The Monday Morning Kickoff
It was yet another action-packed weekend in the scarlet nation and The Monday Morning Kickoff gets you caught up on all the latest Rutgers sports news.
The take from center court (Rutgers Basketball)
The Scarlet Knights took down No.15 Seton Hall on Saturday in a thrilling 71-65 comeback win. The win was head coach Steve Pikiell’s first-ever against a ranked opponent. It also came in front of a sold-out crowd at The RAC.
“Just this environment. If we can keep it like that, it’s a real tough place to play,” Pikiell said post-game. “We’ve been in games, plugging away and have been close, and I thought we had tremendous poise down the stretch. Corey [Sanders] and Mike [Williams] with some rebounds and [Deshawn Freeman], we grabbed every big rebound down the stretch. I thought our defense was really good. You know, the last six minutes of the game, I thought we had a good game plan and they executed it. That’s a good positive against a really good basketball team with a lot of experience and a lot of weapons. It’s a very good day for Rutgers nation.”
For senior guard Mike Williams, it was his first win over Seton Hall in four tries.
“I don’t have words to describe this feeling,” Williams said. “The last three years, [a win against Seton Hall] has eluded me, so for me to get it in front of our fans, it was the best feeling in the world. I’m just thankful for this moment.”
Rutgers will get some much-needed rest this week before suiting up again Friday to host Stony Brook with tip-off set for 7 p.m.
A view from the gridiron (Rutgers Football)
This past weekend served as an official visit weekend at Rutgers as Avery Young (Coatesville, Pa.) was on campus with Kaymar Mimes (Long Branch, N.J.), Khristopher Banks (DePaul, N.J.) and Daevon Robinson (Shawnee, N.J.).
Of those four visitors, only Young is a Rutgers commit.
“All of the coaches were around, and they all had their families around. I got to meet wives, daughters, sons of coaches [Henry] Baker, [Chris] Ash, [Jay] Niemann, and Jafar. [Williams],” Young said. “The entire coaching staff was always around and there was just a lot of energy from them and the players. It was like a whole family atmosphere.”
Mimes and Banks are both hoping to decide this week on Wednesday, which begins the start of the three-day early signing period.
“My plan is to just step back and breathe a little bit,” Mimes said yesterday. “The new early signing period is putting a little bit of pressure on me. I’m just going to really think about the decision I have to make. I’m really thinking about deciding on December 20th, but I don’t want opportunities to close on me with potential schools I want to go too. I don’t want to be stuck with schools I don’t want or schools that I would not want to go to as much as the school I could go to if I sign early. Initially, I wasn’t going to sign in the early period, but I might take that further into consideration. I have no set date.”
Banks offered up his thoughts as he is down to Rutgers and Temple.
“I want a school with a brotherhood, the opportunity to play early,” Banks said yesterday. “I look at the depth they have coming back next season and more. Also, I look to see how the coaches interact with the players; not only the position coach, but all the coaches.”
Rutgers is expecting to sign 17 players on Wednesday while wide receiver Eddie Lewis will also be joining the class. However, as a prep schooler, Lewis will not have to sign a letter of intent for a second time.
Stay logged onto Scarlet Nation's The Round Table for all the latest recruiting updates in what expects to be a very busy week.
On the mat (Rutgers Wrestling)
The RU grapplers did not have anything on the schedule last week as the team dropped from a No.16 to a No.17 ranking after falling just short against Iowa. Rutgers will return to action Dec 18th at the Midlands Championships in Evanston, Ill.