You be you. Do what you do. Do it your way. It is your big chance and you owe it to yourself to do it your way. Not Pike's way. Not Zinn's way. Not the players' way. Not the assistant coaches' way. Not Frank Sinatra's way. It's not a popularity contest. A ship has but one wheel. You are at the helm. It's not random. Your path has brought you here. Let the players know how badly you want it. Find out which ones have the same heart. Include your family Don't exclude your family. Pray.
Any Advice for Head Coach Knight
- Thread starter NightKnight
- Start date
It’ll be fine. For all the same reasons the transition from Flats to Turner is looking to be a disaster, the basketball side of Pike’s health issues will be smooth sailing regardless of how the team performs. Pike and Brandin are basically family at this point and the returning players know this and the others will follow their lead. Pike will want nothing more than for Brandin to get his opportunity to show what he can do when Pike can’t be there. And Brandin will have no problem for Pike to pop in and put stepping back into his role.
I wish Pikiell the best and hope he gets well soon because he's a good guy. Aside from recruiting, Knight has shown us almost nothing.
Doesn’t matter right now. He’s an interim coach who has been a part of the program for many years and has a good relationship with Pike. That is the type of guy you want stepping in when facing an unfortunate situation like this.
Doesn’t matter right now. He’s an interim coach who has been a part of the program for many years and has a good relationship with Pike. That is the type of guy you want stepping in when facing an unfortunate situation like this.
I don't want to sound harsh, but I think it does matter that Pike's replacement can actually coach. From that perspective, as I said, Knight has shown very little, good relationship or not. We don't have anyone else anyway so it is what it is.
I understand your point, but I will say that sometimes in life people have a way of coming together and banding as a unit when facing adversity like this. Obviously this is the last situation in the world anyone would want to be in, but at the same time it takes some pressure off the season and has potential to promote team unity in a way that is often otherwise lacking in the NIL era.
At the end of the day, yes, talent still matters and of course none of this is a guarantee. But what Im trying to say here is that usually when things go well on the court in these situations it’s for the reason above which is made possible by program continuity. If Pike had been pressured to clean house and inserted a “Jim Turner” whose approach was a 180 from what we’ve previously done, the basketball outlook for the season would be worse IMO even if the replacement projected to be a better coach in the long run.
Advice for Coach Knight - Don’t read these boards!
This is a time to be both a coach and a good friend. If Coach Pikiel is ready, willing and able to come back next season, there is no way Rutgers is firing him no matter the result. Coach Knight should work with Pikiel who will likely stay involved as much as he is able. Coach Knight will need to both step up and step aside this season depending upon Coach Pikiel’s health and his desire to stay involved.
He’s only the interim for away games, Pike expects to be at home games and road trips that are within the area.
Would love to see us focus.more on offense.
That and take good care of Steve...he's a gem of a human being
That and take good care of Steve...he's a gem of a human being
Totally different vibe. I don’t have personal knowledge, but with CVS, it seemed like she took an extension and extra money and then abandoned the program. Pikiel truly is limited in how involved he can be during treatment, but he seems to want to keep the program moving forward to the fullest extent he can.
We all wish Pike the best for a speedy recovery, and naturally we want the team to succeed for him, as a good result on the court will lift his spirits.
With respect to our on-the-court efforts, I would like to see us run a motion offense, something that is harder to defend than a slow iso set-up. On defense I’d like to see us leverage our depth by pressing and trapping consistently.
That said, I’ll take good news about Pike’s health over anything related to basketball.
With respect to our on-the-court efforts, I would like to see us run a motion offense, something that is harder to defend than a slow iso set-up. On defense I’d like to see us leverage our depth by pressing and trapping consistently.
That said, I’ll take good news about Pike’s health over anything related to basketball.
Highly doubt Knight is going to change too much in Pike's absence. The team has learned Pike's system for the past several months, and BK will likely be just continuing to play the same system rather than trying to implement "his" own changes.
It seems like Coach Knight will have less of a lead. A head coach for away games and times when Coach Pikiell's condition doesn't permit him to be there. I've never heard a season where an Asst HC takes over on away games. I don't see how that makes basketball sense. It seems like trying to do the nice thing, but not the right thing. The dynamic is too weird. You travel and eat and spend a lot more time together on away games. I've always thought of away games as being more than half the season and more than half the job.
Chemo is debilitating. From my experience, it hurts your diet, your sleep, your concentration. I don't see how the plan is good for Steve's health, the program, or Coach Knight. I've got to question how Zinn would go for this.
Knight will have a HC position , hopefully not in the B1G but in a major conference program
She didn't step down for a year. She signed a new contract, then took a leave of absence the very next day. Absolute trash move on her part. Should wipe her name off the court. It's embarrassing.
We focused more on offense two seasons ago and it didn't work out real well. Our best years were when we focused on defense and rebounding
Pike will join the team when he’s feeling up to it. Again, Brandon is like family. There will be nothing awkward or disruptive about the arrangement. That doesn’t mean we’ll be a good team, but this not something that’s likely to cause chemistry issues.
We have no idea what the ongoing treatment plan is. The only thing Pike disclosed was that the surgery went well.
Pike , so far, hasn't stepped down.,
This is not like what you're implying , but more like when Vivian took time off during the 2018-19 season
Stringer took time off February 2019 due to health reasons.
Missed the remainder of the 2018–2019 season, while assistant coach Timothy Eatman filled in.
Returned to the sidelines for the 2019–2020 season opener in November 2019
C. Vivian Stringer coached Rutgers for the entirety of the 2019–2020 season without taking any leaves of absence or missing games for health reasons.
Poke hopefully will beat the cancer and be able to return and coach Rutgers again , fully healthy
Let's not try to compare Pike's taking time off to fight his cancer and Knight being named Interim HC with CVS' leaving and try to show support and not question what he intends to do by implying something most RU cans consider a self centered move that hurt a RU Sports Program
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