Keepers for next year

seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
Lathan will never play important minutes on a winning team. He is the opposite of a money player
I agree, but he still would have been useful this year to take Dortch minutes at the 5. Dortch a good 4 to have if Lathan on court. One O and one D.
 

NightKnight

All-Conference
Jul 21, 2008
3,201
1,597
68
What's the goal? A top half of B1G and dancing? There are at best 4 players on the current roster that could contribute to that goal -3 of them coming off the bench for a good team. I feel like we're being set up to believe it will be a good thing if 7 players return. That would be a commitment to similar results as this year.
 

RUfan1977

Senior
Mar 24, 2024
429
718
93
The point was if your “trying” Tariq out for a stretch at PG, don’t do it with the worst 4 non PG ball handlers on the roster to support him. It can’t be overstated how dumb that decision was. To this day I just don’t understand.
Against an ordinary defensive team it might not have been that big a deal, but it was a given that Seton Hall would press and try to turn Rutgers over. The starting lineup against Seton Hall just made it too easy!
 
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bac2therac

Hall of Famer
Jul 30, 2001
246,737
176,326
113
What's the goal? A top half of B1G and dancing? There are at best 4 players on the current roster that could contribute to that goal -3 of them coming off the bench for a good team. I feel like we're being set up to believe it will be a good thing if 7 players return. That would be a commitment to similar results as this year.
because there is a segment of the fanbase that loves blue collar work ethic beating bottom rung big 10 schools as acheivements, they are pining for a geo/ron/myles/caleb/jy reboot yet the new actors are all in community theater not broadway

Rutgers needs ALOT, the Crown appearance should have no impact for decisions next year but I fear it wlll
 
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seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
because there is a segment of the fanbase that loves blue collar work ethic beating bottom rung big 10 schools as acheivements, they are pining for a geo/ron/myles/caleb/jy reboot yet the new actors are all in community theater not broadway

Rutgers needs ALOT, the Crown appearance should have no impact for decisions next year but I fear it wlll
You'd have to think almost all decisions on next year will be made before then
 

mugrat86

Heisman
Dec 11, 2014
8,064
10,580
82
because there is a segment of the fanbase that loves blue collar work ethic beating bottom rung big 10 schools as acheivements, they are pining for a geo/ron/myles/caleb/jy reboot yet the new actors are all in community theater not broadway

Rutgers needs ALOT, the Crown appearance should have no impact for decisions next year but I fear it wlll
Ridiculous statement
 

PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
because there is a segment of the fanbase that loves blue collar work ethic beating bottom rung big 10 schools as acheivements, they are pining for a geo/ron/myles/caleb/jy reboot yet the new actors are all in community theater not broadway

Rutgers needs ALOT, the Crown appearance should have no impact for decisions next year but I fear it wlll

Do you really think that’s Pike’s plan? I can’t imagine he’s waiting for the Crown outcome to think about roster plans.
 

Simce91

All-Conference
Dec 2, 2024
1,463
1,969
113
I agree, but he still would have been useful this year to take Dortch minutes at the 5. Dortch a good 4 to have if Lathan on court. One O and one D.
How many fewer points do you think Francis would've had if Lathan was at RU this year ?
 

seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
How many fewer points do you think Francis would've had if Lathan was at RU this year ?
Not sure it matters, but I'm guessing he would have been slightly impacted as we would have occasionally fed the post. I hate Lathan's game, he still would have been useful this year, if for no other reason than an additional body. Besides, would limiting Francis' value have been a bad thing.
 

PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
Not sure it matters, but I'm guessing he would have been slightly impacted as we would have occasionally fed the post. I hate Lathan's game, he still would have been useful this year, if for no other reason than an additional body. Besides, would limiting Francis' value have been a bad thing.

I’m torn about the impact Lathan would’ve had. On one hand, the D couldn’t be much worse but he certainly wouldn’t have helped that. Anyone would’ve been up upgrade on offense in the paint but he wasn’t a team player in the way he played so it’s hard to say how much impact it would’ve had.
 

PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
Based on what? Market value? Because that's not the case. If you just don't feel like anyone is worth that, not really a useful metric.
Yeah good way of putting it. If someone else is willing to pay a million for a player we have, it’s reasonable that we would have to pay a million to keep that player. And if we decide it’s not worth it to do that, we’d better be sure the someone else out there who we are thinking is more worthy of that million will actually accept a $1M offer from us to come play for Rutgers. Otherwise, we’re going to end up panicking and buying a collection of Tyson Acuffs.
 
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PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
No but i hope the willingness to play and extra practices dont influence not to mention any winning
He’s not that stupid. I’d think the only possible influence could be if guys like Dylan Grant have been dealing with injuries we didn’t know about. And then after several weeks of healing up look much improved. I’m completely making that up - no basis, but just an example of the kind of observations this could be good for. Whatever we’re offering Francis, Buchanan and the frosh has been decided. How they play in the Crown won’t matter. We’ll know soon enough whose staying.
 

seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
I’m torn about the impact Lathan would’ve had. On one hand, the D couldn’t be much worse but he certainly wouldn’t have helped that. Anyone would’ve been up upgrade on offense in the paint but he wasn’t a team player in the way he played so it’s hard to say how much impact it would’ve had.
No doubt. I don’t think he makes the team worse, not convinced he would have made it better, but he did bring a skill set team didnt have in a big.
 

mugrat86

Heisman
Dec 11, 2014
8,064
10,580
82
No doubt. I don’t think he makes the team worse, not convinced he would have made it better, but he did bring a skill set team didnt have in a big.
For every point Lathan scored, he gave up double on the other end in easy uncontested baskets. There is a reason he hardly got his *** off the bench at Washington
 

seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
For every point Lathan scored, he gave up double on the other end in easy uncontested baskets. There is a reason he hardly got his *** off the bench at Washington
Yes, and we were terrible defensively anyway. Dortch only scored 1 a game, so he likely gave up more than double on the other end. Like I said, don't think he makes us worse, probably don't think he makes us better.
 
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Degaz-RU

Heisman
Dec 19, 2002
22,225
26,412
88
Yeah good way of putting it. If someone else is willing to pay a million for a player we have, it’s reasonable that we would have to pay a million to keep that player. And if we decide it’s not worth it to do that, we’d better be sure the someone else out there who we are thinking is more worthy of that million will actually accept a $1M offer from us to come play for Rutgers. Otherwise, we’re going to end up panicking and buying a collection of Tyson Acuffs.
Tariq Francis averaged 16.9 ppg in all games, which was 13th in the B1G (155th nationally). He averaged 18.1 ppg in just conference games, which would be 10th in the B1G (86th nationally).

I don't know if he is "worth" $1,000,000, but if he was on the open market, you better believe some high majors would be offering him 7-figures. And I don't think we should "lowball" him just because we think we will get the Family Discount. Just pay the dude what he's "worth," whether it's 750k, 900k, or $1M. There's no doubt that we would have to pay 7-figures to land an 18 ppg guard on the open market. NO DOUBT.

I would be fine with paying a starting Center $2 million or more and Francis $1 million. That's two cornerstones of your team making 30% of your overall budget, which is perfectly reasonable.
 

PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
Tariq Francis averaged 16.9 ppg in all games, which was 13th in the B1G (155th nationally). He averaged 18.1 ppg in just conference games, which would be 10th in the B1G (86th nationally).

I don't know if he is "worth" $1,000,000, but if he was on the open market, you better believe some high majors would be offering him 7-figures. And I don't think we should "lowball" him just because we think we will get the Family Discount. Just pay the dude what he's "worth," whether it's 750k, 900k, or $1M. There's no doubt that we would have to pay 7-figures to land an 18 ppg guard on the open market. NO DOUBT.

I would be fine with paying a starting Center $2 million or more and Francis $1 million. That's two cornerstones of your team making 30% of your overall budget, which is perfectly reasonable.
I completely agree. I can’t begin to fathom how we have fans who think we’re going to have our choice of better guards at a similar price point. We won’t. Tariq is the only reason we even have a chance to turn things around next season.

