Fanshots

The seven presidents need to listen to him and do what he suggests or they will be destined to...

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The seven presidents need to listen to him and do what he suggests or they will be destined to repeat some bad history, where the personal agenda of certain schools became more important than the good of the group.

Good god. Does Hoops Weiss not have an irony detector? So basically, I called this a few days ago when the whole shadow commissioner thing came out, and this is as clear a trial balloon as any. The Big East basketball schools really could let the inept Mike Tranghese and Providence take dictatorial power over the conference again. They really intend to bury their heads in the sand and pretend that it's 1985. Uh, good luck with that.

But The Post has learned all it will take is one crack, the slightest crack, and there almost...

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But The Post has learned all it will take is one crack, the slightest crack, and there almost surely will be a new basketball coach at Rutgers next season, or before the end of the current season.

Lenn Robbins confirms Jerry Carino's story on Mike Rice. At the same time, Rice is said to be taking the suspension seriously and wants to do right by his family and the team.

Here locally, Rutgers has sold 5,000 of its 12,500 ticket allotment for the Russell Athletic Bowl...

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Here locally, Rutgers has sold 5,000 of its 12,500 ticket allotment for the Russell Athletic Bowl on Dec. 28 at the Citrus Bowl. The Scarlet Knights opponent, Virginia Tech, has only sold 2,600 tickets so far with each of the school’s charging $72 per ticket according to their websites. While on Stubhub.com, tickets are going from as low as $4 per ticket to as high as $218.

Wondering about bowl ticket sales?The Orlando Sentinel has you covered. This is a little shocking considering that Virginia Tech is considered among the best traveling programs, but it probably shouldn't be considering their disappointing season. Undoubtedly, they still probably will have a great showing at the game, but most fans will be inclined to buy tickets in the secondary market instead.

Only Rutgers and Boise State had overall GSR rates for football student athletes that were better...

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Only Rutgers and Boise State had overall GSR rates for football student athletes that were better than the overall student-athletes.

With a 91% graduation success rateRutgers ranks among the best of this year's bowl teams for academic achievement. 91% is great, but a 90% graduation success rate for African Americans is even better when you have so many SEC teams that are basically unable to graduate minority players. If you're interested in that topic, this might be of interest as well.

And so Rutgers winds up undefeated, untied and, to its sorrow, uninvited to any of the established...

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And so Rutgers winds up undefeated, untied and, to its sorrow, uninvited to any of the established bowls. (The team voted to reject overtures from the Independence Bowl in Baton Rouge, La., where its opponent would have been McNeese State.) How good are the Scarlet Knights? The team's detractors point to the undemanding schedule, which included four Division II opponents, but Rutgers beat Louisville 34-0, while Pitt defeated the Cardinals 27-6 and Alabama beat them 24-3. Nonetheless, it seems a shame that the Tangerine Bowl, for instance, did not choose to pair Rutgers with Oklahoma State.

Know who else turned down the Independence Bowl besides Louisiana Tech this year? Undefeated Rutgers in 1976, that's who. As the article notes among other historical details, Rutgers had also rejected the Gotham Bowl in 1960, and bids to the Sun and Aviation bowls in 1961, as bowls did not gain much cachet until the past few decades, and Rutgers was historically an academic school that did not emphasize big-time athletics. The strangest part of this story may be the 1961 rumor that Rutgers was under consideration for the Rose Bowl. Ironically, Rutgers was denied an Independence Bowl bid in 1992, leading to a long bowl-less streak that did not end until 2005. Update: I briefly recalled this earlier, but got the details wrong and lost track of the thread before it started being discussed on the boards - Rutgers was in the mix for the Cherry Bowl in 1984, but lost it to an Army team it had beaten. In 1976, another article also mentions the Peach, Tangerine, and Sun Bowls. It also appears that Rutgers rejected the Tangerine and Bluegrass Bowls in 1958 as well.

It doesn’t really matter what conference I play in. I came to Rutgers to play for Rutgers. I...

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It doesn’t really matter what conference I play in. I came to Rutgers to play for Rutgers. I haven’t really thought about it that much. Big Ten is great basketball, Big East is great basketball. I just want to play, that’s all.

Myles Mack on the Big Ten move.

"All of the deals are a little bit different," he said. "What will happen is, in six years,...

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"All of the deals are a little bit different," he said. "What will happen is, in six years, everyone who comes in -- whether it was Nebraska, Rutgers or Maryland -- six years hence will be in the same place. But in the transition they’re all a little bit different. They will be made whole at a certain time. Everybody’s different because everybody is coming from a different place."

I doubt this calms down the pitchfork-wielding masses today, but maybe it helps. Rutgers doesn't get a full Big Ten share for six years, which is fine, and to be expected. P.S. Totally, totally and unironically down with this. That would be awesome!

I just ate a lot, every second. Mike Johansen, our strength and conditioning trainer, had something...

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I just ate a lot, every second. Mike Johansen, our strength and conditioning trainer, had something where he said 'Every time I see you, you should be eating something.' It's hard for me to put on weight. I had a lot of PB & J's (peanut butter and jelly). I ate before I went to bed and as soon as I woke up. I just knew in the BIG EAST, experiencing what I experienced last year, that I needed to gain more weigh and be more physical or I wouldn't last long.

Kadeem Jack talks to Matt Hladik during Media Day.

Here Comes the Media Day Optimism!

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I don’t know. I don’t care. If we can focus on playing for one another and playing to our strengths, we’re going to be successful. Don’t worry about I have to make this many shots, I have to get this many points. We certainly have a rebounding presence in the paint which we really haven’t had in my two years here, and that will pay immediate dividends

Thanks to RVision, Coach Mike Rice addressed the media on Media day. Here he talks about his expectations for Junior transfer forward Wally Judge. Plenty of other interesting stuff in the video. Coach Rice seems extremely confident, but appears to want to subdue that excitement just a hair. Find more from Jerry Carino here. And his article on the Knights' improvements in the weight room here. And a fantastic article on Judge here. Basketball is coming very soon. Lots for RU fans to look forward to.