Now that Rutgers has been in the league for the requisite 6 years and is now a full financial member, what is their ceiling on the hardwood?

I've always liked the Rutgers addition. They have a lot of built in advantages that they have never really been able to take advantage of because of the lack of financial resources and questionable at best administrative and faculty support. These advantages include: fertile recruiting territory for all sports, proximity to large media market, a huge alumni network, extremely wealthy and influential alumni (especially on the coast). I genuinely think that at least in basketball, being in the B1G, has awaken a sleeping giant.

Big props to Coach Pikiell and athletic director Pat Hobbs. In a reasonably short time they have put pieces in place and Rutgers is a legit contender for the top third of the B1G... and still appears to be on the rise. They are now winning big time recruiting battles, the RAC (eff you pandemic) is among the loudest venues in the country, the tri-state area is getting excited about the Knights, and the should be able to hang onto Coach Pikiell because of the B1G revenue.
On a side note it's early in the Greg Schiano part 2 campaign but they are looking good on the gridiron as well.
Lest we forget, Joe Paterno long lobbied for a 12th school and often mentioned Rutgers... Joe knew something.

I think Rutgers was a good selection as well, and thought so at the time. They brought immediate money to everyone as well as needed expansion of the recruiting footprint of the conference. On top of that, they bring a huge upside in sports if they ever get their crap together. So while they have never really done much of anything in football or men's basketball, they always had and probably will have the foundation to build something special.

For basketball, they have a super high ceiling but it will be incredibly difficult to reach the top of the conference. For starters, everyone recruits NYC and their are a lot of other local schools that have the history and brand that Rutgers doesn't yet. Then there's the biggest brands like Duke that have a foothold in NYC just by being Duke. Same goes for Philadelphia but to a lesser degree. At least Rutgers has these nearby metros to draw from unlike say a Penn State or maybe a Nebraska.

(12-17-2020 09:07 PM)GE and MTS Wrote:  I think Rutgers was a good selection as well, and thought so at the time. They brought immediate money to everyone as well as needed expansion of the recruiting footprint of the conference. On top of that, they bring a huge upside in sports if they ever get their crap together. So while they have never really done much of anything in football or men's basketball, they always had and probably will have the foundation to build something special.

For basketball, they have a super high ceiling but it will be incredibly difficult to reach the top of the conference. For starters, everyone recruits NYC and their are a lot of other local schools that have the history and brand that Rutgers doesn't yet. Then there's the biggest brands like Duke that have a foothold in NYC just by being Duke. Same goes for Philadelphia but to a lesser degree. At least Rutgers has these nearby metros to draw from unlike say a Penn State or maybe a Nebraska.

Well said!

It looks like we at long last have finally goon or **** ( got our shi+) together. The new practice facility has been a game changer. RU went from being the only P5 program to not have a separate arena and practice facility, to having one of the best practice families (facilities) in the country. Pikiell was a homer (home run ) hire. He has changed the entire culture of the basketball team exactly as Schiano did football. The RAC is still an old and ****** barebones building, but when it('s - F'ing auto correct) full, it is so loud the networks have to filter out the cloud noise so the announcers audio can be heard on tv. It's only been a couple of years, but I personally believe that Rutgers is on its way to being a perennial top 20 team and BIG contender.

(12-20-2020 07:35 PM)mikeinsec127 Wrote:  It looks like we at long last have finally goon or **** together. The new practice facility has been a game changer. RU went from being the only P5 program to not have a separate arena and practice facility, to having one of the best practice families in the country. Pikiell was a homer hire. He has changed the entire culture of the basketball team exactly as Schiano did football. The RAC is still an old and ****** barebones building, but when it full, it is so loud the networks have to filter out the cloud noise so the announcers audio can be heard on tv. It's only been a couple of years, but I personally believe that Rutgers is on its way to being a perennial top 20 team and BIG contender.

I agree. East Coast hoops at its finest. Jersey, NYC, Philly... They are a potential giant.