3/4/2023 basketball Edit

Caleb McConnell reflects on his five years at Rutgers

Chris Nalwasky • TheKnightReport

Beat Writer

Caleb McConnell’s time as a Rutgers men’s basketball student-athlete is almost finished. His final home game is tomorrow, Sunday, at 7:30 p.m. (BTN) against Northwestern.

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For a second time, McConnell will be honored on Senior Night with family members beside him. Speaking to the media on Friday, McConnell said he was thankful to be able to come to Rutgers and for the entire journey -- good and bad. McConnell spent his time growing up in both Ohio and Florida, and now feels Rutgers and New Jersey is another home to him.

“I’ve definitely been counting my days since the end of season is approaching,” McConnell said. “Don’t have many practices left and I’m down to my last game here at the RAC. It’s going to be emotional. It was emotional for me last year. But I decided to come back and do something special with these guys and try and go further. This season has been tons of fun working with the younger guys and getting to play another year with Paul (Mulcahy) and Cliff (Omoruyi) has been awesome.

“I thank coach (Steve Pikiell) and the whole staff for giving me the opportunity. Where I come from, not many kids make it to college. It’s been amazing and blessed to be here basketball aside. I met some amazing people here and brothers I’ll have for the rest of my life. Very thankful. I’m glad I got the chance to come to New Jersey. It’s my third home.”

Caleb McConnell shown in 2019 (Richard Schnyderite -- TheKnightReport.Net)

McConnell endured a lot in his time at Rutgers. He dealt with a slew of injuries, one that almost had him redshirting, as well as the coronavirus, which cut short his sophomore year. COVID, however, allowed him to get a year back and play at Rutgers again this season.

“It was crazy for everybody. I made the best out of it,” McConnell said. “The season was still fun. It was annoying with the protocols just to be able to play and the only time you saw your teammates was in the gym. But it made you appreciate life more. For me I was able to get one more year because of it.”

McConnell could have left and went back to Ohio or Florida for his fifth year of college hoops, but he opted to stay at Rutgers to continue building his legacy, to play for the coaching staff that gave him a chance, and to keep winning with his teammates.

In a day and age where the transfer portal is more full than a double stuffed Oreo and leaving to go somewhere else is the “hip thing”, McConnell stuck it out, and has helped lift the Scarlet Knights into a Big Ten contender and NCAA Tournament during his tenure.

“Sometimes the best option for kids is to transfer, but for me, my freshman year didn’t start off as good as I wanted it to. It wasn’t all glitter and gold. I learned how to overcome things. Kids sometimes don’t want to stay and fight and grow. They don’t want to have to go through the fire or adversity. That’s what I did. The benefits when coming to a university like this is you get to stamp your name and create your own legacy. Some other places guys want to chase and follow the legacy.

“It takes a certain type of person and mindset to stay in a situation when it’s not going your way and get through it and find the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m glad I had the chance to do it. I could have transferred many times. But I wanted to stay here where home is. I feel like I left a legacy. We stuck with it and worked. We’re winners, me and Paul. It’s not always pretty, but we showed we can win. We always had coach Pikiell’s back and he had ours. That’s family.”

McConnell has become a 6-foot-7 force on the defensive end. He set the goal prior to last year at winning the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Award and he did. He could very well bring home the trophy once again this season. He’s also a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award.

McConnell has 208 steals, three of away from tying Myles Mack for second in program history. Eddie Jordan’s 220 isn’t far off either. Despite missing games with a knee injury at the beginning of the season and a back injury last month, McConnell is averaging career-bests this season in minutes, rebounds, assists, and points per game

“I grew a lot since I left high school on and off the court. I’ve become a man and I’m thankful,” McConnell said. “Coach Pikiell was the first person who called me from this school. I grew a ton. I’ve transformed as a player and my mindset has changed. I can take care of myself and others. I’ve definitely looked back. These times go fast. It flew by. This is it. It’s crazy just to know I’ll be done here soon. I’m ready for the next chapter but of course my focus is now. I love the times I had here. I cherish all these moments.”

McConnell cited the team trip to Spain Rutgers took a couple of years back as a highlight for him off the court. He also liked being with diversity and just flat out being able to grind out wins on the hardwood.

“Off the court I would say our Spain trip. That brought everyone closer,” McConnell said. “Even just the day to day things and having simple conversations and laughing is the best part. You’re on a team of guys from Bayonne, N.J., Nigeria, and Australia. It was different. On the court, we won a lot of big games. Whenever we win, it’s an awesome feeling no matter how big or small the game is. I’ll never forget those situations.”

McConnell’s time at Rutgers was hard. He had to play against Big Ten competition, and deal with everything that was mentioned above. But he’s a worker, never backs down, and is “unbreakable” like his tattoo says. McConnell was asked what advice he would give to his younger freshman self.

“Stay who you are and keep working,” he said. “College basketball is crazy. There’s all these analytics and things like that, but if you fall into that and start believing other things than what you stand on, you can kind of drift off. You have to stick with it and don’t get discouraged. It’s a part of growing. All of the doubters made me who I am now. Younger me couldn’t see the bigger picture. I showed up everyday and outworked everybody.”

Coming off of a stunning loss to Minnesota on Thursday, the Scarlet Knights are preparing for a matchup with the Wildcats, the last before the Big Ten Tournament.

“We have to prepare the same way we do night in and night out,” McConnell said “We have to come ready to play. We have to play 40 minutes of basketball and do us.”