GAME 32 MARYLAND: They shoot horses don't they

[RUDivision]

JMike walks on water and DS is the sole reason we lost??

Put up their Freshman numbers side by side! lol JMike never had the multiple games D’s had his freshman year! NEVER

DS shot the ball AWFUL no excuses. Still can not figure out how he can shoot FT at a high level and shoot that bad.
At least the rest of the team shoots badly from the floor and from the line. That makes sense.

He developed in all other areas but shooting BUT you need to score the ball.

The Paul anger runs deep

 

[seansherm]

Give me #1, 100 O, that would mean the freshman hold their own on that end too.

 

[RUDivision]

WoRsT cOlLaPsE iN sChOoL hIsToRy

Fluox they were a 4/5 seed and in one month fell out of the tournament. Lost to an historically bad MIN. Team. Come on

 

[RUskoolie]

After two years will Simpson develop?

At a lower level school perhaps, not here.

 

[ScarletDave]

...it seems like this basketball season was a complete waste of time with almost zero redeeming qualities. The team was disjointed at best and quite frankly looked like they flat-out quit over the last few weeks. Win, lose or draw I can always at least appreciate effort...whoever got NIL money on this squad should be grateful there's no refund policy.

Joe P.

Cant say that, the Michigan in Ann Arbor first ever win was great, the 30 point blowout of Michigan equally as fun, the Indiana blitzing is always great. Boo Buie fell flat in his last RAC game, and Tomonaga also went out missing the tying shot also. Going to the Rock and blowing out SHU was also amazing … There were fun moments, the ending was bad though.

 

[RUtrumpet92_rivals498139]

One win short of a .500 season, which would have been nice. Multiple nice wins but too many sad nights, too. Let's hope we are done with losing seasons for many years to come.

 

[Pils86]

Pike gets a Mulligan for this season,Cam and Paul have nothing to do with it.
Making Rutgers into a program that a season like this is totally unacceptable
and not looked at as same old same old BS makes me give Pike next year to show he can keep RU climbing up towards being a top program.
I expect better from the team next year and will consider this year a one time step back.
Hot seat if next year is a bad one

I thought the first round NIT loss to Hofstra was the Mulligan.

 

[RUDivision]

Cant say that, the Michigan in Ann Arbor first ever win was great, the 30 point blowout of Michigan equally as fun, the Indiana blitzing is always great. Boo Buie fell flat in his last RAC game, and Tomonaga also went out missing the tying shot also. Going to the Rock and blowing out SHU was also amazing … There were fun moments, the ending was bad though.

Those are exciting moments for the Eddie Jordan or Mike Rice Era. Finishing 2nd to last in the big ten with a losing conf and overall record. Topped off with a blow out loss in the Big ten Tournament is a lost season

 

[KK1827]

How high should the expectations be? Final Four? Sweet 16? Elite 8? We would all love to see that. Sure, you can have all the high expectations for next year that you want, but are they realistic given what we have seen are the limitations of this coaching staff? They would have to do a 180 degree turnaround to install a good offense and succeed in the transfer portal. It would be great if they could do such a turnaround, but, after 8 years of a putrid offense and weak transfer recruiting, how likely is that to happen?

Next year will be the most important year of Pike's career. Let's hope he succeeds and accomplishes something with the stellar players he has recruited. And ,if he doesn't , yes, let's hold him accountable.

If having expectations with all this talent isnt realistic due to the staff, we may need a new staff

 

[bethlehemfan]

If having expectations with all this talent isnt realistic due to the staff, we may need a new staff

Why do you say we? You’re not a fan. Weird.

