Where does Pike rank?

[Mholinko]

We will never know how much $ we had vs what was available.

I will stick with my original thoughts that attacking the shiny lure of Ace and Dylan doomed us.

We had little to no money
We had a potential transfer being stuck with 2 18 year olds that would be the face of the program
There would be very little opportunity on offense

I think it’s known we didn’t have a competitive amount relative to the league

My point here is if we agree we have a bottom tier budget, bottom tier coaching and bottom tier recruiting what are we even doing

You need at least 2 of the 3 to be viable and nobody here is making a case the coach is part of the solution

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

that’s a pretty big exaggeration imo.. and yes we had some good seasons but we were never even in contention for a B1G regular season title:

11-9
10-10
12-8
10-10

good, not great. and we have seen now that that was Pike’s ceiling.

Dont know facts obviously….

What if i said RU wouldnt pay players illegal while many in the conference were and he still was able to be over .500

 

[Mholinko]

Dont know facts obviously….

What if i said RU wouldnt pay players illegal while many in the conference were and he still was able to be over .500

Who do you know for sure was doing that

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I think it’s known we didn’t have a competitive amount relative to the league

My point here is if we agree we have a bottom tier budget, bottom tier coaching and bottom tier recruiting what are we even doing

You need at least 2 of the 3 to be viable and nobody here is making a case the coach is part of the solution

He isnt a bottom tier coach with less talent. He is wuite the opposite.

Plus if your are going to say he is low tier recruiter what was our current recruiting class ranked?

Ace and Dylan Pike recruited!!!

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Who do you know for sure was doing that

I dont and said as much

 

[Mholinko]

He isnt a bottom tier coach with less talent. He is wuite the opposite.

Plus if your are going to say he is low tier recruiter what was our current recruiting class ranked?

Ace and Dylan Pike recruited!!!

The portal is part of recruiting and he’s possibly the worst power conference coach at the transfer portal

Hes a bad in game coach and with the exception of Minnesota penn state and Indiana I typically feel like the other bench has the better x and o guy

 

[RUJMM78]

We will never know how much $ we had vs what was available.

I will stick with my original thoughts that attacking the shiny lure of Ace and Dylan doomed us.

We had little to no money
We had a potential transfer being stuck with 2 18 year olds that would be the face of the program
There would be very little opportunity on offense

What transfer would want to come here for no money and play with 2 guys that probably werent passing much.

Rutgers problem on offense is based on no player/ball movement to get easy shots around the basket and open 3 pointers from the corners.Iso offense doesn't work with this roster especially with Harper and Bailey being double teamed.Rutgers has scored enough points to win games but the defense stinks leaving small margin for error after scoring droughts.

 

[Mholinko]

He isnt a bottom tier coach with less talent. He is wuite the opposite.

Plus if your are going to say he is low tier recruiter what was our current recruiting class ranked?

Ace and Dylan Pike recruited!!!

Ill also stick to my opinion a better coach wouldn’t have us 14-16 with the exact same roster

 

[needmorecowbell]

A fan base that is satisfied with mediocrity.

And others who live in a fantasy world.

 

[LotusAggressor]

I don’t think you can argue if he’s better than dusty may I don’t think it’s remotely close

For your argument about buying players I did say I liked him better than Woodson

Woodson's record is better at Indiana than Pikiell's is at RU.

 

[Mholinko]

Woodson's record is better at Indiana than Pikiell's is at RU.

In this case I’m taking into consideration Indiana spends a TON on basketball and their results are VERY sub par all things considered… Rutgers has also owned Indiana over the years

 

[stribucher]

Ill also stick to my opinion a better coach wouldn’t have us 14-16 with the exact same roster

This should be how the question should be asked to grade Pike. How many coaches in the B1G would have gotten more out of the roster we have. Forget about roster construction for now. Did Pike put this roster in the best position to win by maximizing each player's strengths, along with offense and defensive game planning? I think it is safe to say at least 14 of the 17 other coaches would have squeezed out 3-5 more wins and we are in position for the NCAA's, not barely making league tourney.

