I've never

[Jerseylegends]

After Mike Rice left, I have never looked at a Rutgers roster at the start of the season and thought they would be a top 25 team or even a lock to make the tournament or be any good. Rice used to bring in top talent, the results were not there though. But those recruits were the type of recruits that bring expectations. I was almost there with Ace and Dylan because I was sure they would be bringing in Matt alocco a veteran center and a veteran 3 and d guy. Didn't know they were too broke to bring in any other solid pieces. Even with geo baker, rhj, McConnell etc; before they actually played I wasn't expecting much from them. It was after they played and developed over the course of the season and through the years that expectations for that group of guys became what they were...if pike can find a way to find a niche where he brings in freshman, retains and develops them. Then adds transfer veterans at positions of need to supplement the guys your developing, Rutgers can be a solid program.

From the beginning of the season to now, I've seen big improvements from zrno, powers, mark. Team hasn't quit and have exceeded expectations for the roster. Id say this season was a solid coaching job. The only way this season was going to be mid to top level of the big 10 was if zrno and badalou were ringers and much more developed than they actually were coming in. And Fall performed like a 7'5" or whatever he is McDonald's All American. Instead these guys rely on 5'10" Tariq Francis to lead a bunch of freshman and ogbole who just started playing basketball when he was 18. The way the team is looking now towards the end of the season is a positive to me and a result of....good coaching lol...now as far as talent if they give pike some money and he still brings in talent that can't compete, then you break out the pitch forks. Otherwise this is the best coach Rutgers has had in a long time .

 

[Simce91]

Good post

If Pike can get a solid 4 and serviceable 5 to go along with Francis, Powers and Zrno ( didn't mention Mark because Richie indicates he gone) DB Jr and Dortch, RU may have something

I also excluded Grant because of the 1.2 pricetag

 

[Shelby65]

After Mike Rice left, I have never looked at a Rutgers roster at the start of the season and thought they would be a top 25 team or even a lock to make the tournament or be any good. Rice used to bring in top talent, the results were not there though. But those recruits were the type of recruits that bring expectations. I was almost there with Ace and Dylan because I was sure they would be bringing in Matt alocco a veteran center and a veteran 3 and d guy. Didn't know they were too broke to bring in any other solid pieces. Even with geo baker, rhj, McConnell etc; before they actually played I wasn't expecting much from them. It was after they played and developed over the course of the season and through the years that expectations for that group of guys became what they were...if pike can find a way to find a niche where he brings in freshman, retains and develops them. Then adds transfer veterans at positions of need to supplement the guys your developing, Rutgers can be a solid program.

From the beginning of the season to now, I've seen big improvements from zrno, powers, mark. Team hasn't quit and have exceeded expectations for the roster. Id say this season was a solid coaching job. The only way this season was going to be mid to top level of the big 10 was if zrno and badalou were ringers and much more developed than they actually were coming in. And Fall performed like a 7'5" or whatever he is McDonald's All American. Instead these guys rely on 5'10" Tariq Francis to lead a bunch of freshman and ogbole who just started playing basketball when he was 18. The way the team is looking now towards the end of the season is a positive to me and a result of....good coaching lol...now as far as talent if they give pike some money and he still brings in talent that can't compete, then you break out the pitch forks. Otherwise this is the best coach Rutgers has had in a long time .

Correction: Ogbole hasn’t yet started playing basketball. It’s not clear what he’s doing, but it’s certainly not basketball. Maybe a combination of shuffleboard and caber toss or discus possibly with birling too. or maybe he’s a pioneer in a brand new sport.

 

[rsegall]

After Mike Rice left, I have never looked at a Rutgers roster at the start of the season and thought they would be a top 25 team or even a lock to make the tournament or be any good. Rice used to bring in top talent, the results were not there though. But those recruits were the type of recruits that bring expectations. I was almost there with Ace and Dylan because I was sure they would be bringing in Matt alocco a veteran center and a veteran 3 and d guy. Didn't know they were too broke to bring in any other solid pieces. Even with geo baker, rhj, McConnell etc; before they actually played I wasn't expecting much from them. It was after they played and developed over the course of the season and through the years that expectations for that group of guys became what they were...if pike can find a way to find a niche where he brings in freshman, retains and develops them. Then adds transfer veterans at positions of need to supplement the guys your developing, Rutgers can be a solid program.

From the beginning of the season to now, I've seen big improvements from zrno, powers, mark. Team hasn't quit and have exceeded expectations for the roster. Id say this season was a solid coaching job. The only way this season was going to be mid to top level of the big 10 was if zrno and badalou were ringers and much more developed than they actually were coming in. And Fall performed like a 7'5" or whatever he is McDonald's All American. Instead these guys rely on 5'10" Tariq Francis to lead a bunch of freshman and ogbole who just started playing basketball when he was 18. The way the team is looking now towards the end of the season is a positive to me and a result of....good coaching lol...now as far as talent if they give pike some money and he still brings in talent that can't compete, then you break out the pitch forks. Otherwise this is the best coach Rutgers has had in a long time .

Are we watching the same team? To me this team shows limited improvement and is in the lower echelon of the Big. I think we need a new mindset and must wipe the slate to achieve better results. As I've said previously, other than an occasional good win Pike has won nothing, With two first round picks he had a losing record. I'm personally tired of supporters excusing results hoping for a better outcome. My question to all. How many more years do you give Pike? It's time to cut our losses!

