The Rutgers men's basketball team will be honoring center Shaquille Doorson on Wednesday night when the Scarlet Knights take the court for Senior Night against Penn State at the RAC at 7:00 p.m.
Doorson, a graduate student, caught up with TKR on Monday to talk about his final home game for Rutgers and much more.
The Knight Report: What's it like to be the only senior on the team currently and how's it feel with senior night coming up?
Shaq Doorson: "It feels great. To be honest I'm just focused on trying to win the game, I'm just trying finish my senior year with a winning record here at Rutgers.”
TKR: Being the oldest guy on the team and there are so many freshmen and sophomores on the team, what kind of advice do you give the younger guys?
SD: "I tell them all the time just stay the course with coach (Steve) Pikiell and don't let your emotions get in the way. Don't let anything distract you from getting to your goals."
TKR: How's it feel to finally have a healthy season for the first time in a couple years?
SD: "It feels amazing, it's definitely been my best season so far, especially on the defensive end. I put a lot of pride in my abilities to play defense and it's been going good so far this year so it just means a lot to me.”
TKR: You are the only player on the team currently who had to go through a coaching change midway through your career, how difficult was that process for you?
SD: "It was weird because I never thought something like that was going to happen to me. However, coach Pikiell made sure that the transition process was very smooth and all the guys were able to really buy into his vision right away."
TKR: Both you and the basketball program have grown a lot since you first joined back in 2014. What was the most difficult part of the whole process?
SD: "The difficult part was to just stay the course, because everything around you was changing. It obviously changed for the better, as everyone around the program knows. Our locker rooms were upgraded, our team chemistry got better, the way we play, better scorers and it's been great working with this coaching staff. They are always pushing for us to get better.”
TKR: After what happened recently at home with the buzzer beater loss to Iowa, what was it like to go back to their court and avenge the loss?
SD: “It was great and definitely one of my favorite wins since joining the team so far. The way they won here, it really felt like they stole something from us. It also showed how resilient our team is to go back to their house and take what was ours."
TKR: What's the plan after you've finished at Rutgers?
SD: “I don't really have one yet, I just plan on going wherever the ball bounces. I just want to try and keep playing and see how far it could take me. I definitely plan on coming back if I have time to see how they are performing and stuff like that.”
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