 

[ScarletDog]

I have always liked Coach P. Had to love how he brought us from the garbage pile to NCAA tournament. But we peaked and last two years have been super disappointing. Speaks to how Pike has changed expectations here. But I’ve come to really question coach at this point. Lots of stuff went wrong, but his job is to get the players and to get the most out of them. Player side of things didn’t go well, but he had a chance to get the best out of our guys and failed miserably. This team consistently looked like they had never played together. We didn’t see guys get better, but did see guys regress. Either coach isn’t as good as I (we) originally thought or there’s something wrong with his staff. He’s always had trouble finding the right combos early in the season, but this year he never found them. He has to know what his guys can do and set them up for success. It’s broken and I have big concerns that we will grossly underachieve next year. We will get the answer…is it the X’s and O’s Or is it the jimmys and the joes. I’m flushing this one…my eyes will hurt for a while yet.

 

[Bobbydigital_83]

No. Expectations need to be high. And if expectations arent met coaches should be held accountable. They have everything at their disposable next season. Theyve been given every resource in the world.

- big salary pool
- 2 lottery picks
- top 10 facility
- top 5 home court

It’s time to raise the bar. Year 9. Kid gloves off

I don’t know. A lot of these blue blood teams, with 1 and domes, have a hard time gelling. I don’t think it’s a guarantee at all. Kentucky comes to mind.

 

[MADHAT1]

I thought the first round NIT loss to Hofstra was the Mulligan.

For many that's probably true
My thought is Pike raised the expectations for the fanbase enough to make losing in the first round of the NIT last season enough to piss everyone off and after 4 straight winning seasons with 3 NCAA appearances and one NIT bid this season is intolerable
to accept.
Next year is the do it or get out, this year is the reason for that.
So my mulligan just means wait till the end of next year before thinking replacement

 

[KK1827]

I don’t know. A lot of these blue blood teams, with 1 and domes, have a hard time gelling. I don’t think it’s a guarantee at all. Kentucky comes to mind.

22/23 teams with two top 10 recruits made the tourney. More often than not made at least the sweet 16 as well as @mb5789 pointed out

 

[ColonelRutgers]

I recognize this is a dumb “if” because its not the case. But IF dylan and ace werent coming here next year, these boards would be ablaze will calls for pikes head. Weve regressed every year since the 2019-2020 season

You were right the first time.

 

[billgumpper]

I hope they do because this one still has 15 minutes to go and it is quite clear this season needs to be put out of its misery. Rutgers on their way to their 7th loss in their last 8 games. A tank job that would make Fred Hill look bashful. Performance has been so bad I did not even do a recap for last game and the only reason I am doing one here is because it is the last game of the season. I do not want to hear about next season. What I saw this season has me very concerned about roster management, ability to get a feel for the portal and the unfortunate stubborness of loyalty. Pikiell may have been sandbagged by the departures of Cam and Paul but he bares most of the brunt of what happened. He brought in 3 injured players for a team that had an injured guy coming back. That injured guy by the way played the staff for more $$$ which to me a giant red flag. One of the 3 guys also had a gambling issue held over his head and missed half the season. Another guy is a major project that is only good for a few minutes. The first target and prize of the portal class was a 24 year old out of shape with a family which means his focus was never going to be on hoops. Pike brought back a guy who is 8th man on most teams but forced to be the leading scorer on this team...paying attention yet. Pike bringing back Hyatt instead of recruiting over him in the portal knowing Mag could miss at least half the season. Then injured player Mag is cleared to play yet drifts in and out of the lineup rumored to be saving himself for a bag somewhere else. But worse yet Pike's prize recruit made a painful transition to D1 hoops failing to grasp how to play defense and then could not even rely on his shot to get him minutes. Oh we are not done yet. An undersized underrecruited guard who had one local beat writer writing love letters about has the worst fg percentage of all power conference guards.

Let us hold back on advancing a narrative its Cams and Pauls fault. This was coming from 3 years of major misses in recruiting, being too loyal to some players and refusing to recruit players to challenge returning players. I can list a half dozen or more players that should never have been in the progam as Big 10 players and for Pike to try to get by with such a thin margin of depth for 3 years running inexcusable. The performance tonight was predictable given this team has checked out and only maybe 3-4 of these players will be back next season. However there is a thing called pride and its unacceptable that RU did not show an ounce of one today. Getting down 16-3 and then doors blown off to start the 2nd half going down feebly and looking like a laughingstock. If any team in the past decade is unlikable...its this one. Fair or not.

