I have never seen so much selfish and stupid play. Examples: 1. Latham takes shots from 15 feet and his percentage has to be in the low 20’s. 2. Davis is forever driving among the tress and either gets blocked or misses. 3. Jeremiah is always looking to drive or shoot, has not mastered the concept it is a team game. 4. Grant has more turnovers forcing the action. And his three point percentage is in the teens.
What is most discouraging about this team, and there are many possibilities
- Thread starter RU677381
- Start date
Aren't there enough losses to complain about, why complain after a win? Btw, Jeremiah had 13 pts, 3 steals, 3 assists, and 1 TO. He also stole the inbounds pass with 9 seconds left and tied the game with a foul shot...which was kind of important.
There is no one on the team more successful from 15 feet than lathan
One thing discouraging is that none of the transfer pickups, who were supposed to be good shooters to complement Ace and Dylan, turned out to be so.
That we have mid-major talent surrounding two NBA lottery picks and because of it, Pike has been exposed like never before.
In spite of our shortcomings, if Harper wasn't out for most of January & Ace wasn't sub par for at least a few games we would have won at a minimum a few more games.
Exposed as what? The guy who put mid-major talent around two lottery picks?
Same as some other recent years, the bad early losses. Kennesaw and Princeton. The hole becomes too much. It hangs over the team. It deflated the fans. I truly believe mich and Iowa at home would have been different if we had more to play for.
^^^ The biggest miscalculation of building this team and the ultimate downfall for totally fumbling a once in a lifetime opportunity for our fan base .
Pike built this team planning on Bailey and Harper demanding doubles. Which they do. And Pike thought we’d be making teams pay with raining 3s. That’s why he thought not having a center would be a non factor.
From the 24/7 2024 Transfer ratings
Derkack -162
Acuff - 348
Martini -429
Hayes - didn't make the top 480
That is discouraging !
No perimeter defense, no help defense, no pick and roll defense, no rebounding.
As a way worse coach that many people thought
Is that really what they were?
Acuff was ranked as the 348th best transfer in the offseason?! That seems off given what his numbers were
The biggest disappointment to me is the lack of team D. In man there is no helpside and often times players lose their assignment completely leading uncontested layups. Along the same lines when in a zone D players are watching the ball get passed around instead of moving on the pass, leads to wide open shots
If Shelby could reverse one thing, it would be Derkack and Davis not being on the team. Oh wait that’s two things, but whatever.
Those two may not be the most significant reasons this season has been a bust, but just watching them play selfish, out of control basketball makes Shelby’s skin crawl. Disgust.
Shelby would much rather see Acuff and Grant miss 50 straight open threes than see Derkack or Davis drive to the hoop even one time.
People are not mentioning the lost of EO. Having another big and one that was slowly improving may have made a difference in a few games.
I’m not really intimidated by anyone above us. Last year Purdue looked unbeatable but this year everyone is beatable. Maryland could intimidate me with more consistency. The tournament could be interesting.
Eh. It’s not as if we’ve generally brought in all these stud recruits in past years.
Not bringing in a rim protector was the biggest issue. I find it very hard to believe we can’t afford and/or convince one to come to Rutgers. Cliff and MJ left and joined teams where they played utility roles. You can’t tell me there aren’t utility guys on other teams like them who could’ve been brought in to play their role. If those guys had gone to their final destinations first they would not have had the same price tags associated because their stats would look much less enticing. Pike needs to do his homework this offseason. We need a bruiser. Give Pike that and his team will compete game in and out. I truly believe that. And guess what - if the cost of doing this is Lathan hitting the road it’s a price we must pay. We’re not going to win without a real 5. The style D Pike aims for just doesn’t allow for it. Folks who want Lathan to be our center need to convince Jay Wright to come coach. We don’t play that style and the odds of Pike suddenly having success in a way that he’s never had it before feels like poor odds to me. Just my opinion.
Wow - I had no idea they were all THAT low!!!
Acuff rating is surprising just considering his scoring
Also interesting how the ratings have correlated to their relative contribution to the team and likely relative to all transfers (eg dercack only one that has made a marginally-decent contribution- what you might expect the #162 rated transfer to do)
The same can be said for other teams who experienced injuries/illness to starting players.
