Rutgers Basketball Head Coach Steve Pikiell talks with the media to recap his program's Friday night win over Monmouth University.
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Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell opening statement:
“Ace is in the training room. He's cramping up so he couldn't be up here. Otherwise he would have been here today. I want to thank you guys for coming. I love the student section. They got there early. They did a fantastic job. I love King rice. He's one of my favorite guys in coaching. I think he does a fantastic job. I want to congratulate him. He just got a five year extension. I knew it was a dangerous game. I watched them enough. They shoot a ton of threes. I was really concerned with number one [Abdil Bashir Jr.], and I actually thought we did a decent job on him. And then I looked at the box score. I mean, he made some incredible shots and he scored 25 in their last game. He's an incredible scorer. So I thought we settled in and we shared the ball. Almost had six guys in double figures, assists wise. We still got to work on a lot of things. We didn't have Jeremiah Williams today. So we get Ace Bailey back, but we lose a guy like him. So hopefully we get him healthy and back into the swing of things, but a good team win, and everyone contributed. Zach has a great night, too. These are veteran guys. They made some veteran plays down the stretch, too, which helped us a lot.”
Coach Pikiell on Ace’s debut:
“Ace is talented. And he'll pass the ball, too. We have to get him in game shape. Obviously he hasn't practiced for a little bit and I thought he gutted it out for us. Some big rebounds. Just gives us another dimension on the court. And he'll keep getting better, too, like this. I like this team a lot. We got to get better. And obviously he's a big part of that. So we're excited about getting him back into the rotation. He needed to get his feet wet. College basketball is hard. You can't just come off of not practicing and jump on the court. It's a hard thing to do.”
Coach Pikiell on if he has concerns on Ace:
“No. He's just got cramps. He played hard and we’ll be fine.”
Coach Pikiell on Jeremiah Williams:
“He just needed some time off his shoulder. So hopefully soon, it’s game by game. But it's basketball and it happens all the time. I know the computers don't say that, but it's a long season and you have to figure out your team through injuries, through obstacles, through that, and those two guys hadn't missed any practice time at all. It's disappointing, but it's part of the long season and luckily other guys stepped up and did some things in their absences.”
Coach Pikiell on what he liked from his team offensively:
“We had 21 assists. When you pass the ball like that, we made our free throws, we made threes, this team's capable of doing. [Zach Martini] got us off to a really good start. Jordan does a little bit of everything. Got everybody involved. Dylan chips in with six assists and one turnover. J-Mike does what he does. I love PJ's minutes, too. Came off the bench, made some big plays for us. Acuff gave us some good minutes as he keeps getting healthier. And Lathan, he keeps playing. I think he's our leading rebounder today. Another really good game for him. So I like the team win. Everyone contributed. Team win.”
Coach Pikiell on Dylan Harper:
His first three games 20 or more, six assists, one turnover, made all his free throws. Dylan's a good player and these games are good for these guys. They really are. They're good for them. [Madison] Durr is a really good player. Came out of the citadel, went to the free throw line the most. I think he was third in the country in free throw attempts last year. Tough guy to guard at the rim. Dylan has to guard different kinds of players, so I think there's all a learning process too as you encountered, so pleased with his minutes again and better days ahead, too, for him.”
Coach Pikiell on scoring 51 in the second half but giving up 51 defensively:
“They'll learn from film. It happens and we got a big lead. We have to play better with the lead, too. I think sometimes you let your guard down a little bit and certainly that happens during the course of the games. We'll watch film. I mean, that's what we've done since the first game. We learned lessons in all these games. They're very important for us. So there's a lot of tape to devour our defense, obviously, has to get better. We're playing at a different pace and Monmouth plays at a different pace. I think every team we play, not going to score as many points. When you play the Wagners of the world, they play at a slower pace. These teams ramp up their pace. We're up and down the floor more, so more defensive possessions, more offensive possession, so your defense can get exploited a little bit more.”
Coach Pikiell on Jordan Derkack’s passing:
“He does a lot of things for us. He's a fantastic passer, but goes through traffic, grabs rebounds. He can score. He can get it going downhill. He can really defend, too. And like I said, I thought he did a good job on [Abdi Bashir Jr.]. Made him take some tough shots. He had it going. But we still had enough to get the win. But Jordan brings a lot to us. He's a leader. He's got good toughness. He never misses the day of practice. He watches the most film, probably on the team, too, so I'm really glad to have him back in New Jersey for sure.”
Coach Pikiell on Abdi Bashir Jr.:
“I don't remember a player coming in here and scoring 38 points. We had a couple of guys drop numbers, but that's a huge number. And I knew it, too. It's not like we didn't tell these guys, anytime you've taken 20 threes in a game, you're going to have a night where you're going to go 17 for 20 or 15 for 20. He shoots a lot. He's got the ultimate green light. Didn't want that to happen here, but I knew during the course of the year that's going to happen. He's big, he has good size, and he has a little swagger to his game. And we had J-Mike on him. We had Jordan on him. We guarded him sometimes. I know he got free a few times. Got free one time in our zone, and he missed that one. But he's a good player, and King does a great job. They have a couple of their players back today. It's going to be a very good team in the CAA and they won 19 games last year. He's going to do that again this year.”
Coach Pikiell on the team chemistry:
“It's them. It's always a compliment. To the guys on the team. They're passing up good shots for really good shots and know their teammates and know their teammates strengths, and I think that's really important. We’re getting out, we're playing with good space, and then the other thing that helps a lot is when you get to the free throw line, you make your free throws. And that's a really nice bonus this team can do.”
Coach Pikiell on what he’d like to clean up the most:
“I don't think you have enough time here. There's so much. We need [Jeremiah Williams] back. We need to get our rotation down. We need to work on a lot of different things. We're growing as a group, and we have to add some things, too, offensively. And defensively. But we will. These guys are good workers and they're good learners, and they put the time in so we have to improve in every area. And you see some good signs of a lot of good things, but you got to play 40 minutes, too, so that's a huge part of moving forward here. Once we start playing Big Ten games, those are 40 minute games.”
Coach Pikiell on Tyson Acuff’s process:
“He's really good. It's too bad with the setback with his foot. He can do a lot of things. He really can. He could shoot. He can pass. He can handle it. He's an old school guy. I’m looking forward to him getting healthier and getting quicker and faster, too. We need to keep bringing him along too. Get J-Will back. Keep all these other guys healthy. Bodes well for us. Gives us another weapon.”
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