I don't give 2 craps if you don't like Carino.
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I've covered Steve Pikiell long enough (10 years) to know when he's confident and when he's bluffing, and I sense some real confidence about his young group's progress and Rutgers' internal support of the program. Here's more: https://app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2026/01/22/is-rutgers-basketball-turning-a-corner-on-and-off-the-court/88298406007/ via
@asburyparkpress "
Article may be paywalled, but should be readable on MSN and Yahoo when it shows up.
“Our defense is getting better,” Pikiell said. “It’s not where I wanted to be – we’re still counting on freshmen and they’re inconsistent. It’s probably the wrong time to be young, because college sports are so old, but there’s some reward. I’ve seen (freshman guard) Kaden Powers’ growth. I’ve seen (freshman guard) Lino Mark’s growth.”
“They’re getting more comfortable with their roles and I’m getting more comfortable with how to push the right buttons with them,” Pikiell said. “You have to learn that, too, as a coach. I yelled at a couple of guys early and they didn’t respond to it, so I had to learn how to coach them.”
“You can see (Buchanan's) versatility – he guards (Northwestern's high-scoring big man) Nick Martinelli and then he guards Stirtz,” Pikiell said. “I’m pleased with his approach to things. It got to the point (earlier in the season) where I thought he could do so much more, so I challenged him and he accepted the challenge. These guys all want to play more and I’m like, ‘OK, well then play better.’ It’s not the hardest equation in the world to understand.”
Sullivan is the new GM:
“Compared to the last three years, I feel very confident,” he said. “(Sullivan) is talking to everybody and knows the pulse, the market. How do you know the market if you’re not in the market every day? He said to me, ‘I don’t know how you did this for the last three years.’ It’s a full-time job. Today he’ll talk to 10 agents and come into my office and give me information about the lay of land.”
“I used to have to wake up thinking about money too, how are we going to afford this, what fundraiser do we have to do, who do I have to call?” he said. “Keli has taken that off my plate, too. It helps tremendously.”
For some reason, the post on X is not loading- here's what it says: "
I've covered Steve Pikiell long enough (10 years) to know when he's confident and when he's bluffing, and I sense some real confidence about his young group's progress and Rutgers' internal support of the program. Here's more: https://app.com/story/sports/college/rutgers/2026/01/22/is-rutgers-basketball-turning-a-corner-on-and-off-the-court/88298406007/ via
@asburyparkpress "
Article may be paywalled, but should be readable on MSN and Yahoo when it shows up.
“Our defense is getting better,” Pikiell said. “It’s not where I wanted to be – we’re still counting on freshmen and they’re inconsistent. It’s probably the wrong time to be young, because college sports are so old, but there’s some reward. I’ve seen (freshman guard) Kaden Powers’ growth. I’ve seen (freshman guard) Lino Mark’s growth.”
“They’re getting more comfortable with their roles and I’m getting more comfortable with how to push the right buttons with them,” Pikiell said. “You have to learn that, too, as a coach. I yelled at a couple of guys early and they didn’t respond to it, so I had to learn how to coach them.”
“You can see (Buchanan's) versatility – he guards (Northwestern's high-scoring big man) Nick Martinelli and then he guards Stirtz,” Pikiell said. “I’m pleased with his approach to things. It got to the point (earlier in the season) where I thought he could do so much more, so I challenged him and he accepted the challenge. These guys all want to play more and I’m like, ‘OK, well then play better.’ It’s not the hardest equation in the world to understand.”
Sullivan is the new GM:
“Compared to the last three years, I feel very confident,” he said. “(Sullivan) is talking to everybody and knows the pulse, the market. How do you know the market if you’re not in the market every day? He said to me, ‘I don’t know how you did this for the last three years.’ It’s a full-time job. Today he’ll talk to 10 agents and come into my office and give me information about the lay of land.”
“I used to have to wake up thinking about money too, how are we going to afford this, what fundraiser do we have to do, who do I have to call?” he said. “Keli has taken that off my plate, too. It helps tremendously.”
