Why is it So different?

[Groz]

Guys,

I am as surprised as anyone that Eugene wanted out and is transferring. He obviously hid the reason or reasons from all of his teammates and coaches that he wanted to transfer by the reaction of teammates and coaches. He kind of took the chicken way out calling Pike the night he posted he was leaving and by not being man enough to tell him in person.

BUT, it is his right to transfer as a college basketball player. Because we finally have something brewing, it makes us all mad that our captain is deserting us. Maybe some school did tamper and was fishing for Eugene's interest in possibly joining some possible NCAA team so he could finally get to experience being in the NCAA tournament. Most "likely" he will have to sit out unless he has a good lawyer that can get rid of his sit-out year for some crazy reason. Granted, we are the closest to getting a bid than we have been in the last 15 years, but Eugene still has the right to ask for a transfer if he did not want to be here anymore.

Is anyone on this message board upset that we poached Yeboah from Stoneybrook? BY rules, Yeboah was allowed to leave his school as a "graduate" transfer and not have to sit out and selected Rutgers over some competing schools. Do you think that we did not have "any" contact to get his interest with Yeboah this past year? I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt that.

For the most part in this age of "free agency" college basketball, the top players of mid-major schools are probably transferring "UP" in the amount of 80%. It is OK for us to take Yeboah away from Stoneybrook, but we are getting bent out of shape that a guy who played his guts out for us wanted to transfer. Sure, it hurts, but it is what is.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Jim_from_RU]

Guys,

I am as surprised as anyone that Eugene wanted out and is transferring. He obviously hid the reason or reasons from all of his teammates and coaches that he wanted to transfer by the reaction of teammates and coaches. He kind of took the chicken way out calling Pike the night he posted he was leaving and by not being man enough to tell him in person.

BUT, it is his right to transfer as a college basketball player. Because we finally have something brewing, it makes us all mad that our captain is deserting us. Maybe some school did tamper and was fishing for Eugene's interest in possibly joining some possible NCAA team so he could finally get to experience being in the NCAA tournament. Most "likely" he will have to sit out unless he has a good lawyer that can get rid of his sit-out year for some crazy reason. Granted, we are the closest to getting a bid than we have been in the last 15 years, but Eugene still has the right to ask for a transfer if he did not want to be here anymore.

Is anyone on this message board upset that we poached Yeboah from Stoneybrook? BY rules, Yeboah was allowed to leave his school as a "graduate" transfer and not have to sit out and selected Rutgers over some competing schools. Do you think that we did not have "any" contact to get his interest with Yeboah this past year? I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt that.

For the most part in this age of "free agency" college basketball, the top players of mid-major schools are probably transferring "UP" in the amount of 80%. It is OK for us to take Yeboah away from Stoneybrook, but we are getting bent out of shape that a guy who played his guts out for us wanted to transfer. Sure, it hurts, but it is what is.

Best of Luck,
Groz

There’s a big difference between being a grad transfer and bailing on your team in the middle of the night before your senior season.

 

[Groz]

There’s a big difference between being a grad transfer and bailing on your team in the middle of the night before your senior season.

I am upset about him leaving also, but isn't it more about how he did it? I disagree about it being so much a big difference. Both are playing by the rules set up by the NCAA. Yeboah could have still played at Stoneybrook. Because they are not a P5 school, then it makes it OK for him to not play his last year of eligibility? Just playing devils advocate.

Players are leaving teams at an alarming rate. It is just that we don't want it to happen to us once again like Dahntay, Billet(I know he did not make it) and others that end up making the NCAA tournament. Especially as we are getting so much closer.........



Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Jim_from_RU]

I am upset about him leaving also, but isn't it more about how he did it. I disagree. Both are playing by the rules set up by the NCAA. Yeboah could have still played at Stoneybrook. Because they are not a P5 school, then it makes it OK for him to not play his last year of eligibility?

Best of Luck,
Groz

Correct. The way Gene approached this leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, it took everybody by surprise. You’d think he’d be man enough to discuss it with his coach and teammates.

 

[Groz]

Correct. The way Gene approached this leaves a lot to be desired. I mean, it took everybody by surprise. You’d think he’d be man enough to discuss it with his coach and teammates.

I agree but was just pointing out that the players DO have the right to leave. It does hurt because we feel betrayed as we are getting so much better.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[kcg88]

Yeboah had his coach leave and he announced his intent to transfer right after the season. And he's moving up to the high major level.