Saving a couple hundred thousand on a couple players doesn’t help you if those saved funds didn’t allow you to buy someon e else you otherwise couldn’t have gotten. That’s what some folks don’t seem to understand. It seemed like we “gave” whatever we had away to the Euros and Fall last cycle because we couldn’t buy anyone we really wanted and had to spend the money somewhere to fill the roster.
 
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RUDivision

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2023
2,292
1,801
42
No one on our current roster sniffs the court on these sweet 16 team.

Full on rebuild/reload

Francis cam stay for 650k or less
 

RUfan1977

Senior
Mar 24, 2024
429
718
93
No one on our current roster sniffs the court on these sweet 16 team.

Full on rebuild/reload

Francis cam stay for 650k or less
We don’t have unlimited money or a pipeline to Europe like Illinois. We could easily spend 10 million and still not have anyone who would play on the sweet 16 teams other than Francis. We should pay Francis what the market says he’s worth. If Mark plays like he played the last quarter of the season he would definitely see playing time and we should make a good offer to try to keep him. We should also try to bring back Buchanan by making a reasonable offer. Other players we could keep for the bench if they come at the right price with the exception of Fall who doesn’t seem like a division I player and Ware who doesn’t appear athletic enough for the Bog Ten.
 

LotusAggressor_rivals

All-American
Oct 11, 2003
16,004
7,764
113
We don’t have unlimited money or a pipeline to Europe like Illinois. We could easily spend 10 million and still not have anyone who would play on the sweet 16 teams other than Francis. We should pay Francis what the market says he’s worth. If Mark plays like he played the last quarter of the season he would definitely see playing time and we should make a good offer to try to keep him. We should also try to bring back Buchanan by making a reasonable offer. Other players we could keep for the bench if they come at the right price with the exception of Fall who doesn’t seem like a division I player and Ware who doesn’t appear athletic enough for the Bog Ten.
Judging from what I've seen of Illinois in the tournament, their coaches are much better evaluators of European talent than RU's are. They're also over there all the time.
 
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RUfan1977

Senior
Mar 24, 2024
429
718
93
Judging from what I've seen of Illinois in the tournament, their coaches are much better evaluators of European talent than RU's are. They're also over there all the time.
If the European players have a good experience at Illinois they can refer friends who if they are even close to the quality of player that the current players are would be great additions.
 

Loyal-Son

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2016
1,422
2,701
81
What's the goal? A top half of B1G and dancing? There are at best 4 players on the current roster that could contribute to that goal -3 of them coming off the bench for a good team. I feel like we're being set up to believe it will be a good thing if 7 players return. That would be a commitment to similar results as this year.

What's the goal? A top half of B1G and dancing? There are at best 4 players on the current roster that could contribute to that goal -3 of them coming off the bench for a good team. I feel like we're being set up to believe it will be a good thing if 7 players return. That would be a commitment to similar results as this year.
Right!

Most players improve from year to year, some dramatically . That is why the teams with more upperclassmen tend to do far better in the competitive leagues.

Returning the exact same players next year would almost certainly result in a minimum of 3 more wins and likely double that. I am not advocating we keep everybody, but bringing back many of the same crew might be a good strategy - jut need to bring in a few studs at the positions we all agree were our chief weaknesses.
 

Loyal-Son

All-Conference
Jan 5, 2016
1,422
2,701
81
because there is a segment of the fanbase that loves blue collar work ethic beating bottom rung big 10 schools as acheivements, they are pining for a geo/ron/myles/caleb/jy reboot yet the new actors are all in community theater not broadway

Rutgers needs ALOT, the Crown appearance should have no impact for decisions next year but I fear it wlll
You are bringing stupidity to a new level. How about another rant about how miserable I am! I can handle it.
 

bac2therac

Hall of Famer
Jul 30, 2001
246,737
176,326
113
You are bringing stupidity to a new level. How about another rant about how miserable I am! I can handle it.
Im telling you we need a big talent upgrade over what we currently have to a successful season which is competing for a ncaa bid. Some including you seem to admire the 14-19 mark this year and like the progress from the group..if im off the mark please clarify
 

-RUFAN4LIFE-

Heisman
Feb 28, 2015
32,184
50,275
113
Right!