 

[Jerseylegends]

Are we watching the same team? To me this team shows limited improvement and is in the lower echelon of the Big. I think we need a new mindset and must wipe the slate to achieve better results. As I've said previously, other than an occasional good win Pike has won nothing, With two first round picks he had a losing record. I'm personally tired of supporters excusing results hoping for a better outcome. My question to all. How many more years do you give Pike? It's time to cut our losses!

I mean, come on, you must be trolling or something? Really? You haven't seen any improvement in the team? How about individual players? No improvement from anyone? ARE we watching the same team? lol I just spoke about the 2 first round pick team, your response seems kind of robotic? Do they have anti pike AI agents running on this site? Lol

 

[Shelby65]

Are we watching the same team? To me this team shows limited improvement and is in the lower echelon of the Big. I think we need a new mindset and must wipe the slate to achieve better results. As I've said previously, other than an occasional good win Pike has won nothing, With two first round picks he had a losing record. I'm personally tired of supporters excusing results hoping for a better outcome. My question to all. How many more years do you give Pike? It's time to cut our losses!

He’s accomplished more than HC Ice T. Kicker. You said it: The basketball side of the Athletics has had great wins and has been more competitive during their tenures with and without excuses for what they inherited.

 

[Jerseylegends]

Outrage gets more attention than clarity but it's good to take a step back and really look at the situation and think critically about what's happening.

 

[The RUT]

I agree.

 

[rsegall]

He’s accomplished more than HC Ice T. Kicker. You said it: The basketball side of the Athletics has had great wins and has been more competitive during their tenures with and without excuses for what they inherited.

With great wins Pike, Rutgers, has won nothing. How many BIG titles? Your thinking is exactly what will keep Rutgers in the lower third of the BIG. Football and basketball are different animals. Individuals admittedly have improved but this is a team effort, and the team has won nothing! Are you really happy with results? I want to see championships on occasion. When exactly has Rutgers won a championship? Never.

 

[Shelby65]

Point is that Pike has done a better job overall than HC Ice T. Kicker. Between two of them Pike isn’t the one to fire first.

 

[dpwhite]

Ooh this thread is starting to tilt toward the woe is me football is so hard crowd showing up

 

[YoucancallmeRay]

After Mike Rice left, I have never looked at a Rutgers roster at the start of the season and thought they would be a top 25 team or even a lock to make the tournament or be any good. Rice used to bring in top talent, the results were not there though. But those recruits were the type of recruits that bring expectations. I was almost there with Ace and Dylan because I was sure they would be bringing in Matt alocco a veteran center and a veteran 3 and d guy. Didn't know they were too broke to bring in any other solid pieces. Even with geo baker, rhj, McConnell etc; before they actually played I wasn't expecting much from them. It was after they played and developed over the course of the season and through the years that expectations for that group of guys became what they were...if pike can find a way to find a niche where he brings in freshman, retains and develops them. Then adds transfer veterans at positions of need to supplement the guys your developing, Rutgers can be a solid program.

From the beginning of the season to now, I've seen big improvements from zrno, powers, mark. Team hasn't quit and have exceeded expectations for the roster. Id say this season was a solid coaching job. The only way this season was going to be mid to top level of the big 10 was if zrno and badalou were ringers and much more developed than they actually were coming in. And Fall performed like a 7'5" or whatever he is McDonald's All American. Instead these guys rely on 5'10" Tariq Francis to lead a bunch of freshman and ogbole who just started playing basketball when he was 18. The way the team is looking now towards the end of the season is a positive to me and a result of....good coaching lol...now as far as talent if they give pike some money and he still brings in talent that can't compete, then you break out the pitch forks. Otherwise this is the best coach Rutgers has had in a long time .

Excellent post. You're one of the few voices of reason on this board. I assume you've played or coached some ball before. The improvement of Zrno and Buchanan, the development of Powers, Mark, and the use of Tariq and JMike are a hugh credit to Pike. Insofar as offense, the first half of the PSU game was fantastic (notwithstanding the opponent), so I guess Pike does know how to put in an offense, lol. Against Minny, not to give excuses, but Minny was unconscious from 3. It happens. It's hard reading this board sometimes with so many looking for any "reason" to get of rid of PIke. Blaming the refs for every little thing is another issue. Anyway, good job on your post.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

How about the improvements from Tariq???

He’s not going to shoot lights out every single game, but to me, this is a kid who has steadily improved all season long at every facet of the game. He’s not a world beater on defense, but he’s worked hard to learn the schemes, is rarely out of position and is much better than he was at the beginning of the season. His assist rate has improved, along with his ball handling overall. 10 straight double digit games - all against power conference opponents. 14 out of the last 15 games - double figures and only dropped less than 15 points 3 times during that stretch of 15 games.

Consider than in the 6 games before that starting with the trip two Vegas he only scored in double digits twice - that’s massive in-season improvement. I get that he’s a junior so everyone assumes the frosh have so much more development potential than the upper class players, but TF and J Mike are not the same situation. TF is only playing at this level one season. I think there’s reason to hope he can grow as a player significantly in the offseason (whereas a player like J Mike probably is what he is at this point in contrast).

 

[bac2therac]

I mean, come on, you must be trolling or something? Really? You haven't seen any improvement in the team? How about individual players? No improvement from anyone? ARE we watching the same team? lol I just spoke about the 2 first round pick team, your response seems kind of robotic? Do they have anti pike AI agents running on this site? Lol

Improvement compared to what or whom?

Penn State?