Not a valid comparison.

 

[RU677381]

What we are forgetting is that he has a right to do what he thinks are in his best interests.
How many of us would not factor into our decision making what we perceive is best,
even if it is deemed by others as selfish.

 

[Groz]

Yeboah had his coach leave and he announced his intent to transfer right after the season. And he's moving up to the high major level.

Not a valid comparison.

OK. Again, just playing devils advocate. What if Eugene ends up going to a team that makes the NCAA tournament most years? Some guys would give their left arm to experience it once. Coming back here for his senior year, he knows that the odds of making it are probably still not in his favor. Let's add another really good player now, so that we will have a real shot this year.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[dkostus]

I agree but was just pointing out that the players DO have the right to leave. It does hurt because we feel betrayed as we are getting so much better.

Best of Luck,
Groz

Why are you divorcing him doing it and how he did it? If he was a grad transfer he would have entered the portal in March and the team would have gotten a chance to address it. I think we'll be fine, but it is not comparable to Yeboah

 

[dkostus]

OK. Again, just playing devils advocate. What if Eugene ends up going to a team that makes the NCAA tournament most years? Some guys would give their left arm to experience it once. Coming back here for his senior year, he knows that the odds of making it are probably still not in his favor. Let's add another really good player now, so that we will have a real shot this year.

Best of Luck,
Groz

So no one should ever come here. Thanks.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

I agree with Groz general premise.

 

[Groz]

So no one should ever come here. Thanks.

That's not true. Eventually, we will make it as hard as it is to believe.(Let's hope most are still alive) And when we do, it won't be just a ONE year wonder.

I've repeated this a million times that my 26 year old nephew thinks I have lied to him when taking him to games over all the years and telling him that when I was a manager in the late 70's that we were as good, if not better than EVERY team in the East, including Villanova, Syracuse and St. John's. But, in his whole lifetime, Rutgers has sucked almost
every year.

Many on the board have heard me repeat this. It is HARD to do what we have done. Regardless of who the players are and the coaches are, we should make the NCAA tourney at least once every 8 to 10 years. We still have been getting All-State players. We have just had bad luck for various reasons with many coaches that should have made us winners.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[dkostus]

That's not true. Eventually, we will make it as hard as it is to believe.(Let's hope most are still alive) And when we do, it won't be just a ONE year wonder.

I've repeated this a million times that my 26 year old nephew thinks I have lied to him when taking him to games over all the years and telling him that when I was a manager in the late 70's that we were as good, if not better than EVERY team in the East, including Villanova, Syracuse and St. John's.

Best of Luck,
Groz

Sure, but endorsing the idea that it's fine for Eugene to NJ leave after 3 years because he'd rather someone else give him a sure thing to the tourney... ...instead of him leading the team to a tourney? Great message

 

[Groz]

Sure, but endorsing the idea that it's fine for Eugene to NJ leave after 3 years because he'd rather someone else give him a sure thing to the tourney... ...instead of him leading the team to a tourney? Great message

It is not fine. BUT, if we are a legit program, we will find 1 or 2 players that will be added to our roster and continue to BUILD a true program. We have to keep the program moving forward and if that takes recruiting over players and making real competition, then maybe we will finally join the Big Boys for real.

Players are transferring all the time at all schools. Does it make it right? No, BUT it is the way of the world, both ways.

Best of Luck,
Groz

 

[Scangg]

I haven't seen one in the hundreds of posts that said he didn't have the right to leave.

The Yeboah comparison is a terrible analogy for reasons already mentioned.

Why is there another new thread about this?

 

[Scarlet Shack]

Groz

Was it in his right within the rules to do what he did? Yes....and absolutely

It’s not what he did

It’s how he did It.

Period

And if he has the right to do what he wants to do...it’s certainly was within my right to say good riddance and glad he isn’t ever wearing the Rutgers name ever again

For the record ...I was never mad it dahthay and Todd for getting away from bannon and the toxic program that he ran. Same with mike and Greg under FHJ and all the issues there. No animosity. Ditto Gil and Eli under mike rice

This is totally different. This isn’t high recruits taking a chance on Rutgers (and every one above other than Eli was a high recruit) and a vision that the staff laid out and failed...this isn’t about transferring because the coach and staff are running a program that has dark ugly secrets that just haven’t come to light.