It is hard not to put Pike in bottom 3 in league since Mag got hurt.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I think it’s known we didn’t have a competitive amount relative to the league

My point here is if we agree we have a bottom tier budget, bottom tier coaching and bottom tier recruiting what are we even doing

You need at least 2 of the 3 to be viable and nobody here is making a case the coach is part of the solution

that isn't our arguement, but I think that is what we are looking at

 

[Mholinko]

This should be how the question should be asked to grade Pike. How many coaches in the B1G would have gotten more out of the roster we have. Forget about roster construction for now. Did Pike put this roster in the best position to win by maximizing each player's strengths, along with offense and defensive game planning? I think it is safe to say at least 14 of the 17 other coaches would have squeezed out 3-5 more wins and we are in position for the NCAA's, not barely making league tourney.

It is hard not to put Pike in bottom 3 in league since Mag got hurt.

This is 100% true and probably more in line with the argument I was trying to construct

But I will also stand by my argument that if I’m picking a coach to win one game roster aside he’s also in the bottom 3

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

This should be how the question should be asked to grade Pike. How many coaches in the B1G would have gotten more out of the roster we have. Forget about roster construction for now. Did Pike put this roster in the best position to win by maximizing each player's strengths, along with offense and defensive game planning? I think it is safe to say at least 14 of the 17 other coaches would have squeezed out 3-5 more wins and we are in position for the NCAA's, not barely making league tourney.

It is hard not to put Pike in bottom 3 in league since Mag got hurt.

no way! 3-5 wins?

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

Food for thought for the Pike supporters… 18 coaches in the Big10. How many would you truly rather have Pike than if you needed to win a game?

In my opinion it’s a very short list
Minnesota - Ben Johnson
Penn State - Mike Rhoades
Indiana - Mike Woodson

Jury still out on Diebler at Ohio state and sprinkle at Washington they are too new into their tenure but even if I split he’s at best 14th best coach in the league

anybody being 14th out of 18 at anything is not up to par

Where is RU in terms of NIL, revenue and resources in comparison to the other 17 B1G schools, the 16 SEC schools and the schools in the Big 12......??

If Pike is 14th out of 18th in your rankings and RU is 18th out of 18 schools in terms of resources, then you have your answer.

If we ranked all B1G schools in terms of revenue (which is primarily generated through an athletic department via football revenue(, is RU higher than 18th in the B1G??

Outside of Northwestern in terms of stadium size, that's it. But Northwestern has a 60 year head start of B1G revenue.

Which school does RU outgain in revenue for its overall Athletic Department, Donations and revenue stream??

If you are saying Pike has bad substitution patterns and poor recruiting from 2021-2023, then no one is disagreeing with that stance.

But I don't know any program that wins without some competitive level of revenue, donations (in today's market that's NIL).

The fact that RU even found the path to land Ace and Dylan is part of the victim of his success at RU. There are better coaches, but in MOST cases, the rosters are better at MOST B1G programs.

I am aware that there's a reason why revenue sharing is a way to help close the gaps for schools that don't have Ohio State, Michigan level revenue generated by their football programs, which gives the basketball program and other sports the abilities to be competitive.

I will go back to the beginning......so you and others understand.. . If you do not have ELITE football level revenue, it is very difficult to win at a high level in basketball.

I do think or know the reason why the B1G is the model conference (along with the SEC) is because football revenue drives the other sports. It's why the SEC basketball programs are all much better than 5 to 7 years ago. They're able to attract better coaches, pay more coaches and then the players follow.

RU football generates the least amount of revenue in the entire B1G....and there's no indication that season tickets or sales for football or donations are spiking higher.....so we are in the same space now and probably in 2026, unless the 2025 football season somehow is 8-4 or 9-3.....

Can RU outsmart or win against competition with equal resources?? Sure....but every league of competition is not the same.

I can assure you that if you ask me which of these teams is RU going to be better than in BOTH football or basketball in the next 5 years, you need to explain how that will happen, if the coaching is equal or similar at all B1G schools.

Will RU pass

Ohio State
Michigan
Oregon
Penn State
USC
Washington
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Iowa

I can safely say that these 9 programs are all likely to be better than RU in the next 5 years and while MSU had a bad year, I can't ignore the laat 20 or so years of winning they have produced.

Here are the other schools that I think RU can catch up or potentially be better than to in both sports BUT we cannot assuredly say "RU will have higher revenue scale or higher NIL"......

