Previewing Rutgers: Aiming for program history, Steve Pikiell says 'let them doubt'
With so much of the old crew back and one more year of experience under their belts, Pikiell sees a path to a third straight NCAA Tournament berth, which would be a first in Rutgers history.
PISCATAWAY – Any chance he gets, Steve Pikiell will declare how proud he is that Rutgers did not lose a single player to the transfer portal last spring. He said so in his opening statement at Big Ten Media Day in Minneapolis, and he reiterated it to reporters gathered at Jersey Mike’s Arena on Friday for Rutgers’ local media day.
In terms of tone, he isn’t quite boasting – though more than a few coaches in the conference would kill to be in that position for one year. More than 1,500 players entered the transfer portal this offseason, after all, and Pikiell joked that it could be 3,000 next year.
To Pikiell, it’s more what that fact says about the basketball program he has steadily built here. He said players like Mawot Mag and Dean Reiber and Oskar Palmquist could have sought greener pastures elsewhere, and by sticking with the Scarlet Knights, they’re in line to have far greater opportunities for playing time in 2022-23.
Those opportunities have arrived because leading scorer Ron Harper Jr. has reached the NBA, and veteran point guard Geo Baker also exhausted his eligibility. Last year’s pivotal offseason moment came when Harper and Baker jointly announced they would return for one final season at Rutgers, taking one last stab at bringing the program deep into the postseason.
It was undeniably the end of an era when the Scarlet Knights lost in overtime in the First Four to Notre Dame, ending Harper’s and Baker’s collegiate careers. But with so much of the old crew back, and one more year of experience under their belts, Pikiell sees a path to a third straight NCAA Tournament berth, which would be a first in Rutgers history.
“The great part about basketball – let them doubt, let them doubt,” Pikiell said. “I think we’re good. In a league like this you better be good. But I feel real confident we can compete.
“There’s that expectation around my staff, our fans, and I like that. I like the challenge. When I took this job, I told you guys I like challenges. I like the challenge every year brings. But you’ve gotta be good to go to the NCAA Tournament and especially in a league like this. You’ve gotta play through losing streaks, you’ve got to play through injuries. You’re not winning every game.”
Not only did Rutgers avoid the pitfalls of the portal, it came out the other side plus-one, signing former Loyola (MD) star Cam Spencer. At 18.9 points per game, he led the Patriot League in scoring last year, and he did so efficiently, making 53.8 percent from inside the arc and 35.3 percent of his 3s.
On a team returning Paul Mulcahy and Caleb McConnell in the backcourt, two talented players who are not known to be prolific shooters, Spencer’s role at Rutgers is obvious and his game should be complementary to his new teammates.
“I’m somebody that can space the floor pretty well,” Spencer told me. “I think I can put the ball in the hoop at an efficient rate. I’m out there to do whatever the team needs me to do, so whether that’s pass or (set) good screens, play good defense, that’s really what I’m about.”
Mulcahy, listed at 6-foot-7 and approaching 6-foot-8 now, according to Pikiell, figures to play a lot more lead guard following Baker’s departure. He’s the Big Ten’s returning leader in assists after averaging 5.3 last year – including 5.7 per game against conference opponents, as he found his stride later in the season.
McConnell (7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 2.2 steals per game) won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, prompting Pikiell to say in Minneapolis that he has a chance to win National DPOY this time around.
When I followed up Friday and asked Pikiell what McConnell needed to do to reach that level, he wound up giving a thesis on the importance of defense for nearly three minutes. That’s what happens when you prompt someone to talk about their favorite topic.
“I’m going to give him more freedom, too, to roam and to maybe gamble a little bit more than I have in the past,” Pikiell said. “He’s such a good anticipator off the ball. But I also think he can guard post players, like we have him at times guarding Cliff (Omoruyi) at practice. Not on a regular basis, but he can sit down and guard 1 through 5, which very rarely can guys do.”
The only starting position not nailed down is power forward, which will be either Dean Reiber or Mawot Mag. Reiber came along last season and carved out a valuable role for himself off the bench; he also hit 7 of 12 3-pointers, a promising rate. Mag was a great defender and can plug and play in multiple positions, which leads me to think Reiber will start and Mag will be better coming off the bench, sliding in at the 4 or out on the wing depending on the scenario.
Finally, there’s Cliff Omoruyi, whose leaps-and-bounds growth last season needs little retelling (though you can certainly refresh your memory with my story from February). The center’s monster dunks nearly brought down the RAC (sorry, still going to call it the RAC now and again) and he never looked fazed when matched up against the Big Ten’s elite centers.