This is about a player who was named captain (none of those other players were) and a leader...and moving on not because of lack of playing time, not because the program wasn’t good and showing promise,
Not he wasn’t reaching his potential, but just because it was he wanted to do for himself

His right?

sure...

My right as a fan ...good riddance. See ya. Dead to me

And I never said that before about ANY player who ever teamster from Rutgers basketball or football in 40 plus

Not what...but how he did It

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

we don’t know for sure if we was given the proper respect by current teammates.

It is wrong for any of us to slander Eugene without the facts.

Maybe teammates went over the line in some way.

 

[dkostus]

we don’t know for sure if we was given the proper respect by current teammates.

It is wrong for any of us to slander Eugene without the facts.

Maybe teammates went over the line in some way.

Really going out of your way to defend the guy leaving his team high and dry the last day or so. Either your natural inclination to be contrary has taken over or you're trolling people

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Really going out of your way to defend the guy leaving his team high and dry the last day or so. Either your natural inclination to be contrary has taken over or you're trolling people

People are killing an individual without knowing all the facts. Everyone wants to blame Eugene and ignore the possibility there were avoidable factors that led to this decision.

If in fact he left because teammates went over the top trash talking then you have to take a big big pause and question the makeup on some of the kids here.

Again let the facts come out and not rush to judgement.

 

[dkostus]

People are killing an individual without knowing all the facts. Everyone wants to blame Eugene and ignore the possibility there were avoidable factors that led to this decision.

If in fact he left because teammates went over the top trash talking then you have to take a big big pause and question the makeup on some of the kids here.

Again let the facts come out and not rush to judgement.

Now you're slandering our current team and making implied accusations without any real facts in that direction.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Now you're slandering our current team and making implied accusations without any real facts in that direction.

I have left the door open, but certainly haven’t yet.

Eugene left and probably has to sit out a year, unless his knee is really wrecked. Yellow lights have to be flashing. My head is not in the sand.

 

[bowlgoal]

It’s the way he left. Yeah, he had the right and anyone does. There’s a missing piece of information here. Something happened and at this point, I’m ready to move on. Our coach clearly wanted him here. And even after the announcement, the kid had a chance to come back. It’s very strange. He’s a good ball player but he’s not going to the NBA. He could play professional ball elsewhere and one season somewhere else where he’s unfamiliar with team chemistry most likely doesn’t help him. Someone convinced him otherwise.

I’m excited for the new season and the good things coming our way.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

Do people want a press conference for Eugene to announce he is leaving?

Do people want Eugene to buy a full page ad in the Targum thanking everyone?

He had the decency to tell Pikiell.

 

[RUChoppin]

Why is it different - circumstance and timing

Yeboah's coach had just left, he had his degree, he had the opportunity to play wherever he wanted the following year without sitting. On March 17, his coach announced he was leaving, and by March 22 when he put his name in the transfer portal, no replacement had yet been named. He also had discussed his options with the SB staff. "Shawn Heilbron, the university’s director of athletics, said in an email Friday, “Akwasi came in to meet with me today. He said that returning to Stony Brook is definitely a possibility but, as a fifth-year senior, feels like he owes it to himself to explore his options. Putting his name on the transfer portal does not mean that he has made the decision to leave.”

Once Ford was hired on March 26, he had several weeks to recruit Yeboah back to SB. Instead, Yeboah decided to transfer to Rutgers on May 2nd, more than a month later. It was a step up in overall competition to move from the America East to the Big Ten, with a big increase in exposure.

Compare that to Omoruyi..... his coach was going into Year 4 coming off his best season yet, with buzz of postseason expectations. He was a rising senior - which is a highly unlikely transfer circumstance, since any transfer would mean a team would have to pick him up as a 2-for-1. He didn't let anyone know his intentions until May 28, nearly two weeks after the 2019 signing period had closed (April 28-May 15) and most freshman had signed a LOI. He didn't "explore his options" and give his coach much opportunity to recruit him back, but instead made a hard decision that closed the door on his returning within 24 hours. Any conference he leaves to will be at best on par with the Big Ten with regard to competition and exposure.

Those are totally different situations - and really aren't comparable.

 

[dkostus]

He had the decency to tell Pikiell.

Now you're being purposely ridiculous. He called Pike the night of, after a press release about the Toronto game mentions him by name, and then threw up an Instagram post misspelling his name.