Illinois
Nebraska
Northwestern
Indiana
Minnesota
Purdue
UCLA
Maryland

This "2nd group", is the group that RU "should" be competitive with in football, so we can compete on a revenue scale in Hoops. Keep in mind, Indiana and UCLA are deemed "Basketball schools", so we are really at best 11th in pecking order, if everything goes well OR another program has a bad coach.

I don't think RU sports has a Top half of the B1G football coach or basketball coach. And I know it's very much a real thing to expect to outspend these schools.

Revenue sharing allows the teams in the 2nd tier, to have a chance to compete with the top half on an annual basis.

NOW, if you want RU to be compared to schools in the ACC, who don't have revenue sharing like Wake Forest, Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech or maybe Virginia Tech.....thats a different conversation.

 

[NickRU714]

He isnt a bottom tier coach with less talent. He is wuite the opposite.

Plus if your are going to say he is low tier recruiter what was our current recruiting class ranked?

Ace and Dylan Pike recruited!!!

Can't say he's a great recruiter because he got Ace and Dylan and also say he screwed up the roster by recruiting Ace and Dylan.

 

[goru7]

I didn’t think 1 ncaa win in 6 years warranted that type of contract from an athletic department that is operating with thin margins to begin with

I would take Altman, hoiberg, Greg gard, Fran, underwood, Izzo, painter, musselman, dusty may, Chris Collins without much consideration so he’s not really close to top half

Except he has beaten more than once , some 5 times , Painter , Izzo , and Collins and only played Musselman 1x and won and May twice and he lost. But if being honest should have beaten Michigan twice. Just saying. I know you were a little shocked but when Rutgers was up 8 on Michigan and outplayed them almost the whole game , I am not so sure you were praising Dusty May.

 

[Ridge 22]

This team is a a culmination of:

• Multiple years of poor recruiting​
• No roster continuity year over year (see #1)​
• Horrible portal player evaluation​
• Failure to bring in someone capable of playing the 5 spot on both ends​
• Overreliance on multiple true freshman​
• Poor gameday substitution decisions​
• Inability to run a functional, middle-school level offense​
• Failure by the HC to read and adapt to the new NIL landscape​
• A fanbase that celebrates and enables mediocrity​

A lot of these issue are attributable to the coach.

End of the day, I think this is a good thread and asks a legitimate question. At best, Pike is a bottom 3-4 level B1G coach. IMO, that is how he should be thought of and evaluated. And that doesn't feel good enough to warrant the sainthood his supporters continue to cast upon him. He took us from awful to mediocre. And stopped there. That's wonderful. And also not that impressive at the same time. Contract aside, if we could move on now, I think we would and should. But we won't. Because Rutgers.

 

[goru7]

Except he has beaten more than once , some 5 times , Painter , Izzo , and Collins and only played Musselman 1x and won and May twice and he lost. But if being honest should have beaten Michigan twice. Just saying. I know you were a little shocked but when Rutgers was up 8 on Michigan and outplayed them almost the whole game , I am not so sure you were praising Dusty May.

And he has beaten Underwood and Hoiberg numerous times. He has struggled with Fran and Altman has only been 1 game.
You are all judging Pike for the worst defensive season we have had which is un usual for him.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Can't say he's a great recruiter because he got Ace and Dylan and also say he screwed up the roster by recruiting Ace and Dylan.

WRONG......I just did.

 

[goru7]

This should be how the question should be asked to grade Pike. How many coaches in the B1G would have gotten more out of the roster we have. Forget about roster construction for now. Did Pike put this roster in the best position to win by maximizing each player's strengths, along with offense and defensive game planning? I think it is safe to say at least 14 of the 17 other coaches would have squeezed out 3-5 more wins and we are in position for the NCAA's, not barely making league tourney.

It is hard not to put Pike in bottom 3 in league since Mag got hurt.

Not totally true. I do think Pike has had a bad year in his coaching , whether it is the rotations , failure to play different players earlier or for meaningful minutes but his biggest failure is his awful defense , his pride and joy , which he has not made better after 30 games , nor has rebounding message of all guys to the glass , or any semblance of getting onto the passing lanes , has not materialized this year. Now give me back this team with Mag and Cliff and I truly believe it would have fulfilled its expectations.

