MBB Head Coach Steve Pikiell Talks New Facility, Upcoming Season
On Monday, Rutgers University put the final piece of steel on the roof of the new RWJBarnabas Health and Athletic Training Center. One of the head coaches who will be using the facility more then anyone else is men's basketball bead coach Steve Pikiell.
“Anytime you can see the best facility in the Big Ten it helps,” Pikielly told TKR. “The recruits see the steel going up and it’s a huge advantage in recruiting. Just goes to show you the commitment the university has made for our student athletes."
Along with the new practice facility getting closer and closer to being completed, Pikiell also talked some about the new renovations happening all around Rutgers, including ones on his home court.
“They are currently renovating the RAC and there are just a lot of great things going on at Rutgers right now,” said Pikiell. “This is a sign of the great things that are happening here. It’s a sign of the commitment from the president (Robert Barchi), (Athletic Director) Pat Hobbs, the league and all the different entities here. We are doing a lot of things in a short period of time, life is going to get better for student athletes for sure.”
The team has a lot of questions marks for the upcoming season and one of those is who will man the point with Corey Sanders leaving early for the NBA.
“We have a lot of good point guards on the roster,” Pikiell stated. “We also have a lot of good players, some new guys coming into the program. Geo Baker is as good a point guard as there is in the conference. We are excited about all the new positions that we filled and a lot of newcomers that are going to add to that.”
Along with the questions at the ball handling spot, there is still a couple of questions surrounding the big men too. However, Pikiell is confident in some of the new talent he has coming in.
“Myles (Johnson) lost thirty pounds and got his body transformed,” said Pikiell. “It was a great year for him, proving his impact in a lot of ways. I think he’s really going to help us now. He’s in a position to really help us as a freshman next year. Also, we have Shaq Carter who was ranked the number seven JUCO player in the country. He will bring a lot of things including his size. We are graduating some guys, so there is a lot of minutes available.”
Recently, Pikiell already named the captains of next year's team as he anointed junior Euguene Omoruyi and senior Shaq Doorson as captains for the 2018-2019 season.
“Both of those guys are terrific,” Pikiell mentioned. “They are both hard workers and two examples of guys I want in the basketball program. They are overachievers, so I’m real excited about the leadership that both of them provide. They are also good students, good people and good basketball players.”
Along with talking about some of the current guys, Pikiell took some time to talk about what an NBA team might be getting Sanders.
“Corey is terrific,” said Pikiell. “Any team that picks him up is going to get a high energy, terrific athlete that can really defend and score. I’m excited for Corey, he’s worked out for some NBA teams now and he’s done a good job. I really believe he wants to win, he’s a guy who is versatile and could play a couple of positions. Some of his best basketball is still ahead of him.”
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