Now Pikiell is beaming over the strides Omoruyi has taken on defense.
“We have nine different screen coverages,” he said. “His freshman year we did two with him, two and a half. Now he can do nine and he can sit down and guard other positions.”
In Minneapolis, Illinois coach Brad Underwood told reporters Omoruyi was the best player in the Big Ten – exceedingly high praise in a league that still includes Trayce Jackson-Davis at Indiana and Hunter Dickinson at Michigan.
With Harper off to the Toronto Raptors, Pikiell knows the reality Omoruyi is facing.
“I actually think he’s a little underrated, so it’s nice to hear that from another coach in our league,” Pikiell said. “But all that means is he’ll be the first guy on the scouting report. That changes your life, too. It’s not always great, everyone talking about you? Alright, now they’re coming for you, too.”
This is a healthy group – only McConnell (knee) and freshman Antonio Chol (ankle) couldn’t practice Friday, but Pikiell didn’t sound an alarm about them for the long term. After a few weeks of camp, the Scarlet Knights will host Fairfield (coached by former Rutgers assistant Jay Young) for an open-doors exhibition Oct. 30, the proceeds of which will benefit Eric LeGrand via the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation.
“We’ve been playing closed scrimmages the last few years and stuff and I just thought it was maybe time to put the lights on before the season starts so these guys have an opportunity to play in front of home crowds,” the coach said. “… And then Eric LeGrand is like the greatest. So when you combine all that, I thought we could get a huge benefit out of playing in front of a crowd before the season starts as opposed to what I’ve been doing the past few years.”
There will be a time and a place to opine on how Rutgers will fare this season. One thing feels plain: Returning 64 percent of your minutes from last year, with loyal bench players ready to grow into bigger roles, will never hurt in the Big Ten.
“I’m not one of those guys that’s gonna bounce around. I’m loyal to my team and the people who believed in me,” Palmquist told me. “Transferring was never an option for me. I’m committed to this program.”
I’m sure that would be music to Pikiell’s ears.
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Welcome to Season 2 of Guarden State! For anyone who subscribed last year or just read this newsletter casually, thanks for coming back around. If you’re finding me now, welcome to the party.
I’m always appreciative of any opportunities I get to write about sports and entertain or educate people. This newsletter opened some doors for me last season, and after getting it established in Season 1 I’m aiming to improve it in Season 2. That’s why this Twitter poll was born:
I was considering producing some newsletters about Rutgers or Princeton football while we waited for basketball to arrive, but this poll helped me decide to point my energy elsewhere, and that’s OK! I had a low-key September and planned some in-depth coverage to kick off the basketball season.
Expect this newsletter to hit your inbox on Mondays and Thursdays, except for the occasional weeks I’ll decide to put it out Sunday, depending on how urgently we need to talk about a big Saturday of college hoops. I’ll share more details in the run-up to the season, but for now let’s get out of here with a few more quick points about Rutgers:
Let’s talk freshmen. For a while, Rutgers was shaping up to have a two-man class with three-stars Derek Simpson, a point guard, and Antwone Woolfolk, a big. Antonio Chol, a forward from Buffalo, then committed in July and reclassified to 2022. I have heard nothing but high praise for him since. Pikiell repeatedly called Chol the team’s best shooter – not too shabby for someone who arrived on campus roughly six weeks ago. He has a 7-foot-2 wingspan; Pikiell’s comp is former Rutgers forward Akwasi Yeboah.
I had a good talk with Palmquist, who hasn’t gotten many opportunities on the court due to a combination of injuries and competition at his position. I’m saving most of this for a potential future story, but wanted to drop this quote from Pikiell now: “He helps in some defensive areas. He lays wood on guys, he hits them when a shot goes up. He knows where to be in our rotations. So I keep telling him, just keep being that singles hitter. Just keep plugging away (and) he’s going to get opportunities, and he’ll get more this year too.”
You might have seen the Scarlet Knights rank No. 19 in the country in Andy Katz’s “Power 36” preseason rankings – and No. 1 on this “most underrated list.” Skimming through metrics sites, though, Rutgers is hardly being projected that high. KenPom.com has them No. 50 in the country and ninth in the Big Ten. Barttorvik.com, another invaluable resource I check out for college hoops info, pegs Rutgers No. 56 nationally and No. 8 in the conference. (The Scarlet Knights fare a bit better in the Lindy’s preview magazine, being rated No. 32 in the country and sixth in the Big Ten.)