Next year the #2 and #3 players are coming for a one year stay along with some other highly recruited players. There is reason for optimism. Expectations will be high. But the program is going nowhere if Pikiell cannot put the right parts in place for this once in a lifetime run...and remember when they are gone after next year, the program has to be able to live to. Its a dance with the devil but anything is better than this season. Pikes team traditionally take time to gel and he struggles with coming up with offensive gameplan. Next years team will be required to produce right out of the gate. I am not overly confident this is going to happen. Its going to take a major change in demeanor from this staff and what they demand from the players and yes I think Pike is too easy on players and maybe there is something to those Spencers comments. So thankfully this season has come to an end. Good or bad, next year is going to be completely different and embracing brand new expectations and challenges. There is no honeymoon anymore. Rutgers is expecting to make the NCAA tourney next season. Rutgers is expected to have a successful season. The excuses and mea culpa need to end. This is not Rutgers coming off of Eddie Joran. Pikiell is entering his 9th season. He is getting paid a **** ton of money to deliver. Next year he must deliver.

Ut oh, you cant question Pike's recruiting, poster here get mad, believe me I know, even if what you say is true.

 

[Scangg]

22/23 teams with two top 10 recruits made the tourney. More often than not made at least the sweet 16 as well as @mb5789 pointed out

Yea but most of these teams were blue bloods with a roster full of other 4 and 5 stars talents so together situations are not a great comparison

He broke out the non blue bloods and the success is lower

 

[Scarlet Blind_rivals]

This season was doomed the moment Cam and Paul left after the Portal closed last May/June, and the fringe players that were left in the Portal to replace the two most experienced starting guards on this team.

5 players coming off season ending injuries
JWill Mar 22, played 12/32
AWill Mar 22, played 26/32
Noah Dec 23, played 32/32
Mag Feb 23, played 17/32
Ogbole Mar 23, played 10/32

2 Freshman
JMike and Griffiths

6 Returning
Cliff, Derek, Hyatt
Woolf, Oskar, Chol

The chemistry just never developed or came together for very long, too many moving parts, too many players missing games at various points all thoughout the 32 game season. Would Paul and Cam have made a huge difference? Probably not, they might have had a similar record as last year 18-14, 19-13 at best. We just move on and look forward to 2024-25.

 

[Scangg]

JMike walks on water and DS is the sole reason we lost??

Put up their Freshman numbers side by side! lol JMike never had the multiple games D’s had his freshman year! NEVER

DS shot the ball AWFUL no excuses. Still can not figure out how he can shoot FT at a high level and shoot that bad.
At least the rest of the team shoots badly from the floor and from the line. That makes sense.

He developed in all other areas but shooting BUT you need to score the ball.

The Paul anger runs deep

Davis had more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than Simpson had freshman year

 

[RW90]

I think it was FHJ who made the comment long ago how hard it is for players to maintain the defensive intensity when you have scoring droughts. Sadly, this pretty much defined our season. While the talent gap was enormous this season Pike really needs to get better offensive minds on staff ASAP, otherwise our defense and rebounding will also suffer again.

 

[fluoxetine]

Ut oh, you cant question Pike's recruiting, poster here get mad, believe me I know, even if what you say is true.

Or is it the fact that you are an obnoxious douche that makes people mad? Who can say?

 

[RUDivision]

Davis had more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than Simpson had freshman year

Scang your better then that!

They shot basically the same from the field and 3. FT not even close.