Players that dont have alot of talent improving incrementally doesnt mean much vs the rest of the conference

Minnesota was a measuring stick game on MEANIGFUL improvement

 

[Jerseylegends]

Improvement compared to what or whom?

Penn State?

Players that dont have alot of talent improving incrementally doesnt mean much vs the rest of the conference

Minnesota was a measuring stick game on MEANIGFUL improvement

Lol improvement when compared to what the team or the individual player was at the beginning of the season.

 

[RUJMM78]

Lets not forget Rutgers went 30 years without one NCAA bid.Pikiell should be praised for finally getting a NCAA bid and following up with a couple of highly successful seasons.With the departure of Baker,Harper jr. and McConnell the downward spiral started again even with Harper and Bailey last season.Pikiell has been a great spkesman for Rutgers but has failed fo cope with the NIL and the transfer portal.Recruiting simply isn't good enough to be relevant in the B1G Ten.The coaching staff needs a serious upgrade in coaching fundamentals and in recruitting .Accountability has been lacking and the new athletic director has decisions to be made regarding so many head coaches.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I am asking 2 questions...

A) The offseason was mentioned with this roster being Eddie Jordan and Craig Littlepage bad......is that the case.....NO

B) The roster was also mentioned and poisoned by the mods and others telling RU fans how RU was getting an inefficient player in Francis.....which was clearly total BS.

In terms of fans not looking to pay Dylan Grant.....the dilemma is that if he was playing to a higher level and was averaging 14PPG and 8 RPG, instead of 11PPG and 5 RPG, would we be saying hes not worth it OR would we be saying "can we afford both Grant and Francis"???

Dylan Grant Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Forward Dylan Grant on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

I know this board is woefully short on basketball fans who really watch other rosters and other teams around rhe country.....do we have big time money to get a 14 & 8 guy...?? My answer is NO, unless you think RU is paying a Center AND PF.

It doesnt take much work to look at Grant from the time he launched 3 to 4 air balls in his 1st few games as a freshman, to eventually starting for Martini last year. We are talking about Grant only playing in THREE total games before January and Wisconsin last year. He had a combined 0-8 in 3 games before finally getting consistent minutes. He is still learning....

18.9 to 24.9 MPG

44 to 46 % increase in FG shooting.

23 to 33% change in 3 PT shooting

57% to 74% change in FT shooting

3.4 REBS to 4.6 REBS from frosh to soph

5.9 to 10.9 PPG

I dont know what else a RU fans ultimately expected from a player who was the 5th option last year and is kinda moved up to a 3rd option.

He isnt a "Go to" player, but i think its not unreasonable to pay him 1M or more, based on his increased productivity.

Its not impossible to expect him to go from 11PPG to 14PPG next year and 4.6 RPG to 6 or 7 RPG as a junior. Keep in mind, Francis is dominating the ball and usage rates, so its not like Grant is seeing 15 shots a game.

Once you add in the rapid development of 2 months ago on Powers and Zrno and literally 3 weeks ago on Lino Mark, considering the poorest budget by a LOT vs most of the B1G, its not unrealistic to expect Powers, Mark, Zrno, Grant and Francis to ALL average double figures next year with 24 MPG......we just need a normal 5 man, to arrive and average 10 and 6, and thats 6 players at worse at 10 PPG.....We are just getting 2PPG instead of 10 from the Center.

Our starting center or someone who would be averaging 10PPG and 6 RPG at RU, is arriving Tuesday night in a Washington uniform.....So the same fans saying you cant pay Sommerville 1M, are now saying the same thing about Grant???

We're not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the.MLB, this is the B1G.....you simply cant continue to take away 10PPG and 6 RPG off the roster and ask Pike to replace it with Ware, Dortch and who else??

I know it would be nice, but if Sommerville returned to RU next year at the 5 with the pieces in place today, RU would be on the bubble next year, with a reasonable priced backup 5 man or 2026 PF with talent out of HS behind Sommerville.

Defense would still be a very big concern, but Ogbole isnt playing any perimeter defense AND isnt scoring or providing any rim protection anyway and we are still potentially going to win 13 games anyway. Might as well score points and see if the defense improves with the freshman becoming sophs.

 

[NightKnight]

I've never had catfish. Had plenty of chances, spent some times in New Orleans, but never did. I don't think I'm missing much. I've never heard anyone say "Hey, I'm in the mood for catfish."

 

[RUskoolie]

I just shake my head at this stuff...

Another Rutgers fan with expectations at the absolute floor. Team has won 11 games all year with 4 games left to play. We will finish with 12 possibly 13 wins if we are lucky and this dude is saying we exceeded expectations.

Christ, some of you have no concept of what a winning program looks like.

 

[RAC93]

Improvement compared to what or whom?

Penn State?

Players that dont have alot of talent improving incrementally doesnt mean much vs the rest of the conference

Minnesota was a measuring stick game on MEANIGFUL improvement

Our players improvement is comparable to a dwarf who grows a few inches and can now say he’s the tallest dwarf in the room……nonetheless still a dwarf in the big picture.

 

[RutgersAl]

I just shake my head at this stuff...

Another Rutgers fan with expectations at the absolute floor. Team has won 11 games all year with 4 games left to play. We will finish with 12 possibly 13 wins if we are lucky and this dude is saying we exceeded expectations.

Christ, some of you have no concept of what a winning program looks like.

