This used to be an argument constantly on this board, but I think the question has been answered. It's both! We have had a litany of coaches over the last 15 years. Not only have we not gotten to the dance, we havent even been competitive (.500 or better). I dont care who the coach is, if we can't get better talented players, we will be having these same conversations in 3-4 years. The problem isn't the coaches. It's the program itself. Rutgers has never made a commitment to basketball. The facilities are crap, and we have tried to get by on the cheap by not hiring top level coaches who can recruit against the big boys. Nj is probably one of the richest basketball talent areas, and we have never been able to land any of the big recruits that could turn this program around. I dont know what the answer is, but I don't see how Pikiell is any different from any of the past coaches that we're gonna turn this program around. He's a little guy that's gonna be fishing against the big boys. Tell me why a top recruit is gonna chose Rutgers and Pikiell over any of the top power 5 programs? Hell, we've lost recruits to non power 5 conferences. This just seems like more of the same to me. At least Hurley or Boyle had deep jersey roots, and hopefully could bring along some top players. What does Pikiell bring that's different from every other small mid major coach we've hired? That's said, i sincerely hope I'm wrong, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Coaching vs talent
- Thread starter harlemsfinest
- Start date
Hurley has had deep Jersey roots in each of his years at URI. What has it gotten him? One player? Two? BK tells us that good news is coming on the facilities front, and Pikiell is, by all reports, an incredibly hard-working guy who really knows his basketball. I'm hoping that in four years we'll all be worried if he is leaving to move up.
They are all hard working. Hard working is overrated. You need great players. Atleast very good players. Sanders is good, but who else on this team looks like a BigTen player? So other teams have better facilities, better coaches and better players. It's not a secret why we aren't any good. Can Pikiell bring in quality BigTen players? Can he recruit Jersey like the big boys? It just seems like we are spinning our wheel here. Every coach we hire it's the same thing. Everyone gets all excited, but there is no real plan in place here to turn this thing around. Coach K couldn't coach this team to the NCAA's. Without competitive facilities, we can't get a top level coach or top level talent. I didn't used to believe that, but it certainly seems to be the case. What exactly is Pikiell gonna sell to these recruits and Jersey power brokers? Once again, Rutgers is selling us on a pipe dream. Hurley and others don't want to come here because they don't believe there is a plan or a commitment here to be successful, and they are probably right. They just keep duping the fans into believing that some miracle is gonna happen and change the tides without the corresponding investment in the program. Maybe if they were able to sign a top level coach, they could convince top talent or come without facilities, but without top level coaching, facilities and recruits, we have some old Rutgers. Restart the same process every 3-4 years. They have kicked the can on basketball for years, which is why I and others have pretty much stopped following. This Is tremendous basketball fanbase, who's desperate for a winner. It's horrible the way they have treated the loyal fans that show up every year, honesty believing they will see different results.
EJ showed no sign of player development in three years. Pikell has experience in developing under recruited players who remain four years. He will have to do the same here to get winning seasons before they are able to recruit top 150 talent. Plenty of three star recruits in this area that can be coached up
Rutgers has invested in the football infrastructure. They have competitive facilities. For what I hear, the basketball facilicities are a joke, and the RAC is antiquated. This guy wasnt even a huge winner at Stony Brook. If we are rating Rutgers compared to the rest of the B1G based on talent, facilities and coaching, we are probably last or close to last in everyone of those categories. Again, what are we doing to realistically change the outcomes? Switching one mid major coach for the next? We've been doing that, and the results have been the same or worse. This is the BigTen! What ammunition do we have to compete against the other programs?
There is no shock the basketball program sucks. It sucks because it's been effectively ignored for the past 20 years.
Dude won 22 games 6 out of 7 years. That's impressive in any league.
4 regular season titles too. You would like to see that also lead to more conference tournament wins which means NCAA bids but anything can happen in a tournament. A couple plays away from 2 or 3 NCAA appearances and all of a sudden people would have liked the hire more
@Harlemsfinast You say - "For what I hear, the basketball facilicities are a joke,and the RAC is antiquated." . That tells me that you have no idea about the facilities. Have you ever been to the RAC? You know what? The basketball court is the same as everyone in the country.
Same distance between baskets. Same hardwood floor. Nothing different there. The main complaints is that the team has to share practice time with the Women's team, the locker rooms need updating, and the concession are barely adequate. It could hold 8,500 fans if they show up. It's not MSG or Pru Center but it beats most local on campus arenas. Not as modern as some but larger than almost all.
Same distance between baskets. Same hardwood floor. Nothing different there. The main complaints is that the team has to share practice time with the Women's team, the locker rooms need updating, and the concession are barely adequate. It could hold 8,500 fans if they show up. It's not MSG or Pru Center but it beats most local on campus arenas. Not as modern as some but larger than almost all.
Good news is coming on the facilities side of things. Did you even bother to read that in this thread?
we need both but Pickiell isnt going to win at first by getting top talent...it wont come here....he has to use his coaching abilties and get them to overacheive..that winning could trigger better recruits to come. We were on to this with Bannon, Waters, and Rice but for various reasons didnt get there. Hill and Jordan were just bad coaches to start with so that ended the discussion there
So while this hiring isnt flashy, it puts us in back in the game to compete. Thats where coaching comes in
So while this hiring isnt flashy, it puts us in back in the game to compete. Thats where coaching comes in