One guy started more than half the season as a freshman. He also didn’t have Mag play the majority of that season as well Caleb, Paul, and Cam which obviously had something to do with it!
JMIKE had zero games that come close to Derek’s best games freshman year.
Come on
JMike love his freshman year nice situational defensive replacement but too small too play major minutes at this level w no ability to score inside or shoot. Let’s hope his shooting improves.

 

[fatsam98]

22/23 teams with two top 10 recruits made the tourney. More often than not made at least the sweet 16 as well as @mb5789 pointed out

The vast majority of those were blue bloods with tons of other talent around them too though, no? Hence why most on here are cautiously optimistic and in wait-and-see mode with how the rest of the roster comes together.

 

[Scangg]

Scang your better then that!

They shot basically the same from the field and 3. FT not even close.

One guy started more than half the season as a freshman. He also didn’t have Mag play the majority of that season as well Caleb, Paul, and Cam which obviously had something to do with it!
JMIKE had zero games that come close to Derek’s best games freshman year.
Come on
JMike love his freshman year nice situational defensive replacement but too small too play major minutes at this level w no ability to score inside or shoot. Let’s hope his shooting improves.

This is the problem. Simpson had a few good games and people remember it. It's giving a false hope. We have 2 full seasons of data now that show that Simpson is a horrible shooter. He regressed in year 2 after a bad year 1

Simpson was literally the worst shooter in high major basketball this season

Most players improve. If Davis improves, he has potential. If he regresses year 2 like Simpson did, people will not be happy and want him gone too

Just bc Simpson shot worse his 2nd year doesn't mean Davis will too. I gave Simpson the benefit of the doubt after freshman year and said "IF he could become a more efficient shooter.." in my analysis of his game... well we found out the IF didn't happen unfortunately

 

[anon1753890747]

well it would depend on who was coming in instead but yes.....BUT I believe at least on this board a strong faction of fans who think Pike can do no wrong

I think at this point those have to be Pike Bots

 

[RUDivision]

This is the problem. Simpson had a few good games and people remember it. It's giving a false hope. We have 2 full seasons of data now that show that Simpson is a horrible shooter. He regressed in year 2 after a bad year 1

Simpson was literally the worst shooter in high major basketball this season

Most players improve. If Davis improves, he has potential. If he regresses year 2 like Simpson did, people will not be happy and want him gone too

Just bc Simpson shot worse his 2nd year doesn't mean Davis will too. I gave Simpson the benefit of the doubt after freshman year and said "IF he could become a more efficient shooter.." in my analysis of his game... well we found out the IF didn't happen unfortunately

Fair enough! My only point was the minutes and players mattered comparing the two freshmen years.
Side by side this year all of those numbers Derek was better. Yes Freshmen vs sophomore.
Hopefully we build the right team.

 

[KK1827]

The vast majority of those were blue bloods with tons of other talent around them too though, no? Hence why most on here are cautiously optimistic and in wait-and-see mode with how the rest of the roster comes together.

Asking to get out of the first weekend aint exactly crazy. Like for example 40% of the starting lineup is projected to be top 10 picks. Imagine 40% of our football starters were projected top 10 picks!? Thatd be 9 kids! If schiano had 40% of his starts 5*’s in their last year of college ball itd be more than acceptable to expect a top 12 cfp birth

 

[RUDivision]

I think at this point those have to be Pike Bots

Don’t forget the Statue were putting up for him as well!

 

[RUDivision]

Asking to get out of the first weekend aint exactly crazy. Like for example 40% of the starting lineup is projected to be top 10 picks. Imagine 40% of our football starters were projected top 10 picks!? Thatd be 9 kids! If schiano had 40% of his starts 5*’s in their last year of college ball itd be more than acceptable to expect a top 12 cfp birth

Your right ppl are just building in more excuses for Pike who continues to come up small.