Come on, Skoolie. Look at the roster. Good reason we’re not a Winning program. At the beginning of the season, I was thinking this was a 10 Win roster, at worst. I’ll sign up for 13 Wins right now. Let’s get as many wins as we can.

Keep most of the kids, add more help, and we can be a winning program next year.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I am asking 2 questions...

A) The offseason was mentioned with this roster being Eddie Jordan and Craig Littlepage bad......is that the case.....NO

B) The roster was also mentioned and poisoned by the mods and others telling RU fans how RU was getting an inefficient player in Francis.....which was clearly total BS.

In terms of fans not looking to pay Dylan Grant.....the dilemma is that if he was playing to a higher level and was averaging 14PPG and 8 RPG, instead of 11PPG and 5 RPG, would we be saying hes not worth it OR would we be saying "can we afford both Grant and Francis"???

Dylan Grant Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Forward Dylan Grant on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

I know this board is woefully short on basketball fans who really watch other rosters and other teams around rhe country.....do we have big time money to get a 14 & 8 guy...?? My answer is NO, unless you think RU is paying a Center AND PF.

It doesnt take much work to look at Grant from the time he launched 3 to 4 air balls in his 1st few games as a freshman, to eventually starting for Martini last year. We are talking about Grant only playing in THREE total games before January and Wisconsin last year. He had a combined 0-8 in 3 games before finally getting consistent minutes. He is still learning....

18.9 to 24.9 MPG

44 to 46 % increase in FG shooting.

23 to 33% change in 3 PT shooting

57% to 74% change in FT shooting

3.4 REBS to 4.6 REBS from frosh to soph

5.9 to 10.9 PPG

I dont know what else a RU fans ultimately expected from a player who was the 5th option last year and is kinda moved up to a 3rd option.

He isnt a "Go to" player, but i think its not unreasonable to pay him 1M or more, based on his increased productivity.

Its not impossible to expect him to go from 11PPG to 14PPG next year and 4.6 RPG to 6 or 7 RPG as a junior. Keep in mind, Francis is dominating the ball and usage rates, so its not like Grant is seeing 15 shots a game.

Once you add in the rapid development of 2 months ago on Powers and Zrno and literally 3 weeks ago on Lino Mark, considering the poorest budget by a LOT vs most of the B1G, its not unrealistic to expect Powers, Mark, Zrno, Grant and Francis to ALL average double figures next year with 24 MPG......we just need a normal 5 man, to arrive and average 10 and 6, and thats 6 players at worse at 10 PPG.....We are just getting 2PPG instead of 10 from the Center.

Our starting center or someone who would be averaging 10PPG and 6 RPG at RU, is arriving Tuesday night in a Washington uniform.....So the same fans saying you cant pay Sommerville 1M, are now saying the same thing about Grant???

We're not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the.MLB, this is the B1G.....you simply cant continue to take away 10PPG and 6 RPG off the roster and ask Pike to replace it with Ware, Dortch and who else??

I know it would be nice, but if Sommerville returned to RU next year at the 5 with the pieces in place today, RU would be on the bubble next year, with a reasonable priced backup 5 man or 2026 PF with talent out of HS behind Sommerville.

Defense would still be a very big concern, but Ogbole isnt playing any perimeter defense AND isnt scoring or providing any rim protection anyway and we are still potentially going to win 13 games anyway. Might as well score points and see if the defense improves with the freshman becoming sophs.

You think Grant isn’t scoring because of Francis’ usage? Wow. It’s literally the stark opposite and there is now running on 2 seasons worth of data to prove it. Without a Francis, Dylan Harper, etc. to absorb the focus, Dylan Grant is a generally non-factor as a big on offense against high major opponents outside of garbage time or an occasionally strong shooting day on the perimeter. He has no post game to speak of. Over his entire career, most of his meaningful baskets against real opponents have been uncontested back door cuts, etc. - which prove he’s an opportunistic complimentary player to a star scorer - that’s the way he scores! Period. Can you find another guy who is better on D who moves well without the ball to get similar looks? I think we with appropriate scouting we should be able to do so and not have to pay 1.2M for it. Thats the thing….

 

[seansherm]

I am asking 2 questions...

A) The offseason was mentioned with this roster being Eddie Jordan and Craig Littlepage bad......is that the case.....NO

B) The roster was also mentioned and poisoned by the mods and others telling RU fans how RU was getting an inefficient player in Francis.....which was clearly total BS.

In terms of fans not looking to pay Dylan Grant.....the dilemma is that if he was playing to a higher level and was averaging 14PPG and 8 RPG, instead of 11PPG and 5 RPG, would we be saying hes not worth it OR would we be saying "can we afford both Grant and Francis"???

Dylan Grant Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Forward Dylan Grant on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

I know this board is woefully short on basketball fans who really watch other rosters and other teams around rhe country.....do we have big time money to get a 14 & 8 guy...?? My answer is NO, unless you think RU is paying a Center AND PF.

It doesnt take much work to look at Grant from the time he launched 3 to 4 air balls in his 1st few games as a freshman, to eventually starting for Martini last year. We are talking about Grant only playing in THREE total games before January and Wisconsin last year. He had a combined 0-8 in 3 games before finally getting consistent minutes. He is still learning....

18.9 to 24.9 MPG

44 to 46 % increase in FG shooting.

23 to 33% change in 3 PT shooting

57% to 74% change in FT shooting

3.4 REBS to 4.6 REBS from frosh to soph

5.9 to 10.9 PPG

I dont know what else a RU fans ultimately expected from a player who was the 5th option last year and is kinda moved up to a 3rd option.

