False hope was a trend for Rutgers' fans during the 1990’s and the entirety of Scarlet Nation set themselves up for the disappointment that would be forthcoming. Buzz over NIT appearances and Big East Tournament wins were too quickly triggered and RU fans felt on top of the world—as if a climb was in the near future.
To further put the whole mess that would ensue into perspective, Rutgers' basketball was not always an afterthought before Wenzel’s arrival (he won the 1989 A-10 championship in dramatic fashion at a raucous Rutgers Athletic Center over Penn St.).
While the Craig Littlepage days were more than forgettable, the Scarlet Knights had appeared in the 1976 Final Four under Tom Young, boasting a 31-0 record before losing twice that weekend to finish off the best season in school history.
Led by greats in Mike Dabney, Phil Sellers, James Bailey, Hollis Copeland, Abdel Anderson, and current Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan (amongst others), RU proved to be the class of northeast college basketball.
Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights' program, Kevin Bannon made some poor choices when it came to motivational tactics. Ultimately a “naked free throw shooting scandal” led to his firing in 2001 along with the relative disgracing of the school and basketball team.
Athletic Director Bob Mulcahy was left searching for a coach. The end of the process led to a five year period that would restore character to Rutgers and create some slight improvements, basketball wise.
The team, however, was still nowhere near where it needed to be during an era when the Big East was starting to become the power conference that it is today.
Strike one, swing and a miss on Eddie Sutton (hallelujah on that one!). Strike two (the one that hurt) on Jay Wright.
Due to perception being at an all-time low, Mulcahy took the safe but correct choice at the time, as he hired a man of great faith and a winning pedigree at Kent St.—Gary Waters.
I get blasted for this all the time, but I was one of the staunchest supporters of GW. He took a job that nobody dared to step into and established the RAC as a top five home court in the nation within three years. His defensive tactics were second-to-none and he clearly knew the game.
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