If anyone still believes I’d love to know why.
Will Pike ever succeed at Rutgers again?
- Thread starter RUSCFORMERLYRULOU
- Start date
Program has jumped the shark big time since 2021
Nope, he's a goner. Can't cut it in the new world of NIL. Time to move on.
Always thought he was horrible. Can't coach and an awful evaluator of talent. He is a terrific cheerleader.
He probably will...in his second stint after he gets fired...we go through two new coaches who drop the program down way further...and then we hire him back as the only guy who can win at Rutgers since he got us to the dance.
It's the RU way...
It's the RU way...
Grass always seems brighter on the other side.. not to say pike is the answer- but who then... now its all bout who can control NIL funds. We gonna hire some shark assistant coach who just finds a way to "get it done" from some high level program.
They don’t have answer to those questions. It’s easier to just yell and complain. No assistant from any program is coming here and bringing NIL funds.
BTW - Pike is the only coach in 40 years to actually do it. No hypotheticals, he’s actually won here. Yes, the landscape has changed but the REAL question is will Rutgers figure out NIL? Because if they don’t, NO ONE is winning here.
No, you bring in a proven winner like Iowa (Ben McCollum) did and Maryland did, (Buzz Williams), who is now the coach of Maryland. He's been a winner wherever he's coached. Ben McCollum came from Drake, where he posted a 31-4 record. Before that, he coached Division 2 at Northwest Missouri State and won 4 national championships.
Now with NIL and revenue sharing, it's not as important for Rutgers to recruit in NJ or the metropolitan area. They can recruit the country and Europe for quality players. I think some people here are being a bit myopic (not you) in thinking our choice for a HC is limited. It's not.
None of that is happening at Rutgers given the current state of support.
The fate of the program(s) comes down to if Kelli is a legitimate fundraiser and can bring in major corporate partnerships. You can have the best coaches in the world but as the old saying goes, can’t make chicken soup out of chicken Sh*t!
You bring in anyone else. It’s been a clear steady decline that so many still don’t see. Lose play in game to ND. Collapse after Mag injury and lose to Hofstra. Don’t make post season. Then don’t make it with two lottery picks. Now lose to CCST. It’s clear he can’t win and when the buyout allows you move on. None of this what did you do 5-6-7 years ago. He got really lucky with a few early recruits that some stayed an extra year with Covid. He proved he lost his eye for talent back with the Reiber class. No NIL then. Jaden Jones. Come on. Now for those just blaming NIL, did CCST or some of the quad 4s that just pushed us also have more NIL?
What exactly did he win? With 2 high NBA picks he had a losing season. One tournament game victory? He would have been fired by most programs. In my opinion, we accept mediocracy.
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Have you been paying attention the last 40 years? No one has won at Rutgers. Pike had 4 straight years 2020-2024 where Rutgers was ncaa tournament worthy. That alone is a huge accomplishment. He also won a 2020 National Coach of the year award. 2020 finished 5th in the Big Ten and projected 7-9 seed before covid cut the season. 2021 finished 6th in the Big Ten and a 10 seed. 2022 finished 4th in the big the and 11 seed in the ncca. 2023 finished 9th, hosed by the ncaa tournament committee and #1 seed in the nit. His teams beat the number 1 team in the nation twice. Twice. What coach in any sport has done that at Rutgers? CVS probably. Maybe a non revenue sport or two. This stuff isn’t easy. Many of you under estimate how tough it is to win at Rutgers and just want coaches fired so we can hit the reset button and start over with another coach who will just fail. If you want Pike fired because you think he can’t compete in an NIL environment, that’s fair. But saying he hasn’t won anything or isn’t a good good coach is just stupid.
this is a Rutgers problem. Not a Steve Pikiell problem.
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You’re referencing a complacent fan base that will almost certainly storm the field Saturday if we finally beat penn state … the worst version of them in over a decade
Bob Wentzel won and went to two ncaas in the last 40 year. Watters had a 20 win season. What Pikiell did is five years+ old now. And it’s because of one group of kids that got to stick around a little longer because of COVID. It’s been a ton of misses after that including some pre Covid time. Maybe success is more of a RU problem than a Pike problem, but Pike isn’t the answer. Just ask CCST.
I would never decline a bowl game I’m just saying there’s no fan base who would do that against a mediocre penn state team
I’ve been at football and basketball games where it was warranted
Rutgers first big ten win against Michigan, basketball against Maryland and Purdue, etc
I’ve been at football and basketball games where it was warranted
Rutgers first big ten win against Michigan, basketball against Maryland and Purdue, etc
Looking at one game is never a good argument. You may be right on Pike. I’m not saying he should be given a lifetime job. I’m arguing that he has done more than anyone over the past 40 years and has seen lots of success no matter how some people spin it. The next coach… 1) isn’t going to be great and 2) is going to struggle if RU doesn’t fix the issues with NIL.
