Rutgers basketball's "M&M" boys, Mulcahy and McConnell
They aren't quite former New York Yankees greats Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, but Rutgers basketball has its own version of the "M&M" boys in Paul Mulcahy and Caleb McConnell.
Yes, the pair aren't hitting home runs, but they exemplify toughness, they make plays all over the court that always don't show up in the box score, and they find ways to help the No. 25-ranked Scarlet Knights win, like they did on Saturday against Northwestern.
Mulcahy took an elbow from Iowa's Luka Garza on Wednesday, and showed up to the RAC three days later with a face mask like former Detroit Pistons guard Rip Hamilton. Playing against the Wildcats was never in doubt.
"I knew I was gonna play and Rich (Campbell) had been helping me a lot the last few days. I'm rocking with this right now and see where that goes. But I knew I was gonna play," Mulcahy said after the game.
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The sophomore guard finished with six points, two rebounds, and two assists in 26 minutes, and every game, Mulcahy is always battling in the paint fighting for rebounds, diving for loose balls, and mucking it up anyway and anywhere possible. He’s the definition of scrappy.
"It just shows who Paul is as a person, toughness. You never let adversity overcome you. He broke his nose pretty early in the Iowa game and he finished the rest of the game, so that says a lot about Paul as a teammate," junior Ron Harper Jr. "That says a lot about his character and it just says a lot about his heart and as well."
Mulcahy has also been playing with a dislocated finger that he showed off during the post game press conference.
It wasn't pretty.
But fighting through adversity and being unselfish and having a blue collar attitude isn't anything new for Mulcahy, who is from Bayonne and a Gill St. Bernard's product. He lost his house due to a fire in 2015.
"Paul, he's been playing with a finger that was dislocated, he's got a broken nose. He's tough as can be and he was ready to go today so he does a lot of things for us, a lot things that you don't read in the box score and he's one of the toughest guys I've ever coached," head coach Steve Pikiell said. "So, I was thankful he said, 'I'm playing', but that's just a credit to him and his toughness and to play through pain and he gets banged up in every single game so he deserves a day off tomorrow when playing for the first time with that mask on, I thought he did a really, really good job. We'll get a custom mask for him so that'll help him out a little bit more too but he's tough and thankful he was ready today to go."
McConnell ended the game against Northwestern with the best +/- on the team by far with a +21. He wasn't having his best offensive game as he was just 1-for-4 from the floor with two points in the first half and was 1-for-8 in the game until he sank back-to-back 3-pointers for Rutgers after Mulcahy made two free throws as Northwestern cut the game to a three-point deficit.
Rutgers, which led by as many as 14 points early in the second half and then the final margin, never let Northwestern get any closer than seven after McConnell's second make from long range.
McConnell also grabbed seven rebounds, dished out three assists, and notched two steals in the game. McConnell, who wasn't going to play this season due to a back injury, was 2-for-2 from the foul line as Rutgers shot a season-best 87.5% (14-of-16) from charity stripe that was extremely giving.
"Caleb does a lot of things for us and he's really become an anchor for our defense. He guards a lot of different people and he capable of making shots. He's a really good foul shooter too and I think you saw down the stretch he teed the ball up and like when he plays with that kind of confidence," Pikiell said. "He also keeps a lot of balls alive for us, he does a lot of different things that too you don't see on the box score sometimes. He's getting better, he's feeling more and more comfortable and I love the fact that we can move him around. …Caleb's been doing a good job and he's also rebounding for us. Last game he got 7, in this game he got 7 and that's a huge part of us being able to out rebound teams."
Last week against Minnesota, McConnell hit a key 3-pointer as well late in the contest and helped Rutgers in a big way in the second half.
"Things might not go your way but you got to keep fighting, and you got to fight for opportunity, and when it comes you just got to execute and really just having a winner's mentality helps as well," McConnell said after the Minnesota contest. "You got to be a fighter, and I feel like that’s what I am."
Teammate Geo Baker called McConnell a winner.
"He's just a winner," Baker said. "Does all the little things."
Montez Mathis hasn't scored in double figures since netting 13 points on Jan. 2 against Iowa, and he's seen a decline in minutes, but Mathis, when on, can be streaky. Mathis is a, tough player and solid defender as well who also scored 17, 15, 14, 19, 15, 16, 25, and 13 points in eight of Rutgers first nine games of the season.
At any moment, Mathis can flip a switch and dig Rutgers out of some slumps, and even though he was 0-for-4 with no points against the Wildcats, he grabbed two rebounds and had +/- of +6 on the day.
Freshman forward Mawot Mag, as he develops, can be a really good defender and shooter as well.
"I thought our defense was really, really good. I think that was their season low in points and they are a good offensive team. I love the fact that we out rebounded them, we got contributions from everybody. I loved our bench; they gave us great energy and love the fact that everyone chipped in here," Pikiell said. "It was important, and every game in this league is a war and that was no different. Just glad, they earned the day off tomorrow, well-earned day off and we kind of grinded the game and I always love when we win when we have to grind it."
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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