After 31 years of coaching, Steve Pikiell is looking forward to the time when he can roll a basketball onto the court, sit back and watch Rutgers win game after game.
As soon as the words came out his mouth Thursday, the 54-year-old Scarlet Knights coach started laughing. It was almost as if he remembered his team plays in the Big Ten Conference.
Besides Harper (15.7 points) and Baker (11.9), Rutgers is deep. Paul Mulcahy has averaged 17 points recently and athletic big man Cliff Omoruyi has gotten a lot better, averaging 11.8 points and 7.8 rebounds. Caleb McConnell is the best defensive player in the league, averaging a conference-high 2.3 steals.
For now, Pikiell is focused on facing Wisconsin again on a short turnaround. His team got back from Michigan at 1 a.m. Thursday and three of his players had 8 a.m. classes.
“I’ve had to fight from day one,” Pikiell said. “That’s all I know, and you’re going to have some great wins. You can have some tough losses. You have to keep moving, keep getting better and keep believing in your guys.”
Leave a Reply