Rutgers men's basketball got some good news as head coach Steve Pikiell announced that junior guard/forward Caleb McConnell will be returning to play this Saturday versus No. 10 Iowa.
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Previously, McConnell announced back in early October that he would be sitting out the 2020-21 season in order to redshirt and rehab his ailing back. However, is expected to be a much needed depth addition to the Scarlet Knights' rotation against the Hawkeyes.
“That has been talked about, but the plan is just to redshirt,” McConnell said two months ago. “It has been brought up. As far as right now as the plan is just to redshirt and just get better and get stronger, and just come back a completely different player, a better player and better teammate at that.”
Last season as a sophomore, McConnell started 21 of the 31 games he played in and averaged 6.7 points per game, 3.7 rebounds per game and 0.8 steals per game.
“I just want to say thank God. I've been feeling a whole lot better,” McConnell exuberantly said on Media Day. “I've been taking it day by day with rehab, treatment, therapy, and things like that on. I just have been taking it slow and I'm just trying to help as much as I can with the team and just help coaching and helping some of our younger guys.
“...I'm looking for this year to be a big year and it's been really helpful so far. Ever since I got here I've just been battling injuries, just little nagging injuries. Those injuries can be sometimes frustrating especially just trying to play through those and just having the mindset of just trying to win, but those injuries just hold you back. For this 'offseason' for me it just means that I can get stronger. I'm able to watch the game so I'm able to see different things and learn different roles and learn the game even better from sitting out. That's what I've done so far and it's even allowed me to coach better. I can even help the younger guys out or even just give a guy some tips and help out. I learned so much already and it's crazy because the season hasn't even started. I gained so many other tools that I never had. This year, I have to take my time and let everything really develop that I never really got a chance to do ever since I've been here. This is a big year for me and I'm excited.”
TKR's Chris Nalwasky contributed to this report.
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