OT: Pikiell's doing good work

[Matrim55]

Beat No. 15 Seton Hall 71-65 today. They're now 10-3 with wins mostly over scrubs, but they've played tough against unbeaten Florida State and Michigan State (also got blown out by Minnesota for their only other loss).

If they win their next two (Stony Brook & Hartford at home), they'll be in very good shape as the Big 10 season starts. And honestly, looking at how bad some of the teams in the Big 10 are this year, a 20-win season would not be out of the question.

Nice to see a coach with UConn ties doing so well. Too bad it's at Rutgers and not here.

 

[UCDaveD]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

 

[champs99and04]

I'm going to hold off on this for a little bit. He's done enough to grab people's attention, but I want to see them not go 4-14 in conference before I get too impressed. This felt a little too much like those wins Mike Rice got early in his tenure.

 

[Matrim55]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

Looking forward to seeing how they handle their January schedule. If they run the table at home they'll head into the last month of the season at 16-8 and maybe on the NCAA tourney bubble. Run the table at home + steal road wins at Penn State and/or Illinois (very possible), and they'd probably be considered a tourney team.

Pikiell's already proved he can build a small program from scratch. If he can resurrect a P5 program from the dead, the dude will become a hot commodity.

And it needs to be said: Rutgers aren't doing this because they have one lights-out shooter or something. They're just really, really well coached – defend well, rebound well, don't turn it over much, hit their rotations, etc.

It's nice to see.

I'm going to hold off on this for a little bit. He's done enough to grab people's attention, but I want to see them not go 4-14 in conference before I get too impressed. This felt a little too much like those wins Mike Rice got early in his tenure.

Perhaps. We'll definitely know more at the end of January. The low bar is beating Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska at home, at the very least. Add in Ohio State and one road win, and this thing'll have legs.

 

[zls44]

I'm going to hold off on this for a little bit. He's done enough to grab people's attention, but I want to see them not go 4-14 in conference before I get too impressed.

Or you could be like people on here who wanted to hire Tom Moore before he won a thing at Quinnipiac.


Still waiting for him to win a thing, btw.

 

[ZenConn]

Here we go. In 3, 2, 1...

 

[upstater]

What I love about Pikiell is that he stole a recruit from UConn in Montez Mathis, despite the kid wanting to come to UConn. That was great by Pikiell. Wonder what he said.

 

[CL82]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

Matrim55?

 

[Tuna]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

You think highly of yourself...

 

[UCDaveD]

You think highly of yourself...

Lol!

 

[Hurleyman216]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

Stop with the BS already. You have no insider info, so just stop.

 

[UconnFanDC]

I'm going to hold off on this for a little bit. He's done enough to grab people's attention, but I want to see them not go 4-14 in conference before I get too impressed. This felt a little too much like those wins Mike Rice got early in his tenure.

Really though? Lol. I will hold my comments on this comment. Keep watching and comparing.

 

[UconnFanDC]

I watched the entire game, they looked like a Uconn coached team. That’s All,

 

[ecasadoSBU]

Beat No. 15 Seton Hall 71-65 today. They're now 10-3 with wins mostly over scrubs, but they've played tough against unbeaten Florida State and Michigan State (also got blown out by Minnesota for their only other loss).

If they win their next two (Stony Brook & Hartford at home), they'll be in very good shape as the Big 10 season starts. And honestly, looking at how bad some of the teams in the Big 10 are this year, a 20-win season would not be out of the question.

Nice to see a coach with UConn ties doing so well. Too bad it's at Rutgers and not here.

We miss Pikiell so much at Stony Brook. I'm glad he is doing well at Rutgers. All around great person and coach.

Wish him the best.

Gotta say I was rooting for The Hall today. But I'm happy for him

 

[uconnphil2016]

We're all aware that he can out recruit us, so that's another plus

 

[Matrim55]

I watched the entire game, they looked like a Uconn coached team. That’s All,

They play tough and don't allow easy gaps or second-chance points. It's not pretty, but it's been effective so far.

I hope it keeps going.

 

[ruthetiger]

I never thought I'd ever see this team beat SHU, but it' a good win for sure. Would love to see more improvement by this team and this program, but the kudos is a lot coming from you guys.

 

[Pudge]

Or you could be like people on here who wanted to hire Tom Moore before he won a thing at Quinnipiac.


Still waiting for him to win a thing, btw.

Do you think Rutgers fans - or 355 other MM schools - would dismiss KO three years after a NC. This is the bar.

I hate how we have played (and mostly Win) this year. But the Point remains ... we should not jump for Tom Moore, Pikiell, Danny Hurley - particularly while the culture and Calhoun is still in the hardwood smell - so fast. Economics? Yeah. There’s no Randy to take the $1 store bargain discount. KO MAY be your savior haters ... he may choose to move on. But I suggest we root on this years Team.

 

[UCDaveD]

Stop with the BS already. You have no insider info, so just stop.

Believe whatever you want. AD David Benedict is not just playing the fiddle, despite what you want so desperately to believe.

 

[navery12]

Do you think Rutgers fans - or 355 other MM schools - would dismiss KO three years after a NC. This is the bar.

I hate how we have played (and mostly Win) this year. But the Point remains ... we should not jump for Tom Moore, Pikiell, Danny Hurley - particularly while the culture and Calhoun is still in the hardwood smell - so fast. Economics? Yeah. There’s no Randy to take the $1 store bargain discount. KO MAY be your savior haters ... he may choose to move on. But I suggest we root on this years Team.

I'm not necessarily in the Fire KO crowd yet, though I'm starting to lean that way. But this isn't a normal situation, and waiting too long will have big consequences. I think given enough time KO could figure this out and become a good coach. But we don't have the luxury of waiting that out

 

[mauconnfan]

Yes, and people, important people, are taking notice.

We are talking you, superjohn, Huskybass, JMick and who else..?

 

[UCDaveD]

We are talking you, superjohn, Huskybass, JMick and who else..?

Lol!

 

[Storrs South]

 

[Matrim55]

With Donyell – who's done great work in his 18 months at CCSU – as associate head coach/big man coach!

 

[SouthBayHusky]

Do you think Rutgers fans - or 355 other MM schools - would dismiss KO three years after a NC. This is the bar.

I hate how we have played (and mostly Win) this year. But the Point remains ... we should not jump for Tom Moore, Pikiell, Danny Hurley - particularly while the culture and Calhoun is still in the hardwood smell - so fast. Economics? Yeah. There’s no Randy to take the $1 store bargain discount. KO MAY be your savior haters ... he may choose to move on. But I suggest we root on this years Team.

Don’t you mean 4 years ago? If your measurement is consistent, that was the 2014 season, and we’re in the 2018 season. And, I don’t think anyone here hates KO. We want to be competitive and somewhat relevant. If we fail to make the tournament again this year, it makes literally 1 appearance in four years, and that’s unacceptable, and why attendance is reaching a record low. It’s just not sustainable. Obviously, we’re all praying KO gets the program back to some relevancy, but there are few to no signs of improvement. This is just a fact. But I wish people would please stop saying that because the fanbase is dissatisfied with Kevin Ollie’s performance that equates to hatred for him. Our allegiance is to a team, not a coach, and when your beloved team fails year after year after year after year, you can’t keep doing the same thing expecting different results. He deserves the end of the season, and everybody is rooting for us to win, but just because were rooting and wanting to win doesn’t mean people aren’t fans when expressing realistic expectations that we will probably not win. That said, there’s always a chance of a little Husky magic late in season and it at least gives us a sliver of hope, which even the most dissatisfied of us will cling to.