Worked with Simpson's father, Ron, at the NJ Division of Criminal Justice . Quality person and a good detective . Ron played High School basketball at immaculate Conception in Montclair and in college at Rider . There is an old Rutgers connection, the assistant coach at Rider then was Fred Hill, Jr.
BB Recruiting Derek Simpson commits to RU
- Thread starter dpwhite
- Start date
Dad Ron graduated as Rider’s #2 all time leading scorer. Currently 7th. He still has the #1 highest ppg average at 20.9 per game.
He is in the Rider Athletics Hall of Fame. I don't remember him but it's probably because he played during an era that was a very dark period in Rutgers basketball history. My interest in the sport was at an all-time low. Link: Ron Simpson Rider Hall of Fame
Hopefully in a decade or so sending kids to PSU will be looked at as being a traitor to the state, like Ohio kids who go to Michigan.
A very good sign if he gets an offer from one of the best true point guards in College Basketball history!
5th year seniors count towards scholarship limit. Always have except for this year due to free Covid year. “Super seniors” are a one time thing, though. After this year, it’s back to normal scholarship limits.
On the Rutgers Rant the three amigos from nj.com pointed out that Hurley probably heard from his contacts in Jersey about this kid and was told it would be a good idea to offer. Could be true. This kid could be better than we think. Hope so.
Another great pickup! Pike and company are killing it on the recruiting trail.
Welcome Derek!
Welcome Derek!
I knew what he was getting at, but it's misleading. Rutgers had ONLY three losing seasons during the 1980s ('85-'88), all under Littlepage. Otherwise, they made a few trips to the NCAA tournament and the NIT.
Yes, and Ron Simpson played three seasons at Rider, from 85-88
Going back to 1976, rank the worst basketball and football coaches we have had.
Craig Littlepage—bad and boring
Kyle Flood/Chris Ash ( I consider them as one since Flood burned down most of the beautiful house Schiano built and then Ash showed up with a gas tanker just to make sure the job was complete)
Eddie Jordan —did he even try ?
Terry Shea-we left America to find a guy who immediately went on vacation
Fred Hill Jr.—fill in your own jokes
Dick Anderson—seemed like a nice enough guy, but didnt seem like he ever understood how to get us over the hump
Craig Littlepage—bad and boring
Kyle Flood/Chris Ash ( I consider them as one since Flood burned down most of the beautiful house Schiano built and then Ash showed up with a gas tanker just to make sure the job was complete)
Eddie Jordan —did he even try ?
Terry Shea-we left America to find a guy who immediately went on vacation
Fred Hill Jr.—fill in your own jokes
Dick Anderson—seemed like a nice enough guy, but didnt seem like he ever understood how to get us over the hump
Dick Anderson was very underrated. Look at the facilities and support structure he had to work with. And he beat Michigan State and Penn State on the road.
Weird take. Was referring to the Littlepage era only - not the end of Young or beginning of Wenzel.
I saw it as a broad take on basketball for the entire decade. I just wanted to be clear on that. On this Rutgers site, that is the norm. Shea's era in football has grown from the late 90s to include all of the 90s and even the 80s under Anderson. Perception somehow has more power than reality.
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Fans wearing paper bags over their heads was the reaction to Littlepage futility as a head coach.
And don't forget the doubleheaders that had the women's team with Sue Wicks as the main event and the men's game as the undercard.
I really think that if Doug Graber had more academic support and caught a couple of breaks with regard to bowls, he would have been successful. Under the current bowl system, he may have gone bowling three times which would have eliminated a strike against him on the recruiting trail.
Graber overcame a lot of the negative recruiting when you look at the players he signed. What hurt Graber was the limited number of bowl games at the time. I think it was something like 15 total compared to 40 now. Graber would have gone bowling more than once, and his recruiting would have really taken off. When it comes to academic support, it was a joke. After Graber's first year, he tried to get former players (Marty Mayes) to help Mr. Barrows with academic support because the school wasn't offering any.
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The Littlepage three years was completely deplorable. Many of us had great hope when he was hired for the success he had at the Univ of Pennsylvania. It was such a letdown as it seemed most games were over at halftime. We went from 16-14 in Tom Young's last year to 8-20, 8-21 and 7-22. I even attended a gathering I think in Somerset with my wife when RU hired Littlepage. We all got to meet him and I still have the mug that was given out to everyone who attended. It is a collector's item and we had big hopes for RU.
This was a good find. Had some good info and quotes in it.
I agree, it’s never been worse that it was under Littlepage he was recruiting at a high D2 to patriot League level (No offense intended since he is a good guy, but Zucker would have killed it at Lehigh).
Reading k1212’s post maybe I should be a bit softer on Littlepage… after all as he points out he did win 23 games (over THREE seasons)
. I remember he was sold as a master recruiter 
since he was credited with landing Ralph Sampson at UVA.Speaking of Ralph Sampson, for some reason I can't see "Derek Simpson" without thinking of former NBA player (and father of singer India Arie) Ralph Simpson, not to be confused with Ralph Sampson. I don't know why. It's not like there's someone named Derek Sampson.I agree, it’s never been worse that it was under Littlepage he was recruiting at a high D2 to patriot League level (No offense intended since he is a good guy, but Zucker would have killed it at Lehigh).
Reading k1212’s post maybe I should be a bit softer on Littlepage… after all as he points out he did win 23 games (over THREE seasons)