If he had told Pike in any "decent" fashion, the coach wouldn't have been scrambling to fly to Canada the very next morning.

 

[Jim_from_RU]

Now you're being purposely ridiculous. He called Pike the night of, after a press release about the Toronto game mentions him by name, and then threw up an Instagram post misspelling his name.

If he had told Pike in any "decent" fashion, the coach wouldn't have been scrambling to fly to Canada the very next morning.

I think Greene likes to be contrary, just because.

 

[bowlgoal]

Do people want a press conference for Eugene to announce he is leaving?

Do people want Eugene to buy a full page ad in the Targum thanking everyone?

He had the decency to tell Pikiell.

Come on. He called Pikiell from Canada with the decision made probably a week or more prior. Would you do that your head coach at this juncture; or your teammates who are seemingly shocked? He was a core producer on this team and a senior captain.

No, no press conference needed but just some courtesy to the players, coach and fans who supported you for 3 years. You can leave doing it the right way. Address your coach and team mates in person. Would we still be upset; absolutely. But the way he did it was cowardly and unfortunately, I can’t have any positive memories of his Rutgers career because of it. The only thing I’ll remember is that he quit on us. Maybe we use that as more motivation to win. Welcome Yeboah.

 

[willisneverrana43]

Guys,

I am as surprised as anyone that Eugene wanted out and is transferring. He obviously hid the reason or reasons from all of his teammates and coaches that he wanted to transfer by the reaction of teammates and coaches. He kind of took the chicken way out calling Pike the night he posted he was leaving and by not being man enough to tell him in person.

BUT, it is his right to transfer as a college basketball player. Because we finally have something brewing, it makes us all mad that our captain is deserting us. Maybe some school did tamper and was fishing for Eugene's interest in possibly joining some possible NCAA team so he could finally get to experience being in the NCAA tournament. Most "likely" he will have to sit out unless he has a good lawyer that can get rid of his sit-out year for some crazy reason. Granted, we are the closest to getting a bid than we have been in the last 15 years, but Eugene still has the right to ask for a transfer if he did not want to be here anymore.

Is anyone on this message board upset that we poached Yeboah from Stoneybrook? BY rules, Yeboah was allowed to leave his school as a "graduate" transfer and not have to sit out and selected Rutgers over some competing schools. Do you think that we did not have "any" contact to get his interest with Yeboah this past year? I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt that.

For the most part in this age of "free agency" college basketball, the top players of mid-major schools are probably transferring "UP" in the amount of 80%. It is OK for us to take Yeboah away from Stoneybrook, but we are getting bent out of shape that a guy who played his guts out for us wanted to transfer. Sure, it hurts, but it is what is.

Best of Luck,
Groz

Please stop being reasonable. It has no place here.

 

[ruready07]

What we are forgetting is that he has a right to do what he thinks are in his best interests.
How many of us would not factor into our decision making what we perceive is best,
even if it is deemed by others as selfish.

The bigger problem is the thought that the individual needs to forever be worrying about what’s in their best interest instead of people making their actual situation the best situation.

The pursuit for greener grass - it’s driving people mad

 

[rubaseball78]

Guys,

I am as surprised as anyone that Eugene wanted out and is transferring. He obviously hid the reason or reasons from all of his teammates and coaches that he wanted to transfer by the reaction of teammates and coaches. He kind of took the chicken way out calling Pike the night he posted he was leaving and by not being man enough to tell him in person.

BUT, it is his right to transfer as a college basketball player. Because we finally have something brewing, it makes us all mad that our captain is deserting us. Maybe some school did tamper and was fishing for Eugene's interest in possibly joining some possible NCAA team so he could finally get to experience being in the NCAA tournament. Most "likely" he will have to sit out unless he has a good lawyer that can get rid of his sit-out year for some crazy reason. Granted, we are the closest to getting a bid than we have been in the last 15 years, but Eugene still has the right to ask for a transfer if he did not want to be here anymore.

Is anyone on this message board upset that we poached Yeboah from Stoneybrook? BY rules, Yeboah was allowed to leave his school as a "graduate" transfer and not have to sit out and selected Rutgers over some competing schools. Do you think that we did not have "any" contact to get his interest with Yeboah this past year? I don't know for sure, but I highly doubt that.