Most players improve from year to year, some dramatically . That is why the teams with more upperclassmen tend to do far better in the competitive leagues.

Returning the exact same players next year would almost certainly result in a minimum of 3 more wins and likely double that. I am not advocating we keep everybody, but bringing back many of the same crew might be a good strategy - jut need to bring in a few studs at the positions we all agree were our chief weaknesses.
I hate to disagree with you but you're not getting 3 more wins with this same lineup next season. There's still no real presence in the paint on this roster and they went to a small ball lineup a lot as a result. Hard to win in the B1G without one.
 

NickRU714

Heisman
Aug 18, 2009
13,979
12,772
113
Right!

Most players improve from year to year, some dramatically . That is why the teams with more upperclassmen tend to do far better in the competitive leagues.

Returning the exact same players next year would almost certainly result in a minimum of 3 more wins and likely double that. I am not advocating we keep everybody, but bringing back many of the same crew might be a good strategy - jut need to bring in a few studs at the positions we all agree were our chief weaknesses.

Our returning players this past year:
Davis
Ogbole
Grant
Dortch

If they were to return next year, ideally it would all be in smaller roles and not bigger roles (indicating a lack of continued improvement).

Maybe it's just a crazy coincidence and turns out Powers/Mark/Nwuli all have potentially dramatic improvements.
I certainly wouldn't bank on it though.
 
Last edited:

bac2therac

Hall of Famer
Jul 30, 2001
246,737
176,326
113
Right!

Most players improve from year to year, some dramatically . That is why the teams with more upperclassmen tend to do far better in the competitive leagues.

Returning the exact same players next year would almost certainly result in a minimum of 3 more wins and likely double that. I am not advocating we keep everybody, but bringing back many of the same crew might be a good strategy - jut need to bring in a few studs at the positions we all agree were our chief weaknesses.

6 wins returning the same player..from 13-18 to 19-12. Who knew it was that easy with the same ragtag bunch. While other schools stockpile talent
 

PSAL_Hoops

Heisman
Feb 18, 2008
13,009
12,341
78
Im telling you we need a big talent upgrade over what we currently have to a successful season which is competing for a ncaa bid. Some including you seem to admire the 14-19 mark this year and like the progress from the group..if im off the mark please clarify
3 new high level players who play most of the game IS a major upgrade.

There are two sides to this though. It’s equally as annoying when guys like Division say we need 10 new guys and maybe Francis can get deep utility pay as if most bubble teams have a bench full of guys capable of averaging 17 ppg.
 

seansherm

Heisman
Feb 20, 2009
13,867
14,778
113
3 new high level players who play most of the game IS a major upgrade.

There are two sides to this though. It’s equally as annoying when guys like Division say we need 10 new guys and maybe Francis can get deep utility pay as if most bubble teams have a bench full of guys capable of averaging 17 ppg.
I've been wondering what Francis would look like in some of these Sweet Sixteen matchups. Games are being played fast without a bunch of iso. Do think he be a bench guy on many of these teams. Can't see us picking up anywhere near the talent needed to drop him to bench level.
 
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RUDivision

All-Conference
Jan 6, 2023
2,292
1,801
42
3 new high level players who play most of the game IS a major upgrade.

There are two sides to this though. It’s equally as annoying when guys like Division say we need 10 new guys and maybe Francis can get deep utility pay as if most bubble teams have a bench full of guys capable of averaging 17 ppg.
If the goal is to be a legit sweet 16 or better team then yes we need a new starting lineup and probably a bench player. Keep Francis and Buchanon as rotation guys.

if your watching the tournament. Pace, size, movement, physicality. Francis would not see much playing time.

Go down the sweet 16 rosters . None of our guys would make those rosters. Maybe 1
 
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