dumpster fire, their first years are almost always horrible. This is especially true in sports that have large roster sizes and require some degree of real physicality like football and lacrosse. The second and third years aren't much better.

I'm not even looking at scores with Ash until maybe next year at the earliest. What I want to see is a team that doesn't quit, gets faster, gets stronger, and plays together. And recruiting. Recruiting is a big piece of it.

Football recruiting is a little more tangible. While the rankings are far from an exact science, there are more resources thrown at it so it is a little more accurate. Lacrosse rankings are the wild west. You have guys I have never heard of who I'm not sure even played ranking kids. There are a few can't miss kids, but many that fall through the rankings who are very, very good.

In lacrosse it's more of an eye test, at least for me. We haven't had one top 20 class by the so called experts in lacrosse recruiting, but when you see us play against a team like Hopkins, it is obvious Brian's recruiting far exceeds the rankings. Lacrosse recruiting experts simply aren't experts.
 
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I think Brian getting kids later in high school is part of the equation. They are more of a known quantity, certainly compared to freshman and sophmore recruiting. I think the sport is still too niche to have accurate rankings. And with more kids playing, the task to have a better understanding of each player is going to be more difficult.
 
Ash just completed his first year. If you look at Schiano's, Brecht's, and most any other successful coach who was took over a dumpster fire, their first years are almost always horrible. This is especially true in sports that have large roster sizes and require some degree of real physicality like football and lacrosse. The second and third years aren't much better.

I'm not even looking at scores with Ash until maybe next year at the earliest. What I want to see is a team that doesn't quit, gets faster, gets stronger, and plays together. And recruiting. Recruiting is a big piece of it.

Football recruiting is a little more tangible. While the rankings are far from an exact science, there are more resources thrown at it so it is a little more accurate. Lacrosse rankings are the wild west. You have guys I have never heard of who I'm not sure even played ranking kids. There are a few can't miss kids, but many that fall through the rankings who are very, very good.

In lacrosse it's more of an eye test, at least for me. We haven't had one top 20 class by the so called experts in lacrosse recruiting, but when you see us play against a team like Hopkins, it is obvious Brian's recruiting far exceeds the rankings. Lacrosse recruiting experts simply aren't experts.

Lacrosse recruiting is crazy right now. Many kids go unnoticed until their senior year and then some kids are getting invited for visits as 8th graders. The summer tournaments are a feeding frenzy for kids.

I have a very athletic strong LSM who started getting a ton of interest this past summer (the summer going into his senior year). It is crazy how one good moment at a tournament or showcase can get you offers. My sophomore goalie had one great weekend and then the phone calls started flooding in.
 
Right. There just aren't enough resources directed at it. This incredibly early recruiting that we see from schools like Unc, Hopkins, etc. is very beneficial for programs like ours. Those schools are just eating each other with it, then don't have room when a kid develops late, which seems to be often.
 
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Right. There just aren't enough resources directed at it. This incredibly early recruiting that we see from schools like Unc, Hopkins, etc. is very beneficial for programs like ours. Those schools are just eating each other with it, then don't have room when a kid develops late, which seems to be often.

Absolutely. Late bloomers are great for a program like ours when some schools lock up their classes 2 or 3 years in advance.
 
Absolutely. Late bloomers are great for a program like ours when some schools lock up their classes 2 or 3 years in advance.

I have told this story before but I have a good friend who coaches JV at Boys Latin. He had a kid last year that verballed to Unc in 9th grade. I was shocked and asked him how good that kid is for that to happen, and he said he was very athletic for his age, but truthfully, didn't even know if he liked playing lacrosse.

If you are accepting kids at that early of an age, you better know something like that. Unc, Hopkins and some others are probably done recruiting 3 years out already. Crazy.
 
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