Pikiell Lifetime Contract

[businesslawyer]

Rutgers wouldn't renege that deal if they had a chance to do so today.

Pikiell has provided Rutgers something it hasn't had: stability and respect. After not getting ranked since 1979 and not making the tournament since 1991, Pikiell has led Rutgers to three tournament selections and three seasons that included a top-25 ranking in the last four years.

Right now, Rutgers isn't looking for championships, they want respect, and they've gotten it: attendance at the RAC has skyrocketed and the passion of its fanbase inside the building is back. If anyone watched last night's game (I caught OT, which was a blast to watch), it was clear that the RAC was rockin'.

This season made a major turn when their second best defender, Mawot Mag, tore his ACL: 16-7 before the injury and 3-8 after.

Pikiell has really improved their recruiting too: he still finds diamonds in the rough (McConnell #344, Simpson #226, Mag #212, Mulcahy #151), but recent four- and five-star pickups like Omoruyi in '20, Griffiths in '23 and Bailey in '24 have each separately been the highest ranked recruit in program history.

It's contrarian here, but as someone who dislikes B10 basketball, never thought of Rutgers as an actual rival (they were trash in the Big East!) and has genuine respect for Pikiell, I'm entertained following the program's development under Pikiell.

They were never a rival in hoops. They absolutely were a rival in football. (Probably were in women’s hoops too, but I’ll leave that to folks who follow it much more.)

But your point is correct. Unlike our fan base, their goal when a new coach came in was not to get back to conference championships and final fours. It was to be a competitive power conference team. And this hire has accomplished that goal. Remember, this is the school who hired a basketball coach that lied about having graduated from college, where the coach told Rutgers he had a degree from Rutgers when he didn’t.

 

[jibsey]

Rutgers is lucky to have him. Schooled by Calhoun, a solid hard working coach who will be successful over the long run. So he lost a basketball game, so what?

 

[ctchamps]

I’m convinced that athletic directors are frequently the stupidest people on a college campus. No offense to Steve Pikiell, but giving him a lifetime contract is insanity. Rutger has been so god-awful that they somehow mistook middling for magical. They bid against themselves there.



I’d rather have Benedict.

Some splaining needs to be made with these two statements.

Bob Diaco, RE 2.0, and your opinion about KO seem to linger in our background. Do you believe Benedict has figured things out and redeemed himself? Or were you just going for hilarity?

 

[CL82]

If UConn had had the entire off-season to replace Calhoun I believe Steve would be the UConn coach right now. But that also probably means no 2014, so....

I actually think it would’ve been Shaka Smart. He was openly campaigning for the job. Does that mean no 2014? I don’t know. Smarts doing pretty well with a new group of kids this year.

 

[Waquoit]

Some splaining needs to be made with these two statements.

Bob Diaco, RE 2.0, and your opinion about KO seem to linger in our background. Do you believe Benedict has figured things out and redeemed himself? Or were you just going for hilarity?

It's pretty clear the statements are on two different subjects. Just as it's clear that Benedict is doing more for UConn than a bunch of alums that don't care that their guy tried to crater the program. Besides Diaco was Warde. And you can't gig Benedict, RE 2.0 either, imo.

 

[CL82]

And he's just over-compensating to not get called a homer.

I get the sense that he doesn’t particularly care for Hurley. May be a hangover from the KO firing?

 

[CL82]

They were never a rival in hoops. They absolutely were a rival in football. (Probably were in women’s hoops too, but I’ll leave that to folks who follow it much more.)

But your point is correct. Unlike our fan base, their goal when a new coach came in was not to get back to conference championships and final fours. It was to be a competitive power conference team. And this hire has accomplished that goal. Remember, this is the school who hired a basketball coach that lied about having graduated from college, where the coach told Rutgers he had a degree from Rutgers when he didn’t.

Yeah, and that wasn’t the most embarrassing thing ever done by a Rutgers coach by a wide margin. Does the phrase “naked free throws” ring any bells?

 

[ctchamps]

It's pretty clear the statements are on two different subjects. Just as it's clear that Benedict is doing more for UConn than a bunch of alums that don't care that their guy tried to crater the program. Besides Diaco was Warde. And you can't gig Benedict, RE 2.0 either, imo.

It was fishy humor all the way. But the pragmatic is what you point out.

A part of me felt envious as @FriarJ was pointing out the gifting some of the basketball alum have made to Providence. And Carmelo with Syracuse.

Would love to have something like that happen from our bb players. At least we have a women's crew alumnus who is helping.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

A part of me felt envious as @FriarJ was pointing out the gifting some of the basketball alum have made to Providence. And Carmelo with Syracuse.

Would love to have something like that happen from our bb players.

You hear you on this but to be fair, a number of our basketball players did gift us with four national championships, which is three more than the combined number two schools that you mentioned have.

 

[REB1094]

I am pro-Pikielle but I wonder what the reaction here would be if it was OUR coach missing the tournament and then getting bounced in the first round of the NIT at home after blowing a 2 possession lead in the last 30 seconds…

 

[Slick]

I am pro-Pikielle but I wonder what the reaction here would be if it was OUR coach missing the tournament and then getting bounced in the first round of the NIT at home after blowing a 2 possession lead in the last 30 seconds…

He would be fired.

 

[Palatine]

It was fishy humor all the way. But the pragmatic is what you point out.

A part of me felt envious as @FriarJ was pointing out the gifting some of the basketball alum have made to Providence. And Carmelo with Syracuse.

Would love to have something like that happen from our bb players. At least we have a women's crew alumnus who is helping.

For years Calhoun said that the former UConn players had "done enough" for the university and he didn't ask for their financial help for the program. So there is no culture of donating to the program for many of our former guys who made a ton.