Only because RU fans are upset that some of us have questioned the long-term feasibility of Brecht's strategy is this even be couched as "Rutgers vs Everyone." There's also a huge difference between Michigan bringing in 4 transfers and Rutgers and Jacksonville bringing in 11. The questions people are asking is how this affects Rutgers' high school recruiting, how this reflects player development or misses on recruits (thus the need to bring in over 20% of your roster as transfers in 1 year), and if this is a sustainable path forward.Jldlax wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 8:37 pmHopFan16 wrote: ↑Fri Jul 07, 2023 3:58 pmHostility? I’m offering some very mild criticism of a strategy that lots of people think is insane, and he simply cannot handle it. This is the transfer thread and Rutgers is adding a historic number of transfers this year, so it’s worthy of discussion.
Players leaving en masse is not the only evidence of an issue. Losing 5 of the last 6 games and the offense sputtering to a halt when one transfer gets injured because there isn’t anyone behind him on the depth chart who has been developed to a point where they’re ready to contribute…that’s also an issue. Bringing in 12 guys can compound that issue. If you can’t see that then it’s because you’re choosing not to IMO. Which is understandable. I wouldn’t want to see it either.
Melendez and Mazzone helped a ton but another reason Hopkins had a good year was the play of Matt Collison, Brooks English, and Carson Brown — freshmen whose development was not impeded by a dozen transfers. Rutgers didn’t get much at all from their underclassmen last season. Kulas had a good first half and then fell off a cliff down the stretch. The clock is ticking. They needed some juice down the stretch and there wasn’t one underclassman they could turn to. That’s not a problem? Good luck with that moving forward.
I do not understand the argument vs. Rutgers - yet is OK for the top teams to use the portal? Duke just picked up a solid grad transfer attackman despite the starting attack on the national finalist returning. VA picks up the Tufts A when they have so many 5 star attackmen you can’t keep track.
Rutgers is doing what needs to be done to try to stay competitive in top 3 conference. If the coaches lines up 11 transfers so be it.
My opinion, which is just that, is that this isn't a sustainable strategy. What fueled RU's QF and FF runs were a very good base of home-grown players supplemented by 3-4 elite transfers (i.e., the Kirsts). Last year for RU was an objective failure by their own standards under Brecht. The reload through the portal with a bunch of one-and-dones looks risky and makes me think recruiting post-Final 4 didn't really pick up; and that the players they have recruited aren't good enough to even develop into starters.
We're going to find out this year, right? Because the B1G is going to be loaded for bear. Hopkins will probably be the preseason favorite. The Terps will rebound to their Final 4 norm. Penn State just welcomed back 6, 6th year players and have the best goalie in the nation returning. Michigan has some losses, but they brought in 3 or 4 elite graduate transfers. That's going to be a very tough Top 4 for Rutgers and OSU to break into given that they're basically rebuilding their rosters on the fly through the portal after down 2023 seasons.
But let's not mistake people discussing strategies as everyone being against Rutgers.