For the most part in this age of "free agency" college basketball, the top players of mid-major schools are probably transferring "UP" in the amount of 80%. It is OK for us to take Yeboah away from Stoneybrook, but we are getting bent out of shape that a guy who played his guts out for us wanted to transfer. Sure, it hurts, but it is what is.

Best of Luck,
Groz

There are two issues here: the transfer and how he did it. It appears most people understand players right to transfer but are upset with the timing and how it was done. Time to move on and focus on who wants to be here.

 

[HeavenUniv.]

He turned on his teammates,coaches, and fans just hours after we scheduled a game in a foreign country JUST FOR HIM !!!!! Who does that ?

 

[kcg88]

I'll say it again. There is almost always an obvious reason for a player to transfer.

Jeff Borzello ranked the top 50 grad transfers and sit-out transfers. It's unclear which one Omoruyi would be so I'll look at all of them (n=100).

24 players are transferring from programs that underwent coaching changes. (This includes Yeboah, who would also be included in the next subsection. But I didn't double-count anybody)

41 players are from smaller schools moving up to a better school or conference.

7 players are from bigger schools moving down to a worse school or conference in search of more playing time. (Charlie Moore from Kansas to Depaul, for example)

4 players were pushed out of their program. (Jahvon Quinerly, for example)

6 players were freshman, often top recruits who maybe didn't get the role they thought they would or didn't mesh for another reason (Quentin Grimes, Rasir Bolton, Khavon Moore, Jaedon Ledee, Kendric Davis, and J'Raan Brooks)

2 players were former big recruits who hardly played at blue blood schools (Jemarl Baker and Seventh Woods)

3 players are grad transfers who didn't start for their previous school and are likely trying to get a bigger role (Keith Stone, Dominik Olejniczak, and Curtis Jones)

That's 87 guys out of 100 that you could reasonably say are transferring for an obvious reason.

What about the other 13? Well, Jaylen Fisher's been hurt a lot and he left TCU midseason. Derryck Thornton Jr. and Joey Brunk both lost their starting jobs at the end of the year at USC and Butler, and Victor Bailey's playing time at Oregon went down at the end of the year.

Now we're at 9/100 guys who transferred for a seemingly mystery reason.

Three guys made lateral transfers at the mid-major level: Brandonn Kamga, Terry Nolan, and Jordan Davis.

Jayce Johnson grad transferred from Utah to Marquette.

Isaiah Moss grad transferred from Iowa to Arkansas.

DJ Harvey transferred from Notre Dame to Vanderbilt.

The Hauser brothers transferred out of Marquette.

And Omoruyi makes nine.

I'd argue that fans of the eight teams those guys transferred from have every right to be upset. Despite people worrying about the "transfer epidemic" and players just flocking to new teams every season if they were allowed to, the truth is this: starting players late in their careers generally do not transfer unless it's for a good reason.

Word is Isaiah Moss' dad was unhappy with his role at Iowa. The Hausers seemingly didn't want to play with a ball-dominant guy like Markus Howard.

The "good reason" with Omoruyi is not readily apparent but my guess is that somebody put a similar idea in Omoruyi's head. The cherry on top is the fact that he announced it so late (I mean in the season, not time of day, which is whatever) and misspelled the coach's name.

THAT is why this is so different.

 

[AreYouNUTS]

I couldn’t give 2 shits what his “right” is , I’m a Rutgers alum, fan, and supporter, so SCREW HIM (ESPECIALLY for the way he did this AND as a captain).

 

[kcg88]

Summary: Omoruyi and Hauser are the only prominent sit-one play-one transfers, and Hauser played alongside the most ball dominant guard returning in the country. He announced his intent to transfer a week after the national title game, a month and a half before Omoruyi.

 

[TDIrish27]

I couldn’t give 2 shits what his “right” is , I’m a Rutgers alum, fan, and supporter, so SCREW HIM (ESPECIALLY for the way he did this AND as a captain).

I'm an ND alum and a hoop fan and if DJ Harvey didn't want to be there I don't want him there.

Next !

 

[RUChoppin]

If there were personality conflicts and discomfort with players on the team, those things don't just happen overnight. Those sorts of feelings are long building - and as an upperclassman leader, it's part of his role to help set and enforce the culture.

If the inclusion of Mulcahy/Yeboah into the mix exacerbated those conflicts and strained his relationships further, there was a lot of time during the spring practices to address it - either within the team, or by communicating with staff that he wasn't happy and was beginning to look at his options.

