Perspective might be a useful tool.
- Seton Hall did not make the tourney last year - but made the prior 4 tourneys in a row (there was no tourney in 2019/20) - Willard has a history to draw on as well as more recent examples of NBA entry directly from SHU.
- Until the past 2 years - Rutgers has sucked for Decades.
- There was no tourney in 2019/20 so you really can't count that as a tourney year for RU regardless of how they played
- Part of the allure of RU is the RAC. There were no fans at the RAC last year in our first Tourney year in decades
- Pike runs a defensive focused scrappy style - you may not like it, but it has elevated the program significantly over a period of his first 4 years to a contending level that is higher than it has been in ~40 years and 7 previous head coaches.
I have to see more of Hyatt and Jones to declare that RU does not (definitively) have any shooters within the current rotation.
Yes, Willard has a track record of winning, but they went from a bad season last year to hitting the portal hard and forming a team that can compete and beat Michigan.
Rutgers HAS sucked, I get that. My issue is, we’ve done better every year since Pike has gotten here, and for whatever reason he hasn’t really put together a full class since the Harper class. That’s an issue. Landing Cliff, Jones, and PM was great, but he needs to get a complete class
The point on the RAC is valid. I can see how that would impact recruiting.
Tourney or no tourney, the point remains that we had a great season. The 2022 early signing period should have been better with the momentum we had the last two seasons.
You are right about Pike’s style elevating the program. My concern is at what point do players shy away from that. Let’s face it, guys want to score. And I know the defensive style worked for Virginia, but they also had shooters. I guess I’m just frustrated and overreacting to trailing at the half for the first three games against mediocre teas. Pike even said this was his best team. Do I believe him? No, but I trust him. He’s done a lot here in 5+ years. We’ve seen what he can do with talent. I’m just very concerned about bringing more talent in