Technically true. But that magical Garden run at the BTT (and I guess the SHU game earlier in the season) was the first thing in the Pike era to really energize the program and the fanbase, and Corey really fueled it.The program turned around AFTER Corey left. Corey was a great talent, but the inflection point of our program was when Corey decided not to come back.
The program didn’t turn around BECAUSE Corey left. Rather he laid the building blocks for a program that just so happened to fully blossom once he left. Corey brought entertainment and attention to Rutgers basketball that played a big hand in everything that was to comeThe program turned around AFTER Corey left. Corey was a great talent, but the inflection point of our program was when Corey decided not to come back.
We should agree to disagree. We won more B1G games the year he left then the 3 years he was here combined.The program didn’t turn around BECAUSE Corey left. Rather he laid the building blocks for a program that just so happened to fully blossom once he left. Corey brought entertainment and attention to Rutgers basketball that played a big hand in everything that was to come
I give credit to all the blind squirrels that find a nut or two helping them get though the winter.He turned the program around.
Some credit to Eddie for that.
We got to the quarterfinals (Friday) of the Big Ten Tournament and played PURDUE down to the wire in a really exciting game. We lit up the Garden that year and captured the imagination of the entire B1G.This is all in your mind. No one cares what happens on Wednesday and Thursday of the conference tournaments.
We lost in the quarterfinals. No one cares about the 1st days of the tournament. We lost on Friday night.We got to the quarterfinals (Friday) of the Big Ten Tournament and played PURDUE down to the wire in a really exciting game. We lit up the Garden that year and captured the imagination of the entire B1G.
It was absolutely a big deal for Pike and Rutgers to make a splash.
Greene , you are so out to lunch. Every person in the Big 10 , on the Big 10 network and that entire Purdue team , were talking about Rutgers. It was a Rutgers infomercial . Matter of fact , all the Purdue guys , including their Pros , knew they got a little lucky and hit some tough difficult shots and a 3 to survive. It was the first time the BIG 10 was in NYC for their tourney and the host school showed up and got recognized for the first time. What really comes out in your posts is your hatred of Corey , one of the more dramatic talents we had that had no help to win , but set the foundation and passed the torch to Geo , Ron and the whole crew.We lost in the quarterfinals. No one cares about the 1st days of the tournament. We lost on Friday night.
It was a big deal for us fans. The NIT was a big deal for us fans. Losing on Friday of the B1G tournament is not lighting up MSG and not capturing the imagination of the B1G
Can you name any school that captured your imagination that lost in the quarterfinals their conference tournament?
Our offense hasn’t been better. Go look at your coveted Kenpom offensive stats , they suck. Corey had no one to play with. Mike Williams one of our favorite players to wear the uniform was supposed to be a 3 point specialist but it never materialized. What great Centers did he play with ? What wings ? Geo’s freshman year was so good because Geo was better than we thought and every scouting report singled out Corey. Stop Corey , Stop Rutgers. Your memory is fading fast.I don’t hate Corey. I just think we were better without him. You say my take is bad, but we won when he left. Our offense got a lot better when the basketball was shared.
You’re straining to downplay what was a magical run we made in the Big Ten Tournament, which the BTN crews still talk about to this day. A 14 seed had never made the quarterfinals, and yet there we were going toe to toe with mighty Purdue at the Garden.We lost in the quarterfinals. No one cares about the 1st days of the tournament. We lost on Friday night.
It was a big deal for us fans. The NIT was a big deal for us fans. Losing on Friday of the B1G tournament is not lighting up MSG and not capturing the imagination of the B1G
Can you name any school that captured your imagination that lost in the quarterfinals their conference tournament?
We should agree to disagree. We won more B1G games the year he left then the 3 years he was here combined.
People remember the good games he had and are forgetting what he was on the average day. He was an awful shooter and was not a passer when penetrating to the basket. Defenses knew exactly what was going to happen when Corey beat his man off the dribble.
How about zero? HahaHow much worse than averaging 2 B1G wins per season?
Compared to the dark place the program was in just two years prior, those three games at the Garden were incredible. And Corey was a talent we hadn't had in a long time.There are actually people in this thread throwing shade at Corey here. You guys are f’ing miserable. We would have been so bad if we didn’t have Corey. He was one of the few reasons this team had a pulse when he was here.
And yes, the two wins at MSG were a big deal. You started to see the identity of a Pike coached team. Rutgers was not going to be an easy out
No. Contrary to what people want to believe we had talent the last year he was here.How about zero? Haha
Take the L here man...youre way off on saying it was meaningless.How much worse than averaging 2 B1G wins per season?
C’mon Greene
That run in the big ten tournament was a piece of the foundation laid for the program going
It helped with keeping recruiting momentum going
It helped fuel the off season workouts that developed geo and Eugene for the following year …
It got people back into Rutgers basketball …and helped get people in the RAC …which started to get our home court advantage again…
And it gave us a lot of confidence in our team and staff. It took a top ten Purdue playing their A game , shooting in the mid 50s, to keeping us from springing the upset ….the momentum from that helps later
It was a nice piece for us…a block in Building
That Tourney run was also the time when the talking heads at the BTN started talking about Rutgers in a different way. It was then that they first realized that Rutgers could turn into a good competitive league program.C’mon Greene
That run in the big ten tournament was a piece of the foundation laid for the program going
It helped with keeping recruiting momentum going
It helped fuel the off season workouts that developed geo and Eugene for the following year …
It got people back into Rutgers basketball …and helped get people in the RAC …which started to get our home court advantage again…
And it gave us a lot of confidence in our team and staff. It took a top ten Purdue playing their A game , shooting in the mid 50s, to keeping us from springing the upset ….the momentum from that helps later
It was a nice piece for us…a block in Building
Winning brought the fans back....The bandwagon started to fill the last 2-3 years. I doubt we have many, if any, new fans that came on board because Corey Sanders brought the team to the Final 8 of the B1G tournament.This is the big thing. Like @Greene Rice FIG said only the fans cared about it, but it brought the fans back in a BIG way. Fans were always waiting for an excuse to hop back on the wagon. It's the spark that lit the fire.
It was very meaningful to you and me and other Rutgers fans that were starved and some of which were hanging on a thread.Take the L here man...youre way off on saying it was meaningless.
Like, way the F off...
Winning brought the fans back....The bandwagon started to fill the last 2-3 years. I doubt we have many, if any, new fans that came on board because Corey Sanders brought the team to the Final 8 of the B1G tournament.