He isnt a "Go to" player, but i think its not unreasonable to pay him 1M or more, based on his increased productivity.

Its not impossible to expect him to go from 11PPG to 14PPG next year and 4.6 RPG to 6 or 7 RPG as a junior. Keep in mind, Francis is dominating the ball and usage rates, so its not like Grant is seeing 15 shots a game.

Once you add in the rapid development of 2 months ago on Powers and Zrno and literally 3 weeks ago on Lino Mark, considering the poorest budget by a LOT vs most of the B1G, its not unrealistic to expect Powers, Mark, Zrno, Grant and Francis to ALL average double figures next year with 24 MPG......we just need a normal 5 man, to arrive and average 10 and 6, and thats 6 players at worse at 10 PPG.....We are just getting 2PPG instead of 10 from the Center.

Our starting center or someone who would be averaging 10PPG and 6 RPG at RU, is arriving Tuesday night in a Washington uniform.....So the same fans saying you cant pay Sommerville 1M, are now saying the same thing about Grant???

We're not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the.MLB, this is the B1G.....you simply cant continue to take away 10PPG and 6 RPG off the roster and ask Pike to replace it with Ware, Dortch and who else??

I know it would be nice, but if Sommerville returned to RU next year at the 5 with the pieces in place today, RU would be on the bubble next year, with a reasonable priced backup 5 man or 2026 PF with talent out of HS behind Sommerville.

Defense would still be a very big concern, but Ogbole isnt playing any perimeter defense AND isnt scoring or providing any rim protection anyway and we are still potentially going to win 13 games anyway. Might as well score points and see if the defense improves with the freshman becoming sophs.

I happened to agree w you on Grant, said much of this in fewer words the other day, but his 3 point shooting is only 27% in conference, pretty much matching last year, not a ton of improvement on that end even though it feels like there has been.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

Improvement compared to what or whom?

Penn State?

Players that dont have alot of talent improving incrementally doesnt mean much vs the rest of the conference

Minnesota was a measuring stick game on MEANIGFUL improvement

I think we need to wait until the season is over to reflect on where we are. Our deficiencies render our performance very match up dependent.

 

[bac2therac]

Lol improvement when compared to what the team or the individual player was at the beginning of the season.

what does that even mean..thats a very low bar'
the team was horrific early on..whos fault was that

they got humuliated at home by central connecticut state by 13 points

 

[bac2therac]

Our players improvement is comparable to a dwarf who grows a few inches and can now say he’s the tallest dwarf in the room……nonetheless still a dwarf in the big picture.

ive never understood our fanbase small time attitude in taking small improvement with mediocre talent and translating them to a ncaa tourney next year with a few bought better players...guess what EVERY PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR HAS TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE BESIDES FRANCIS...which means these players are all complimentary players...we literally need 3 STARTERS NEXT YEAR TO COME IN

Minnesota is your measuring stick...6 players and they ran circles and embarrased RU...almost all to do with coaching

 

[bac2therac]

Come on, Skoolie. Look at the roster. Good reason we’re not a Winning program. At the beginning of the season, I was thinking this was a 10 Win roster, at worst. I’ll sign up for 13 Wins right now. Let’s get as many wins as we can.

Keep most of the kids, add more help, and we can be a winning program next year.

lmfao..most of the kids are deep bench players here...we need 3 IMPACT PLAYERS

Saying you want to keep most of them is going to ensure you are wasting money on bottom 4 league talent

do you think Oregon is going to not spend more after this years disaster...Maryland has a top class coming in and they will spend more than RU

that leaves RU to wallow around with PSU and NW in terms of talent and $$$

 

[T2Kplus20]

I am asking 2 questions...

A) The offseason was mentioned with this roster being Eddie Jordan and Craig Littlepage bad......is that the case.....NO

B) The roster was also mentioned and poisoned by the mods and others telling RU fans how RU was getting an inefficient player in Francis.....which was clearly total BS.

In terms of fans not looking to pay Dylan Grant.....the dilemma is that if he was playing to a higher level and was averaging 14PPG and 8 RPG, instead of 11PPG and 5 RPG, would we be saying hes not worth it OR would we be saying "can we afford both Grant and Francis"???

Dylan Grant Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Forward Dylan Grant on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

I know this board is woefully short on basketball fans who really watch other rosters and other teams around rhe country.....do we have big time money to get a 14 & 8 guy...?? My answer is NO, unless you think RU is paying a Center AND PF.

It doesnt take much work to look at Grant from the time he launched 3 to 4 air balls in his 1st few games as a freshman, to eventually starting for Martini last year. We are talking about Grant only playing in THREE total games before January and Wisconsin last year. He had a combined 0-8 in 3 games before finally getting consistent minutes. He is still learning....

18.9 to 24.9 MPG

44 to 46 % increase in FG shooting.

23 to 33% change in 3 PT shooting

57% to 74% change in FT shooting

3.4 REBS to 4.6 REBS from frosh to soph

5.9 to 10.9 PPG

I dont know what else a RU fans ultimately expected from a player who was the 5th option last year and is kinda moved up to a 3rd option.

He isnt a "Go to" player, but i think its not unreasonable to pay him 1M or more, based on his increased productivity.

Its not impossible to expect him to go from 11PPG to 14PPG next year and 4.6 RPG to 6 or 7 RPG as a junior. Keep in mind, Francis is dominating the ball and usage rates, so its not like Grant is seeing 15 shots a game.