On the other hand, a good coach coaches and changes with the talent he has. Lathan is our best possible returning player. Make it work with him. We’re not going to get anyone better.
You keep jumping on my semi-sarcastic replies to others lol.
I 100% agree with this post. Not only did Pike fail to put enough talent on the roster this season but he also put together a team that does not fit his coaching style at all which has compounded the issue.
It’s a pretty egregious error and at a pretty bad time. I think that is different than being exposed as a bad coach though.
In today’s college basketball game, roster construction is as important as in-game coaching. To that end, given the team Pike put together for this season it was a bad coaching job.
that fans still deny that our low NIL inhibits effective roster construction. I would argue that it is THE issue. Bad players make coaches look bad. Expecting a coach to transform chickenshit into chicken salad is unrealistic.
Al
The coach did nothing to raise NIL in any meaningful way. Hypothetically, if he had a court club meeting and said we can make a deep NCAA run if 1400 people to donate $1000 to keep cliff and Mag, it would’ve happened.
This season was a unique opportunity given the fact that we had Dylan and Ace. There was never any grassroots outreach to the fan base. I’m convinced the average fan would’ve stepped up here if a targeted ask was made given the circumstances.
Dude - stop. That’s not what happened here.
We could’ve gotten a bruiser who wasn’t a big time scorer. Cliff was expensive based on the role he played at Rutgers and the stats he put up. He’s is only playing 18 mpg for Alabama. There were plenty of back up bigs available early who may not have had exciting stats but could’ve played the post defense we needed in our system. It was a missing link that played a large role in defining the fate of our season.
Besides this - Pike also chose to go against everything about his own philosophy with the types of players he chose to recruit instead of bringing in a post player. Jordan was the only portal player brought in who fits Pike’s culture and unfortunately he came in lacking experience playing man to man D at the collegiate level. That definitely shows, and Jordan is far from a perfect player, but arguably at least, going with the defensive player of the year from a low major conference at least fit with what Pike traditionally has prioritized as important. The other guys brought none of the typical intangibles or defensive strengths that Pike covets. All they offered was midmajor level shooting ability. Nothing else. PJ, Acuff and Martini. Austin Williams would help this team more than all of them. A lot more as he plays D. And no - a kid like him is not more expensive. It wasn’t the money. It was bad decisions.
Yes, he did a bad job in the offseason. We agree on this, we don’t agree that it makes him irredeemable as a coach forever.
Obviously more money would always help, but what PSAL is saying is undoubtedly true in my opinion. Hell, Pike’s first good run relied on a lot of underrecruited guys, not the equivalent of what you get with big NIL bucks today.
Pike bought into the idea of this as a “special” year and went away from his normal philosophy. If he had just forgotten about the fact he had Ace/Dylan coming in and recruited for the type of players he generally favors we would be significantly better off right now imo
This is a fallacy, that Pike would have realized more success if he didn’t change his philosophy.
As a team, we lack defensive intensity. I can’t remember a time where our defense was so bad.
So,
It wouldn’t have mattered what he did, because the transfers we brought in aren’t good enough. There just isn’t enough talent on this team and the biggest reason is poor NIL support. We don’t have a shot blocker who can protect the rim. Cliff is underutilized at Alabama, yet would have been a Top 3 scorer here, and improved our defense ALOT. His consistent 10 points and 8 rebounds is sorely missed, and haven’t been replaced.
What's the 2nd issue then?
Something non-NIL related that needs to be improved?
Just any actual basketball on-court related strategy?
It’s his fault he didn’t have any money. He didn’t identify any creative strategy to raise NIL from the broader fan base. Having Ace and Dylan was a generational opportunity, I’m convinced he could’ve had success with a grassroots NIL campaign.
Before people tell me it’s not his job to raise money, he’s paid $3.5 million to be the CEO of the basketball program. NIL is part of the job description.
I would’ve liked the team to close out on threes, not let guards blow by, and block a shot every now and again.
Wrong.
If only Pike and Schiano didn't have such cheap, whiny, horrible fans then they would have both won 4 straight championships already.
And looking at winning the next 10 straight championships.
What’s the rest of it? He picked the wrong players? He coached badly? It all can be traced to the lack of money.
People who want to give are giving. They don’t need a coach to tell them to give. UConn, Syracuse, and Miami are three examples of programs raising money mostly on efforts from their collectives.