 

[goru7]

Another great quality in a coach is that he gets his team to play hard every night to be the tough team every night. Pike has done that throughout his career here but not this year . With the increase in offense this year , all that was needed was a tough hard nosed defensive team , which never showed up , but would have made all the difference in the world. Then the question is why was the defense so bad ? Then the next question was , why wasn’t it fixable ?For the first time , Pike doesn’t have that answer.

 

[RUJMM78]

Mediocre is the word that best describes Rutgers athletics.In regard to men's basketball it lacks the coaching, player talent and financial backing to be a consistent top eight B1G Ten team.

 

[bac2therac]

Except he has beaten more than once , some 5 times , Painter , Izzo , and Collins and only played Musselman 1x and won and May twice and he lost. But if being honest should have beaten Michigan twice. Just saying. I know you were a little shocked but when Rutgers was up 8 on Michigan and outplayed them almost the whole game , I am not so sure you were praising Dusty May.

why are you comparing one game results....is the Kennesaw State coach better than Pike. By any measure career wise Dusty May is dwarfing Pike..what is Pikes non conference record over the course of his 9 years. I dont know it off hand but its littered with bad loss to medicore to bad programs

 

[rubs]

I really don't understand the question. When is the game? With what roster?

If you want to ask a blanket question....assuming coaching slalary is not in the equation and money available to "buy" players was what RU has which coach would you rather have......

I still Pike in the upper half. He has shown the ability to win with less talent and I think that is going to be the environment we will be in. If we are talking about school with money (like a Michigan) Pike wouldn't be as high.

Win what? Explain!

 

[goru7]

why are you comparing one game results....is the Kennesaw State coach better than Pike. By any measure career wise Dusty May is dwarfing Pike..what is Pikes non conference record over the course of his 9 years. I dont know it off hand but its littered with bad loss to medicore to bad programs

I went down the list of coaches mentioned. I did Underwood , Izzo, Painter , Collins , Hoiberg , Whoever coached Indiana , and Pike has faired well and beaten them multiple times even when they were # 1 in the country or at the top of the conference. He has handed butt whippings to Izzo and Underwood and Hoiberg and upset Purdue home and away when they were # 1.
We also have a number of new teams in the conference so his head to head to Musselman , Altman , Cronin , Sprinkle and May is a limited sample size. How do you compare ?

 

[bac2therac]

I went down the list of coaches mentioned. I did Underwood , Izzo, Painter , Collins , Hoiberg , Whoever coached Indiana , and Pike has faired well and beaten them multiple times even when they were # 1 in the country or at the top of the conference. He has handed butt whippings to Izzo and Underwood and Hoiberg and upset Purdue home and away when they were # 1.
We also have a number of new teams in the conference so his head to head to Musselman , Altman , Cronin , Sprinkle and May is a limited sample size. How do you compare ?

you compare by using those coaches acheivement levels...with respect to that, their results speak for themselves

also pike has lost like 7 of 8 or is it worse to Fran who is stale and 50/50 to be out the door at Iowa

 

[fluoxetine]

warrant the sainthood his supporters continue to cast upon him.

This is a strawman that many posters here continue to use.. who are these mythical posters? Name a single poster here who even would put Pike as a say.. top 5 overall coach in the big ten.

This idea that Pikiell is terrible at everything obviously doesn’t hold water, but is he in the top half of the Big Ten, overall? I dunno, probably not, though it’s difficult to disentangle the results from other factors.

Wake me up when we are putting up the funds and necessary commitments to poach a successful coach out of at least the ACC/Big East tier of conferences, otherwise I got news for you: our next coach is likely to be a bottom half of the B1G coach as well.

 

[goru7]

you compare by using those coaches acheivement levels...with respect to that, their results speak for themselves

also pike has lost like 7 of 8 or is it worse to Fran who is stale and 50/50 to be out the door at Iowa

Ok. Iowa has not gone well even games that should have been wins. But Iowa has been no slouch. What about the the other head to head comparisons , you are going to ignore them ?

