Back to the Wilderness

[BOGDANOVICH]

For 30 years, Rutgers basketball was in the wilderness. It seemed it would never end. Losing season after losing season, blowout loss after blowout loss, the program seemed in a downward spiral with no hope. And then Pike came along. He gave us two good years. He gave us hope. It seemed like the program had turned around. But it has turned out to be a tease. A mirage. An illusion with no foundation. We were given false hope. We were conned. No wonder there is so much anger toward him right now. There is no offense, no coaching, terrible recruiting, and no energy, and so we are back where we started, watching unwatchable basketball while we were told this is Pike's best team ever. Was this supposed to be a joke or a cynical manipulation of the fan base?

In either case, we are back to the wilderness, watching 35 point losses, watching unwatchable basketball.

 

[ColonelRutgers]

Other than maybe having an addiction to Rutgers basketball problem, I guess one of the reasons I never gave up my season tickets through all the losing and controversies is that I was always just hoping that some day we'd get back to the NCAAs and I'd want to be there to experience it. Not only have I seen the team make the NCAAs, I saw them win a game and for a fleeting moment I had realistic dreams of miraculously finding a path the Final Four. I saw them ranked for the first time in over 40 years getting as high as #11. That wasn't even a thought in my head. We played national name brand teams every night and came away with victories and showed we belonged on the court with them. With the pandemic we were really robbed of experiencing the excitement in person, but maybe I'll just have to be satisfied with what we did get and have to make a decision next year whether I'm willing to endure more seasons in the wilderness.

I know rosters can turn over quickly in this new world of player movement but I just don't see this staff being able to land multiple difference makers and convincing any players of value to stick around for the long haul. As long as we have decent crowds coming to the RAC, and with tickets already paid for the crowds will still be good most nights this year, they'll show a pulse at home and probably have some good nights. But the outlook for this program is really bleak right now. I have seen some bad teams over the years but this start as just about as bad as it gets.

On a good night Harper can be impressive but he's just surrounded by a team of guys who all have major flaws in their games and ideally would be the 8th or 9th man on a good team maybe. Geo or no Geo to come out of the gate in conference play against an unranked opponent with a 35 point loss is just completely unacceptable. I mean, how many nights do you see 35 point blowouts in Big Ten conference games? And frankly, I'm tired of the "lack of effort" type tweets by the like of Jerry Carino. That is an easy way to place the blame clearly on the shoulders of the players and give the coaching staff who recruited these flawed players and are supposed to be teaching them a pass. They may look demoralized and appear to be down and not fighting because they're not they're being outplayed because they are not nearly as talented as their opponents. Was it lack of effort at the beginning when we were making steals and playing good defense? No, we simply had no one that could put the ball in the basket and when that happens it feeling pretty hopeless. And the people playing are human.

 

[BOGDANOVICH]

Other than maybe having an addiction to Rutgers basketball problem, I guess one of the reasons I never gave up my season tickets through all the losing and controversies is that I was always just hoping that some day we'd get back to the NCAAs and I'd want to be there to experience it. Not only have I seen the team make the NCAAs, I saw them win a game and for a fleeting moment I had realistic dreams of miraculously finding a path the Final Four. I saw them ranked for the first time in over 40 years getting as high as #11. That wasn't even a thought in my head. We played national name brand teams every night and came away with victories and showed we belonged on the court with them. With the pandemic we were really robbed of experiencing the excitement in person, but maybe I'll just have to be satisfied with what we did get and have to make a decision next year whether I'm willing to endure more seasons in the wilderness.

I know rosters can turn over quickly in this new world of player movement but I just don't see this staff being able to land multiple difference makers and convincing any players of value to stick around for the long haul. As long as we have decent crowds coming to the RAC, and with tickets already paid for the crowds will still be good most nights this year, they'll show a pulse at home and probably have some good nights. But the outlook for this program is really bleak right now. I have seen some bad teams over the years but this start as just about as bad as it gets.

On a good night Harper can be impressive but he's just surrounded by a team of guys who all have major flaws in their games and ideally would be the 8th or 9th man on a good team maybe. Geo or no Geo to come out of the gate in conference play against an unranked opponent with a 35 point loss is just completely unacceptable. I mean, how many nights do you see 35 point blowouts in Big Ten conference games? And frankly, I'm tired of the "lack of effort" type tweets by the like of Jerry Carino. That is an easy way to place the blame clearly on the shoulders of the players and give the coaching staff who recruited these flawed players and are supposed to be teaching them a pass. They may look demoralized and appear to be down and not fighting because they're not they're being outplayed because they are not nearly as talented as their opponents. Was it lack of effort at the beginning when we were making steals and playing good defense? No, we simply had no one that could put the ball in the basket and when that happens it feeling pretty hopeless. And the people playing are human.

Agreed. But whether the problem is insufficient effort or inadequate talent,
it all falls on the coaches. They failed to recruit B10 players, they did not develop most of their developmental players, and they have no discernible offensive schemes. A recipe for the disaster that is now unfolding.