Stringer's off-the-court antics are far more interesting than what's on it
Posted
2/9/2013 11:30:00 PM
The most exciting thing that happened to the Rutgers women's basketball program at the RAC this weekend wasn't Saturday evening's lackluster 55-46 victory over a Cincinnati team that's winless in the Big East. (How about that comeback from nine points down in the second half to beat the 0-10 Bearcats!) No, it was when head coach Vivian Stringer imploded before the media Friday afternoon, calling out reporters for recently pointing out the Hall of Fame head coach has been performing below that level in recent years (1-28 against Top Ten teams since 2009), basically imploring athletic director Tim Pernetti to step up and renegotiate her contract (which expires after next season), criticizing, in unprecedented fashion, RU's other major revenue coaches for not winning enough AND shockingly saying that the talent on her team (laden with seven McDonald's All-Americans that SHE recruited) is not at the level she needs to regain national prominence. Say what you will but it's the first time during this 12-8 season that anyone but the diehard Scarlet Knight faithful were remotely interested in what Stringer had to say. But was she right in her rant? No! Stringer came across as irrational, desparate and as someone who can't come to grips with the fact that many are questioning whether her on-court performance is worthy of a $1,000,000-plus contract. (An average attendance of about 1,900...a 16-year-low at the RAC...is proof that many aren't buying what Stringer is selling.) Yes, she's sitting now on 899 career wins but that total recently has only increased on victories against the likes of Big East lesser lights Cincinnati, Marquette and Providence. All of us have accountability standards in our jobs...even a Hall of Fame head coach that is the highest-paid state employee in New Jersey. So it isn't too much for us to openly ask Vivian Stringer to get the ship righted and show a return on the university's sizeable investment.
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Bruce Johnson's Blog
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