 

[goru7]

you compare by using those coaches acheivement levels...with respect to that, their results speak for themselves

also pike has lost like 7 of 8 or is it worse to Fran who is stale and 50/50 to be out the door at Iowa

What exactly have they achieved ? The Big 10 hasn’t won a title in 22 years. Big 10 titles ? That is why I reviewed Painter , Underwood and Izzo. Head to head he has been more than respectable.

 

[NickRU714]

Fans get way too hung up on "head to head" comparisons for teams and coaches.
"Rutgers owns Indiana and Woodson."

Ok great.
They finished ahead of us in the Big Ten nearly every year.

Do you think Purdue was hung up on losing to Rutgers when ranked #1 while they were making the NCAA tournament?

 

[ImBadRU]

Pike is one of the worst in the league....he just is.

 

[bac2therac]

What exactly have they achieved ? The Big 10 hasn’t won a title in 22 years. Big 10 titles ? That is why I reviewed Painter , Underwood and Izzo. Head to head he has been more than respectable.

Their achievements at other schools...are you saying Dusty May has no achievements

Pikiell has ONE ncaa tourney win

 

[biazza38]

What exactly have they achieved ? The Big 10 hasn’t won a title in 22 years. Big 10 titles ? That is why I reviewed Painter , Underwood and Izzo. Head to head he has been more than respectable.

Some of those coaches have won B1G titles. That also means something. Painter has taken a team go the championship. While you are correct, the B1G has not won a title in 22 years, it’s pretty foolish to compare Pike to those coaches. Also saying “he has been more than respectable” in head to head matchups, isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of a coach. Great, we sometimes beat very good teams in the conference.
Pike has done an incredible job pulling this program out of the gutter. I don’t want him fired, but nothing will erase how bad this year was.

 

[needmorecowbell]

2021 was four years ago now. That’s a lot for everyone but Rutgers fans who still celebrate the final four run of FIFTY YEARS AGO. The last three years have been a steady, sharp slide downward. You can’t continue to prop up someone who did good for a stint, years ago, when you could get a three star and sit on him and develop him. Being a good coach is adapting. Pike can’t adapt out of timeouts or halftimes. He’s not a top half big ten coach. Might be bottom quarter. What he was isn’t what he is now.

I don’t judge a coach on 1-2 years when he has been coaching for 20 years. If that’s what you want to do, go ahead.

 

[bac2therac]

I don’t judge a coach on 1-2 years when he has been coaching for 20 years. If that’s what you want to do, go ahead.

He has 1 ncaa win in 20 years vs all these other coaches and their accomplishments..that's why he ranks in the bottom 4

 

[Ridge 22]

This is a strawman that many posters here continue to use.. who are these mythical posters? Name a single poster here who even would put Pike as a say.. top 5 overall coach in the big ten.

This idea that Pikiell is terrible at everything obviously doesn’t hold water, but is he in the top half of the Big Ten, overall? I dunno, probably not, though it’s difficult to disentangle the results from other factors.

Wake me up when we are putting up the funds and necessary commitments to poach a successful coach out of at least the ACC/Big East tier of conferences, otherwise I got news for you: our next coach is likely to be a bottom half of the B1G coach as well.

No idea what you are saying (as usual). He's a bottom 3 B1G coach. That's not good enough. The rest doesn't matter

 

[goru7]

Fans get way too hung up on "head to head" comparisons for teams and coaches.
"Rutgers owns Indiana and Woodson."

Ok great.
They finished ahead of us in the Big Ten nearly every year.

Do you think Purdue was hung up on losing to Rutgers when ranked #1 while they were making the NCAA tournament?

Except everyone but your little brain didn’t think it was not a big deal as Rutgers lead Sportscenter highlights and every person that knew anything about college basketball , unlike you the self proclaimed NBA guy , thought Rutgers had arrived on the big stage. If beating # 1 not once but twice was no big deal every school would be doing it. Guess what ? No one else is doing it. We were also doing it as un ranked team which made the achievement even greater. But leave it to your stupid post to minimize the achievement. You call yourself a fan. Go back and watch the NBA.

 

[goru7]

Their achievements at other schools...are you saying Dusty May has no achievements

Pikiell has ONE ncaa tourney win

Dusty May has one NCAA run with FAU. Wanna bet he flames out in the tourney ? What history is there ?