Once you add in the rapid development of 2 months ago on Powers and Zrno and literally 3 weeks ago on Lino Mark, considering the poorest budget by a LOT vs most of the B1G, its not unrealistic to expect Powers, Mark, Zrno, Grant and Francis to ALL average double figures next year with 24 MPG......we just need a normal 5 man, to arrive and average 10 and 6, and thats 6 players at worse at 10 PPG.....We are just getting 2PPG instead of 10 from the Center.

Our starting center or someone who would be averaging 10PPG and 6 RPG at RU, is arriving Tuesday night in a Washington uniform.....So the same fans saying you cant pay Sommerville 1M, are now saying the same thing about Grant???

We're not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the.MLB, this is the B1G.....you simply cant continue to take away 10PPG and 6 RPG off the roster and ask Pike to replace it with Ware, Dortch and who else??

I know it would be nice, but if Sommerville returned to RU next year at the 5 with the pieces in place today, RU would be on the bubble next year, with a reasonable priced backup 5 man or 2026 PF with talent out of HS behind Sommerville.

Defense would still be a very big concern, but Ogbole isnt playing any perimeter defense AND isnt scoring or providing any rim protection anyway and we are still potentially going to win 13 games anyway. Might as well score points and see if the defense improves with the freshman becoming sophs.

This team is awful. It's only saving grace is that there are 4-5 other awful teams in the B1G this year (and RU gets to play 2 of them twice). They have not had a quality win all season.

 

[PSAL_Hoops]

I happened to agree w you on Grant, said much of this in fewer words the other day, but his 3 point shooting is only 27% in conference, pretty much matching last year, not a ton of improvement on that end even though it feels like there has been.

His defense is the problem. Not the offense. His offense is fine as complimentary starter but he is the furthest thing from a go to player at the high major level. It seems very unlikely to me that he will develop into that. He simply doesn’t have any moves / shots. Hes one of the those guys who quietly gets open when stopping other players is the focus and makes some wide open shots down low. He could be an okay 3 point shooter but he’s nothing special there either. I also don’t think that’s necessarily correlated with year over year development. JY’s percentage went way down when he played for Oregon. I also don’t think perimeter shooting percentage is something that’s quite as highly dependent on the level of the defense as other types of shots. You’d hope our guys aren’t taking too many contested 3s against anyone. An open look is an open look. Presumably it’s just easier to get those looks against weaker defenses.

Basically, the question is - can we find someone who plays significantly better defense than Grant, who can contribute as a complementary player on offense for significantly less than 1.2M. If we can’t, we’re likely in big trouble because we’re not going to be able to afford the things we need. The defense needs to improve drastically and I think that’s could be a tough feat with Grant playing 25+ mpg. His D didn’t improve at all year over year. For a forward, he’s a horrible defensive rebounder. That’s not really something that can be taught or developed.

 

[Jerseylegends]

what does that even mean..thats a very low bar'
the team was horrific early on..whos fault was that

they got humuliated at home by central connecticut state by 13 points

Ive literally seen you in the game threads discussing the improvement of the team. Lol you allow yourself to be influenced by your peers. Zrno is 100 times better than he was, they couldn't even play him. Lino Mark couldn't make a layup..

 

[Jerseylegends]

ive never understood our fanbase small time attitude in taking small improvement with mediocre talent and translating them to a ncaa tourney next year with a few bought better players...guess what EVERY PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR HAS TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE BESIDES FRANCIS...which means these players are all complimentary players...we literally need 3 STARTERS NEXT YEAR TO COME IN

Minnesota is your measuring stick...6 players and they ran circles and embarrased RU...almost all to do with coaching

I'm trying to understand what you guys were expecting if the team didn't exceed expectations this year? You guys want to fire pike, they can't even find enough money to bring in players, who do you guys think they will hire to be coach if pike was fired at the end of last year? Or right now? I understand thinking it's time for him to start winning again but Rutgers is in no position to bring in a good coach right now. Might as well look at the positives instead complaining about everything. Lol the Internet has become just a bunch of complaining..glass is half full bac

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

ive never understood our fanbase small time attitude in taking small improvement with mediocre talent and translating them to a ncaa tourney next year with a few bought better players...guess what EVERY PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR HAS TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE BESIDES FRANCIS...which means these players are all complimentary players...we literally need 3 STARTERS NEXT YEAR TO COME IN

Minnesota is your measuring stick...6 players and they ran circles and embarrased RU...almost all to do with coaching

Minnesota is a winner vs Iowa and Michigan State at home and lost to Maryland at hone and Penn State on the road.

They're 6-10 in the B1G and RU is a JMike FT away from 5-11 in the B1G, even with a blowout loss to Minnesota.

You do realize that Ogbole is averaging practically 2PPG in about 85% of RU games....I would like to think any reasonable big man on RU, has RU at Minnesota level. I think you are severely exaggerating them, when they hit a bunch of shots.

Then if RU beat Minnesota, it would be another change the narrative about RU "beating the bottom of the B1G".

The margins of the conference games is a lot smaller than you realize......YES, you are correct on Oregon and Maryland having significantly better NIL and talent most years, so I am not disagreeing on RU having to climb past 2 teams and Minnesota among others. But I also think if you have JMike playing almost 27MPG and at 7PPG and Ogbole at 18 to 20 MPG and around 2PPG most nights, doesn't it make logical sense to assume either Lino Mark or Dorian Jones OR Lino Mark AND Dorian Jones in those minutes, are better than 7PPG for 27 Minutes of play.

