What has happened to the Rutgers women's basketball program?
Posted
1/13/2013 7:57:00 PM
We've all heard, year in and year out, about all the McDonald's All-Americans and all-staters that Rutgers women's basketball coach Vivian Stringer has brought into the Scarlet Knight program. But, if you haven't been playing close attention the past few years, the influx of talent has not translated recently into RU being a player on the nationwide scene. The Knights currently have lost three in a row following Sunday's 71-46 defeat at number-two Notre Dame in Big East action to fall to 0-3 in league, 9-7 overall, and not even in the same stratosphere of the national rankings. But, to break it down more, let's examine how Rutgers has done in the last few years against the three schools it's always measured against---Connecticut, Notre Dame and Tennessee. Bottom line---the Scarlet Knights have lost their last 22 games against that trio of national powers. How about how RU has done in the Big East in recent years? The last time the Knights have won the league regular season title was 2005-2006...seven years ago. So, the days of thinking the Rutgers women's basketball program is among the nation's elite are a thing of the past. And who do you blame for that? It's got to be Stringer. Yes, I know she's in the Hall of Fame and that she's knocking on the door of 900 wins...both remarkable achievements. But one of the main tenents of sports is "What have you done for me lately?"...and when it comes to Stringer, you candidly have to answer that by saying "Not much of import." You know, it's one thing to bring in a bevy of blue-chip recruits. But it's another to...as they say..."coach them up." The likes of UConn's Geno Auriemma and Notre Dame's Muffet McGraw continue to do it on an annual basis. It's time for Stringer and her staff to step up and do likewise. Otherwise, the Scarlet Knights will continue to slip under the national radar.
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