 

[fatsam98]

Asking to get out of the first weekend aint exactly crazy. Like for example 40% of the starting lineup is projected to be top 10 picks. Imagine 40% of our football starters were projected top 10 picks!? Thatd be 9 kids! If schiano had 40% of his starts 5*’s in their last year of college ball itd be more than acceptable to expect a top 12 cfp birth

I'll be very disappointed if we don't get to the 2nd weekend next season... because I expect Pike to be able to attract real talent in the portal this time. All I'm saying is let's make sure that actually happens in the next couple months.

Are you saying sweet 16 is the expectation with a team of Dylan, Ace, and make it up... Somerville, Derek, Gavin, Jeremiah, JMike? I mean it's possible but I wouldn't feel great about it

 

[Scangg]

Asking to get out of the first weekend aint exactly crazy. Like for example 40% of the starting lineup is projected to be top 10 picks. Imagine 40% of our football starters were projected top 10 picks!? Thatd be 9 kids! If schiano had 40% of his starts 5*’s in their last year of college ball itd be more than acceptable to expect a top 12 cfp birth

We all want to get out of the first weekend, but upsets happen in the tournament

We might be getting 10 new players next season and might not know who 5 of them are yet

Hard to set any clear expectations at this point

 

[fluoxetine]

Asking to get out of the first weekend aint exactly crazy. Like for example 40% of the starting lineup is projected to be top 10 picks. Imagine 40% of our football starters were projected top 10 picks!? Thatd be 9 kids! If schiano had 40% of his starts 5*’s in their last year of college ball itd be more than acceptable to expect a top 12 cfp birth

Forget about what happens over two games dude. Being Purdue last year is more of a success than scraping into the tournament and then making the sweet 16.

I’d much rather set expectations for a tourney seed than a tourney result.

 

[anon1753890747]

We all want to get out of the first weekend, but upsets happen in the tournament

We might be getting 10 new players next season and might not know who 5 of them are yet

Hard to set any clear expectations at this point

In this new Landscape, the off season is huge!
Pike has some built in advantages we have 4 freshmen 2 of which will start.
I don’t care what any of the board genius say Latan is going to play significant minutes.
Add Jmike JWill and GG we know 6 guys giving us significant minutes.
He needs to add 2-3 studs and should be expected to do so with what he has to sell. Add to it Vegas
Most other teams are starting with a lot less next year.
Pike should be working on this now.
Is the Big 10 tournament in Brooklyn?
If so “No Sleep till Brooklyn”

 

[RAC93]

I hope they do because this one still has 15 minutes to go and it is quite clear this season needs to be put out of its misery. Rutgers on their way to their 7th loss in their last 8 games. A tank job that would make Fred Hill look bashful. Performance has been so bad I did not even do a recap for last game and the only reason I am doing one here is because it is the last game of the season. I do not want to hear about next season. What I saw this season has me very concerned about roster management, ability to get a feel for the portal and the unfortunate stubborness of loyalty. Pikiell may have been sandbagged by the departures of Cam and Paul but he bares most of the brunt of what happened. He brought in 3 injured players for a team that had an injured guy coming back. That injured guy by the way played the staff for more $$$ which to me a giant red flag. One of the 3 guys also had a gambling issue held over his head and missed half the season. Another guy is a major project that is only good for a few minutes. The first target and prize of the portal class was a 24 year old out of shape with a family which means his focus was never going to be on hoops. Pike brought back a guy who is 8th man on most teams but forced to be the leading scorer on this team...paying attention yet. Pike bringing back Hyatt instead of recruiting over him in the portal knowing Mag could miss at least half the season. Then injured player Mag is cleared to play yet drifts in and out of the lineup rumored to be saving himself for a bag somewhere else. But worse yet Pike's prize recruit made a painful transition to D1 hoops failing to grasp how to play defense and then could not even rely on his shot to get him minutes. Oh we are not done yet. An undersized underrecruited guard who had one local beat writer writing love letters about has the worst fg percentage of all power conference guards.