Pike won by building a culture that relied on upperclassman leadership and by getting lucky that RHJ and McConnell were largely under-recruited. They fed into and sustained that culture. That's going to be hard to replicate in the NIL era, especially with a coach that is unwilling to make the necessary changes to succeed.
The beauty of the NIL era is that the right coach COULD turn things around in a year. As has been argued, RU's history and resources make that difficult, but the next coach should at least offer hope. I've been a fan for 35+ years. I've lost hope that this regime will produce anything better than what we're seeing this year.
The beauty of the NIL era is that the right coach COULD turn things around in a year. As has been argued, RU's history and resources make that difficult, but the next coach should at least offer hope. I've been a fan for 35+ years. I've lost hope that this regime will produce anything better than what we're seeing this year.
Ranked 264th in 3-point defense (.347) and 309th in 2-point shooting (.482) against the 363rd-toughest schedule so far.
this includes our wins and is not a good look
It’s not one game. Complete team collapse after Mag injury, lost to Hofstra. Dismal team the next year and no tourney. The failing with two lottery pics. Now CCST. That’s a lot of hot garbage.
Cowbell, never say never. Pike has outworn his welcome, and I expect Keli to raise a certain amount of money to get rid of the cheerleader who can't coach offense to save his life. As I write this, RU is down by 34 to Tennessee with 10:35 to go.
I wouldn’t be that harsh with the “no,” but he’s very clearly over his skis here.
It’s been that way for the past 3 years or so, team does not play organized hoops.
He’ll get another year I’m sure, but the whole Greg going out and raising NIL money vs Pike not doing so is a bad look.
It’s been that way for the past 3 years or so, team does not play organized hoops.
He’ll get another year I’m sure, but the whole Greg going out and raising NIL money vs Pike not doing so is a bad look.
And you can see what a difference it make GS is scraping for what he can get just to stay on the right side of bowl eligibility
this basketball season is the reality some need to see when you ignore the hard truth of college athletics
this is what it is guys. And this is what it’s going be if we pretend it’s not. Not that anyone on here can solve it but saying it’s not a big part of the problem is wrong
the university as a whole needs to take a long look at what they want to actually try to do in athletics
The guy had two lottery picks and barely made the Big 10 conference tournament. If you were a great P5-level player, why would you ever come to play for him?
"Well, maybe he'll get three Top 5 NBA picks next year and we will comfortably make the conference tournament!!!"
"Well, maybe he'll get three Top 5 NBA picks next year and we will comfortably make the conference tournament!!!"
The University doesn't really have any decisions to make. They can't fire Pike (or Schiano) because the money isn't there to hire a replacement (this money will NEVER be there). The school doesn't have money to compete in NIL (and it will NEVER be there). We can't drop major college sports and remain in the Big 10. If we did drop major college sports, the Ivy League would laugh at us, which means we'd be in the Patriot League. Even finishing dead last in the Big 10 in Football and Basketball, the expenditures on the Athletics Department is the best money the school spends annually - Football and Basketball basically pay for themselves with Big 10 TV money and it's the best available advertising the school has.
So there we are. We're the doormat of a Power 2 conference until a Super Conference forms to play professional college football (and presumably basketball). It is far better for us to be in that conference (that will undoubtedly have a salary cap) than it would be for us to be out of it. So for now we sit and hope that conference forms sooner rather than later and that we are invited.
That's literally all the school can do.
Didn't Dark just point out that you were wrong?
Coach Pike is a good basketball coach, however not in this environment and not with a major program in the B1G. His success in 2019-2023 was in a different era and the changes that have occurred are drastic, of which he's unable to adapt to. There are places for Pike to coach and find success again. Rutgers University absolutely needs to buy him out and chart a different course. Coming up with the money is part of the business that Rutgers is in and the longer they wait the bigger the damage done to the brand and fanbase goodwill. Nobody sits on a Coach for multiple years that hits rock bottom and 3 years of losing, including the embarrassment of last year, as well as, what appears to be an awful team that has been assembled for this season, equates to the process of hitting rock bottom.
We should’ve stayed in our lane in the AAC if the school never committed to grow in athletics
Being dead last in the Big 10 is far preferable to winning the AAC every year for a decade.
Maybe. If you win the AAC every year in football you’re in the college football playoff
if you win the AAC in hoops every year you’re likely a top 7-8 seed and sell out your basketball games and fans have some hope
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