It is not bashing JMike or Ogbole, but like last year with Martini, Hayes, Derkack....with Ogbole and JMike or JWill, I believe these guards are much more likely to produce.

 

[seansherm]

His defense is the problem. Not the offense. His offense is fine as complimentary starter but he is the furthest thing from a go to player at the high major level. It seems very unlikely to me that he will develop into that. He simply doesn’t have any moves / shots. Hes one of the those guys who quietly gets open when stopping other players is the focus and makes some wide open shots down low. He could be an okay 3 point shooter but he’s nothing special there either. I also don’t think that’s necessarily correlated with year over year development. JY’s percentage went way down when he played for Oregon. I also don’t think perimeter shooting percentage is something that’s quite as highly dependent on the level of the defense as other types of shots. You’d hope our guys aren’t taking too many contested 3s against anyone. An open look is an open look. Presumably it’s just easier to get those looks against weaker defenses.

Basically, the question is - can we find someone who plays significantly better defense than Grant, who can contribute as a complementary player on offense for significantly less than 1.2M. If we can’t, we’re likely in big trouble because we’re not going to be able to afford the things we need. The defense needs to improve drastically and I think that’s could be a tough feat with Grant playing 25+ mpg. His D didn’t improve at all year over year. For a forward, he’s a horrible defensive rebounder. That’s not really something that can be taught or developed.

I dont know if Grant can improve defensively, yes, he's very bad, Im just saying people that thought he should be the team leader as a sophomore severely over estimated his ability. I'm not a fan of jettisoning kids for their veteran, most productive years and if we could pick up a good defensive center and a ball handling 3 and D type wing, Grant can be useful as a 3rd or 4th option.

 

[Eagleton95.99]

Good OP. Pike is an above average coach in terms of working with players and getting the best out of them. He's limited offensively, but above average on D, rebounding, motivating, teaching. Net above average even at the B1G level.

He's not a good program manager and wasn't able to adapt to the NIL/Portal era at all. That's on Pike, but also on Rutgers U. RU and Pike desperately needed a good GM and AD and a front office working together. As a result of all the poor performance on this front, we had inferior players with a very low ceiling for wins/losses to start the season in terms of talent, experience, and experience working together (no stability).

So when we say "he's a good coach" we mean he's good at half of the job.

My preseason goal for the team to maintain my minimal confidence (not go full negative) I wanted to see the following:

1. The team get better over the course of the year
2. Not lose the confidence of the players and play hard despite losses
3. Rutgers hire a GM, good AD, and get on the ball with NIL and portal management - which means keeping the best players in the off-season, having stability, and adding significant quality pieces.

Numbers 1 and 2 are checked off for me. 3 remains to be seen.

 

[bac2therac]

Ive literally seen you in the game threads discussing the improvement of the team. Lol you allow yourself to be influenced by your peers. Zrno is 100 times better than he was, they couldn't even play him. Lino Mark couldn't make a layup..

yes they have improved..have they improved to take any meaningful from this season to next...no IMO...why? because RU does not exist in a vacuum. RU beat a terrible Penn State, an injury laden Oregon team, a Maryland team with 7 players and a really bad Northwestern team..credit to Pke for winning those games...he is 4-1 in swing games with 3 of those games at home. The Minnesota game vs 6 players was disheartening and shows Pikes deficiencies..losing to Minnesota is not bad per se. The issue is they absolutely cleaned our clock and it was all about game prep and strategy

 

[bac2therac]

I'm trying to understand what you guys were expecting if the team didn't exceed expectations this year? You guys want to fire pike, they can't even find enough money to bring in players, who do you guys think they will hire to be coach if pike was fired at the end of last year? Or right now? I understand thinking it's time for him to start winning again but Rutgers is in no position to bring in a good coach right now. Might as well look at the positives instead complaining about everything. Lol the Internet has become just a bunch of complaining..glass is half full bac

i expected exactly what i am seeing. I predicted 13-18 and 6-14 and the team may equal that or be a game below It will be Pikes FOURTH CONSECUIVE YEAR WITHOUT A NCAA APPEARANCE AND THIRD STRAIGHT SUB 500 RECORD AND ONE OF THOSE WAS WITH 2 TOP 5 DRAFT PICKS

 

[bac2therac]

Minnesota is a winner vs Iowa and Michigan State at home and lost to Maryland at hone and Penn State on the road.

They're 6-10 in the B1G and RU is a JMike FT away from 5-11 in the B1G, even with a blowout loss to Minnesota.

You do realize that Ogbole is averaging practically 2PPG in about 85% of RU games....I would like to think any reasonable big man on RU, has RU at Minnesota level. I think you are severely exaggerating them, when they hit a bunch of shots.

Then if RU beat Minnesota, it would be another change the narrative about RU "beating the bottom of the B1G".

The margins of the conference games is a lot smaller than you realize......YES, you are correct on Oregon and Maryland having significantly better NIL and talent most years, so I am not disagreeing on RU having to climb past 2 teams and Minnesota among others. But I also think if you have JMike playing almost 27MPG and at 7PPG and Ogbole at 18 to 20 MPG and around 2PPG most nights, doesn't it make logical sense to assume either Lino Mark or Dorian Jones OR Lino Mark AND Dorian Jones in those minutes, are better than 7PPG for 27 Minutes of play.

It is not bashing JMike or Ogbole, but like last year with Martini, Hayes, Derkack....with Ogbole and JMike or JWill, I believe these guards are much more likely to produce.

