Pikiell leading resurgence at Rutgers
It’s the first question Steve Pikiell posed when taking a phone call from a UConn reporter
“How are my Huskies doing?,” Pikiell asked, in a booming voice that’s even a bit ... well, husky.
Now, the Huskies aren’t exactly Pikiell’s anymore. Yes, he grew up in Bristol and played four years at UConn, including the NIT champion season in 1988 and the “Dream Season” of 1990. Yes, he was Jim Calhoun’s assistant in 1991-92. Yes, his younger brother, Tim, and older sister, Ann, both went to UConn and stilll live in Bristol. Heck, he was one of the original donors to UConn’s Werth Family Champions Center, the practice facility that opened in 2014.
But Pikiell is currently in his fourth (and, by far, most successful) season as head coach at Rutgers. And make no mistake, he is a Scarlet Knight now. When Kevin Ollie was fired as UConn’s coach in March, 2018, there was never any serious consideration on either side to replace him with Pikiell, who had signed a five-year contract extension with Rutgers a couple of months earlier. UConn hired Dan Hurley.
“I was all-in here at Rutgers,” Pikiell recalled. “They hired the right guy.”
Pikiell tries to keep tabs on the Huskies as much as he can, but it’s not easy
when he’s leading Rutgers, ranked for the first time in 41 years, through the rigors of its Big Ten schedule ... or following the impressive athletic exploits of his kids when he gets a chance.
“First of all, I love Danny (Hurley),” Pikiell said. “I think it’s a great hire. He’s gonna do a great job, he really is. I’m the biggest Husky guy going. (Assistant coach) Tommy Moore and I have been friends for a long time. I love Tommy being there. They’ve got a great staff. I’m very confident in the job that Coach Hurley will do. Getting back to the Big East is tremendous for the program and for the UConn fan base. Great move there. Go back to where your roots are, where you belong.”
Pikiell keeps in contact with Moore, with Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey. But he’s got his own program to worry about. And while that program is experiencing one of its most successful seasons in decades, there is still plenty to worry about.
Rutgers is 16-6 overall and currently ranked No. 25 in the nation. The Scarlet Knights sit in fourth place in arguably the toughest conference in the nation at
7-4. They’re doing it without any All-Americans or superstars, but rather with a deep roster of players who celebrate the individual successes of teammates.
“One night it’s this guy’s night, the next night it’s this guy’s night,” said Pikiell. “We have a team that’s kind of embraced that, which is a real good sign. If it’s Geo Baker’s night, they get him the ball. Very rarely do you have teams like that. Guys (often) want to look out for themselves. This team’s been different. If it’s Akwasi Yeboah’s night, if it’s Ron Harper, Jr.’s night, they embrace their teammates’ success. I think that’s what made us tough.”
Rutgers is currently No.
28 in the NET rankings, and even with nine regularseason games left on its schedule, seems destined for its first NCAA tournament bid since 1991. But don’t tell that to Pikiell, especially when seven of the Scarlet Knight’s final nine opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll.
“We’ve come a long way, we’re figuring out ways to win games,” Pikiell said. “We’re kind of a young program, still. But the league is a monster. When you want to feel like, ‘Yeah, we’ve accomplished something ...’ we have the thirdtoughest schedule in the country remaining on our schedule.”
“We’ve gotten a lot better, we can play with anybody in the league,” he added. “But anybody can play with us, too.”
In fact, Pikiell has even been overshadowed by the athletic success of his oldest daughter. Brooke Pikiell is a junior on the Northwestern women’s basketball team,
which earned its first Top 25 ranking in four years a couple of weeks ago — the same week the Rutgers men were ranked for the first time since 1979.
“You’re not even the highest-ranked member of your family,” Pikiell’s wife, Kate, pointed out to Steve at the time. Indeed, Northwestern was ranked No. 22 that week, while Rutgers was No. 24 — something Brooke was eager to point out in a FaceTime conversation, as well.
Meanwhile, Pikiell’s younger daughter, Olivia, recently signed to play lacrosse at North Carolina. His oldest son, John, attends Rutgers and his youngest, Kevin, is an eighthgrade hoopster “with swagger.”
Things couldn’t be going much better right now for Steve Pikiell and his program. Of course, Rutgers’ success is a direct reminder of how fortunate the program was in getting an invitation to the Big Ten seven years ago — and how unlucky UConn was in getting shut out of the conference realignment game.
The windfall of getting into the Big Ten — financial and otherwise — is beyond obvious. Rutgers recently opened an awe-inspiring,
state-of-the art practice facility for its basketball, gymnastics and wrestling programs. Pikiell may be a donor to UConn’s $40 million practice facility, but he’s a direct beneficiary of Rutgers’ $117 million facility.
The on-court success has led to big, rowdy crowds every night at The RAC. Meanwhile, UConn is in danger of its fourth straight losing season.
Asked if he’d schedule UConn in the future, Pikiell bursts out, “Sure, absolutely! Let’s get it done!” In reality, with the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Rutgers’ schedule, an annual Jersey battle with Seton Hall, and with the possibility of the Big Ten expanding its league schedule to more than 20 games each season on the horizon, there might not be enough room on Rutgers’ schedule for the Huskies.
Steve Pikiell may be “the biggest Husky guy going,” but he is all-in at Rutgers these days.
“We’re selling out games, the school is exploding here,” said Pikiell. “It’s a really good time at Rutgers.”
THIS WEEK’S AP TOP 25 BALLOT
With all that said, we’re not quite ready to rank
Rutgers — especially after Saturday’s loss at Madison Square Garden to a mercurial Michigan team. The Scarlet Knights are 1-4 on the road, their lone win over lowly Nebraska, so we’ll wait until they really prove themselves away from the RAC before we include them on our ballot. Tuesday night will be a great opportunity, at No. 15 Maryland.
Here’s our ballot for this week:
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. San Diego State
4. Kansas
5. Louisville
6. Florida State
7. Dayton
8. Duke
9. Auburn
10. LSU
11. Seton Hall
12. Creighton
13. Maryland
14. Kentucky
15. Oregon
16. Villanova
17. Illinois
18. West VIrginia
19. Michigan State
20. Penn State
21. Iowa
22. Butler
23. Rhode Island
24. Tulsa
25. Yale