Seemingly, though, this came out of the blue for teammates and staff alike. If it was conflict/comfort, it appears as though he hid it really well. It's possible that there was some sort of "tipping point" or "last straw" event right before he left for home that knocked down the first domino that led to his decision, but it's strange that no one was aware of the buildup that would allow an event like that to push him out of the program.

What's more likely (to me) is that someone (or more than one) got in his ear after he went back home. If he had any doubts about his role/performance next season, someone could have amped up those doubts into fear/frustration/anger while he was isolated from the team/staff and got him thinking about greener pastures. Without contact with the team/staff, that could have spiraled quickly.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I'll say it again. There is almost always an obvious reason for a player to transfer.

Jeff Borzello ranked the top 50 grad transfers and sit-out transfers. It's unclear which one Omoruyi would be so I'll look at all of them (n=100).

24 players are transferring from programs that underwent coaching changes. (This includes Yeboah, who would also be included in the next subsection. But I didn't double-count anybody)

41 players are from smaller schools moving up to a better school or conference.

7 players are from bigger schools moving down to a worse school or conference in search of more playing time. (Charlie Moore from Kansas to Depaul, for example)

4 players were pushed out of their program. (Jahvon Quinerly, for example)

6 players were freshman, often top recruits who maybe didn't get the role they thought they would or didn't mesh for another reason (Quentin Grimes, Rasir Bolton, Khavon Moore, Jaedon Ledee, Kendric Davis, and J'Raan Brooks)

2 players were former big recruits who hardly played at blue blood schools (Jemarl Baker and Seventh Woods)

3 players are grad transfers who didn't start for their previous school and are likely trying to get a bigger role (Keith Stone, Dominik Olejniczak, and Curtis Jones)

That's 87 guys out of 100 that you could reasonably say are transferring for an obvious reason.

What about the other 13? Well, Jaylen Fisher's been hurt a lot and he left TCU midseason. Derryck Thornton Jr. and Joey Brunk both lost their starting jobs at the end of the year at USC and Butler, and Victor Bailey's playing time at Oregon went down at the end of the year.

Now we're at 9/100 guys who transferred for a seemingly mystery reason.

Three guys made lateral transfers at the mid-major level: Brandonn Kamga, Terry Nolan, and Jordan Davis.

Jayce Johnson grad transferred from Utah to Marquette.

Isaiah Moss grad transferred from Iowa to Arkansas.

DJ Harvey transferred from Notre Dame to Vanderbilt.

The Hauser brothers transferred out of Marquette.

And Omoruyi makes nine.

I'd argue that fans of the eight teams those guys transferred from have every right to be upset. Despite people worrying about the "transfer epidemic" and players just flocking to new teams every season if they were allowed to, the truth is this: starting players late in their careers generally do not transfer unless it's for a good reason.

Word is Isaiah Moss' dad was unhappy with his role at Iowa. The Hausers seemingly didn't want to play with a ball-dominant guy like Markus Howard.

The "good reason" with Omoruyi is not readily apparent but my guess is that somebody put a similar idea in Omoruyi's head. The cherry on top is the fact that he announced it so late (I mean in the season, not time of day, which is whatever) and misspelled the coach's name.

THAT is why this is so different.

Pretty much crushed it right here.

 

[Scangg]

If in fact he left because teammates went over the top trash talking then you have to take a big big pause and question the makeup on some of the kids here.

No no no... if in fact he left because teammates were trash talking too much, then he's the biggest joke in D1 basketball

 

[RUPete]

There’s a big difference between being a grad transfer and bailing on your team in the middle of the night before your senior season.

Honestly, given some of the venom I have been reading on this board since the transfer, I think the reaction would have been the same - even if had sat down with Pike and then announced the transfer. Maybe tempered a little, but people would still be pissed.

I think it comes from Rutgers fans feeling years of frustration after dealing with past departures. And believe me, I get it. The motivation is always to get a shot at the tourney and Rutgers' well-documented drought is always cited. But how do you get there when every time you start to build something a key piece bolts?

 

[RUPete]

No no no... if in fact he left because teammates were trash talking too much, then he's the biggest joke in D1 basketball

Out of all the theories floated, I am buying that one the least. I'd go with NCAA/Pro Opportunities and knee rehab over that one any day.