And the fault of the roster is who....J mike and eo should never even be here...j mike recruited before nil really kicked into effect along with simpson was not a big ten starter...griffiths, jones, woofolk, reiber, jalen plus a buch of players like nwuli and dortsch very one dimensional oh and J Wil too.he was supposed to be the savior..now its dorian jones the savior

 

[RAC93]

ive never understood our fanbase small time attitude in taking small improvement with mediocre talent and translating them to a ncaa tourney next year with a few bought better players...guess what EVERY PLAYER THAT NEEDS TO COME IN NEXT YEAR HAS TO BE BETTER THAN ANYONE BESIDES FRANCIS...which means these players are all complimentary players...we literally need 3 STARTERS NEXT YEAR TO COME IN

Minnesota is your measuring stick...6 players and they ran circles and embarrased RU...almost all to do with coaching

Francis is only real piece we have. Francis is a legit Big 10 player. A few other guys would be good role players off the bench on a real team (Powers, high energy defensive guy that gives a spark off the bench in Lino Mark, Zrno a shooter who gets limited minutes (and I mean limited due to his defense) to come in and hit a few wide open threes), maybe D Grant could be a bench player on a real roster but he’s just too soft for my taste. We don’t really have any other Big 10 level players. The roster needs a massive overhaul as you stated. Not to mention a new coach and whole new staff to go with it.

 

[bac2therac]

there is a reason that I do not do recaps and do not post much about team or the future too much. If I did then it was just be total negativity. I got sucked into this one against my better judgment and will quit while I am ahead

I think this staff is over and there is so much work that needs to be done with the roster, I do not think they have the chops to navigate the portal. I expect most of the team to be back and a couple of dart throws in the portal and fans will be happy with improvement at 16-15 next year

 

[satnom]

I am asking 2 questions...

A) The offseason was mentioned with this roster being Eddie Jordan and Craig Littlepage bad......is that the case.....NO

B) The roster was also mentioned and poisoned by the mods and others telling RU fans how RU was getting an inefficient player in Francis.....which was clearly total BS.

In terms of fans not looking to pay Dylan Grant.....the dilemma is that if he was playing to a higher level and was averaging 14PPG and 8 RPG, instead of 11PPG and 5 RPG, would we be saying hes not worth it OR would we be saying "can we afford both Grant and Francis"???

Dylan Grant Career Stats - NCAAM - ESPN

Complete career NCAAM stats for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights Forward Dylan Grant on ESPN. Includes points, rebounds, and assists.

www.espn.com

I know this board is woefully short on basketball fans who really watch other rosters and other teams around rhe country.....do we have big time money to get a 14 & 8 guy...?? My answer is NO, unless you think RU is paying a Center AND PF.

It doesnt take much work to look at Grant from the time he launched 3 to 4 air balls in his 1st few games as a freshman, to eventually starting for Martini last year. We are talking about Grant only playing in THREE total games before January and Wisconsin last year. He had a combined 0-8 in 3 games before finally getting consistent minutes. He is still learning....

18.9 to 24.9 MPG

44 to 46 % increase in FG shooting.

23 to 33% change in 3 PT shooting

57% to 74% change in FT shooting

3.4 REBS to 4.6 REBS from frosh to soph

5.9 to 10.9 PPG

I dont know what else a RU fans ultimately expected from a player who was the 5th option last year and is kinda moved up to a 3rd option.

He isnt a "Go to" player, but i think its not unreasonable to pay him 1M or more, based on his increased productivity.

Its not impossible to expect him to go from 11PPG to 14PPG next year and 4.6 RPG to 6 or 7 RPG as a junior. Keep in mind, Francis is dominating the ball and usage rates, so its not like Grant is seeing 15 shots a game.

Once you add in the rapid development of 2 months ago on Powers and Zrno and literally 3 weeks ago on Lino Mark, considering the poorest budget by a LOT vs most of the B1G, its not unrealistic to expect Powers, Mark, Zrno, Grant and Francis to ALL average double figures next year with 24 MPG......we just need a normal 5 man, to arrive and average 10 and 6, and thats 6 players at worse at 10 PPG.....We are just getting 2PPG instead of 10 from the Center.

Our starting center or someone who would be averaging 10PPG and 6 RPG at RU, is arriving Tuesday night in a Washington uniform.....So the same fans saying you cant pay Sommerville 1M, are now saying the same thing about Grant???

We're not the Pittsburgh Pirates of the.MLB, this is the B1G.....you simply cant continue to take away 10PPG and 6 RPG off the roster and ask Pike to replace it with Ware, Dortch and who else??

I know it would be nice, but if Sommerville returned to RU next year at the 5 with the pieces in place today, RU would be on the bubble next year, with a reasonable priced backup 5 man or 2026 PF with talent out of HS behind Sommerville.

Defense would still be a very big concern, but Ogbole isnt playing any perimeter defense AND isnt scoring or providing any rim protection anyway and we are still potentially going to win 13 games anyway. Might as well score points and see if the defense improves with the freshman becoming sophs.

With you on all points except Latham S. Would not take Lathan who’s averaging 13 mins/gmes, 4pts/game, and 3rbs/game as a starter over Ogbole 18/4/6.7. EO gives more on and off the court than LS. RU’s starting center should be a defensive presence and get you pts and rbs.

Everything else holds. EO coming off the bench for a scoring/defensive center would be great situation for RU.

GO RU