Let us hold back on advancing a narrative its Cams and Pauls fault. This was coming from 3 years of major misses in recruiting, being too loyal to some players and refusing to recruit players to challenge returning players. I can list a half dozen or more players that should never have been in the progam as Big 10 players and for Pike to try to get by with such a thin margin of depth for 3 years running inexcusable. The performance tonight was predictable given this team has checked out and only maybe 3-4 of these players will be back next season. However there is a thing called pride and its unacceptable that RU did not show an ounce of one today. Getting down 16-3 and then doors blown off to start the 2nd half going down feebly and looking like a laughingstock. If any team in the past decade is unlikable...its this one. Fair or not.

Next year the #2 and #3 players are coming for a one year stay along with some other highly recruited players. There is reason for optimism. Expectations will be high. But the program is going nowhere if Pikiell cannot put the right parts in place for this once in a lifetime run...and remember when they are gone after next year, the program has to be able to live to. Its a dance with the devil but anything is better than this season. Pikes team traditionally take time to gel and he struggles with coming up with offensive gameplan. Next years team will be required to produce right out of the gate. I am not overly confident this is going to happen. Its going to take a major change in demeanor from this staff and what they demand from the players and yes I think Pike is too easy on players and maybe there is something to those Spencers comments. So thankfully this season has come to an end. Good or bad, next year is going to be completely different and embracing brand new expectations and challenges. There is no honeymoon anymore. Rutgers is expecting to make the NCAA tourney next season. Rutgers is expected to have a successful season. The excuses and mea culpa need to end. This is not Rutgers coming off of Eddie Joran. Pikiell is entering his 9th season. He is getting paid a **** ton of money to deliver. Next year he must deliver.

I wish I could argue or repudiate these brutally honest points, but all of this is spot on. Bottom line is next year is a big year for the program, but it’s also a big year for Pike’s future as he will have a bigger spotlight shined on himself than ever before. I have great pause after what I witnessed this season that everything is going go as planned next season (Pike’s struggles with offense, roster management and managing the portal, relying heavily on Freshmen, inability of Pike teams to be able to shoot). We shall see, but I will say that a season that I was excited for and couldn’t wait for to arrive, I feel more hesitant and a little less confident that it’s a lock that RU will have a strong season as I have the same concerns you raise in your post. No matter what happens next year, I guarantee it will be better than this shitshow of a season we just closed the book on.

 

[Scangg]

In this new Landscape, the off season is huge!
Pike has some built in advantages we have 4 freshmen 2 of which will start.
I don’t care what any of the board genius say Latan is going to play significant minutes.
Add Jmike JWill and GG we know 6 guys giving us significant minutes.
He needs to add 2-3 studs and should be expected to do so with what he has to sell. Add to it Vegas
Most other teams are starting with a lot less next year.
Pike should be working on this now.
Is the Big 10 tournament in Brooklyn?
If so “No Sleep till Brooklyn”

If we land a couple studs in the portal, I will be very bullish on the team

I just don't want to make predictions and set expectations until we see how the roster shakes out

 

[anon1753890747]

If we land a couple studs in the portal, I will be very bullish on the team

I just don't want to make predictions and set expectations until we see how the roster shakes out

Agreed

 

[Caliknight]

Team quit. Thank God its over. Nightmare watching these scrubs play.

I would keep Jwill, Gavin, and maybe Simpson if he understands his role will be as a back up maybe even to a back up.

Hit the portal. Hard. Ride the freshmen class as much as possible.

Players sucked, Pike sucked and the staff sucked. None of them earned the money they made.

 

[Scangg]

Someone on Twitter posted Simpson missed 41 of his last 51 shots this season

That's shockingly bad

How many of those 10 were layups or dunks?

 

[RUDivision]

Someone on Twitter posted Simpson missed 41 of his last 51 shots this season

That's shockingly bad

How many of those 10 were layups or dunks?

Again?

Talk about a grudge

 

[Scangg]

Again?

Talk about a grudge

@G- RUnit this you?