Rutgers Basketball HC Steve Pikiell talks Indiana Postgame
Rutgers Basketball Head Coach Steve Pikiell met with the media following the Scarlet Knights’ loss versus Indiana inside Jersey Mike’s Arena on Friday afternoon.
Following the game, Steve Pikiell spoke with the media to offer an immediate reaction to his program’s performance and talked about what he saw in the 18th game of the season.
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Full Steve Pikiell Transcript
Coach Pikiell opening statement:
“Obviously, I’m disappointed with how we played on both ends of the floor, and it’s on me. It started yesterday — we had a terrible practice, the worst of the season. Then we came out today against a team that shoots the ball at a high percentage. I thought we’d been taking steps forward, especially rebounding the ball, but today was a huge step backward, and that’s on me to change it.
It doesn’t get any easier with Michigan State coming to town. Indiana played great, and I’ve got to give them credit. They shot the ball as well as they have all year, and we knew they were capable of that. Nick [Dorn] is really good — I thought that when I watched the film. Lamar [Wilkerson] got his average, Darian [DeVries] got his average plus some, so we have to play better. I thank the crowd for being there. The energy wasn’t there from our guys, and that’s on me. I’ve got to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
Coach Pikiell on the team’s effort:
“We’ve been taking steps forward, but again, it started yesterday in practice. We didn’t have the right focus, and we’re not good enough to play without focus. Against a team like Indiana, to not be ready to play is 100% on me. I didn’t like anything today. I thought we were getting better. We out-rebounded our last three opponents, and this should have been another one. I hated that we only had five fouls — that tells you you’re not doing enough defensively. We need to be physical. We’ve shown signs of that, but we didn’t have any of it tonight.”
Coach Pikiell on leaning too heavily on Tariq Francis:
“Our defense was terrible tonight, and we didn’t rebound, and you’re not going to win like that. We have to make open shots, finish at the rim — we didn’t do that. One game it’s offense, one game it’s defense, and we’ve got to be more consistent. We were really disappointed tonight because we had been taking steps forward defensively and rebounding-wise, and we didn’t do that.”
Coach Pikiell on Dylan Grant recovering from the flu:
“He had the flu and lost eight pounds. We’re trying to get him back to himself. He’s battled through it, but it’s been tough. You just have to keep plugging through.”
Coach Pikiell on the lack of focus in practice:
“You can ask these guys right here — we practice every day, and yesterday, for whatever reason, we didn’t. Guys know how I felt about it, and it carried over into today’s game. Practice is very important, especially when you have ten newcomers. In ten years, this is the first time I’ve talked about having a really bad practice. These two guys were part of it, too. We have to get back to being physical, focused, and practicing the right way.”
Coach Pikiell on Indiana making 15 threes:
“Everything went wrong. We didn’t foul — you’ve got to be more physical. You should get 10 to 15 fouls just from playing hard. We didn’t close out the way we needed to. Nick Dorn is dangerous — I knew that — and when a shooter like that makes his first one, it gives him confidence. We gave them too much confidence, and that’s a problem. They’re one of the teams that takes the most threes in the country, and we didn’t play the way we needed to.”
Coach Pikiell on bringing Tariq off the bench:
“It didn’t really matter tonight. His numbers coming off the bench are unbelievable. He started 11 games and has doubled his production coming off the bench. He’s playing the most minutes and taking the most shots. If starting matters to him, then we need to get other guys ready. He plays a lot with the starters anyway. That wasn’t our issue tonight — we had a lot of issues.”
Coach Pikiell on Baye Fall being out:
“He had surgery on his hand today. I haven’t spoken with him yet, but I would assume it’s long term.”
Tariq Francis and Jamichael Davis on practice before the game:
Francis: “Our focus wasn’t there in practice, and we didn’t understand how that could carry over. We’ve got to be better as players. It’s not on Coach — he told us. We have to come ready to practice.”
Davis: “Our focus and energy weren’t right. Preparation is everything, and we didn’t come ready.”
Coach Pikiell on balancing Tariq’s performance:
“That wasn’t our main issue tonight. Tariq can score at a high level, but there are other things too — he didn’t have a rebound tonight. When guards don’t rebound and you get out-rebounded, that’s a problem. We’ve been taking steps forward, and tonight was a big step back. We’ll practice tomorrow, we’ll have a long, intense practice, and we’ll be ready. We’re playing a Hall of Fame coach and Michigan State — it’s an unbelievable opportunity, and we have to play with more passion.”
Coach Pikiell on getting back to winning:
“You can’t give up 82 points at home, and you can’t get out-rebounded. Those have been our Achilles heels all year. I know we have ten new guys, but we’ve shown signs of improvement. Yesterday set the tone for today, and we can’t let that happen again. This is the toughest league in the country. You get knocked down, but you have to get back up — and these guys will.”
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