Rutgers Basketball HC Steve Pikiell talks CCSU Postgame
Rutgers Basketball Head Coach Steve Pikiell met with the media following the Scarlet Knights’ loss to Central Connecticut State on Friday night inside of Jersey Mike’s Arena.
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 fifth game of the season.
Full Transcript Coming Soon
STEVE PIKIELL: “Obviously, not the birthday I wanted. I’ve known Pat for a long time, and I told our guys that’s what a championship program, they’ve won the league two years in a row, they played that way today. They beat us in all the margins, free throw attempts, rebounds.
I told our guys, I don’t know if their minds were on Vegas or whatever, but Central Connecticut really good, I’m gonna compliment them, and Pat’s done a great job there, but we have to obviously play with more energy. We gotta play harder, we gotta rebound better. I appreciated putting the young guys in, and they gave us great energy.
I shouldn’t have to do that, but they deserve to win today, and it’s on me. We’re four and one, that’s what our record is right now, and we have no time now to put our heads down. We got Tennessee coming up, arguably one of the best teams in the country.
So we gotta bounce back, and we gotta do it quickly.”
Steve, what’s happening with this team’s three-point defense?
STEVE PIKIELL: “A few things, and it’s really starting to get on my nerves a little bit. A lot of new guys, that’s part of it, scouting reports a big part of it.
We have to grow, we have to grow up, too, in how we approach scouting reports. And again, I have to get some guys out there that understand what that job is against every team. And Central Connecticut was one of those teams, they had five guys that could make threes.
But they got nine up, the last time they had nine up in the first half, the other night when we played American, they made nine in the first half. So obviously, our defense was not good at all, and our offense wasn’t, and that’s what happens in a game like this. But I gotta find some guys that can defend the three, for sure.”
Coach, you mentioned the young lineup you went to in the second half, the four freshmen and the sophomore Dortch, what did you see from that group?
STEVE PIKIELL: “I mean, they just came and played with energy. We have to go at people. We’re not one of those programs, and we don’t have that kind of talent on the floor that you could just sit back and we have to go after people.
And we did for those five seconds. I was happy, and some of those guys hadn’t played. But they’re making a case, too, if they give us that kind of energy, and they’re ready to go.
Bryce always can do some things with us, but again, we gotta play better. We gotta own our record. I told our guys in the locker room, nobody feels sorry for us, and we’re heading to Tennessee and Las Vegas.
So we gotta find a three-point defense. We gotta find some better ball movement and the backboards. It all starts and ends with the backboards. And we can’t be plus 15 in a game and then minus. We have to be consistent with rebounding the basketball. Some of those were second shot threes.
That always happens when you’re scrambling off of a rebound miss shot. So we have to do a better job, and we gotta find some consistent rebounders.”
Coach, how worried are you about this team heading into Vegas? I mean, Vegas is Vegas.
STEVE PIKIELL: “So I don’t know if any coach is happy with his team. I’m certainly not. We’re better than this, and we gotta play better than this.
But you’re worried as a coach at this time of the year when you’re still figuring some stuff out. So we got a great challenge in front of us, and we gotta get off the mat. And that’s what we usually do, so we’ll see.”
Steve, outside of 19 points from Tariq Francis, it was a struggle for just about everybody offensively. How do you explain that, and how do you improve upon that, make sure everybody else gets involved?
STEVE PIKIELL: “Yeah, I mean, we’ve been pretty close to having five guys in double figures. So we’ve been sharing the ball, and we’ve been getting the ball moving.
I did think we missed a lot of makeable shots. We had one possession, I don’t know, we had four or five attempts of layups between DG and E around the basket, and we didn’t finish. But we gotta get to the free throw line, too.
That’s a part of this thing, and the margins are so important. It’s the free throws, it’s the rebounds, it’s all that, and you’ll score more points. But we didn’t stop them, and that’s part of it, too.
You gotta stop them, they held the ball, they ran clock, and they scored. And then we came down, and we rushed some attempts. And we didn’t make the ones that we needed to make, and that’s what happens in a game like this, and that’s why the outcome is the outcome.
Yeah, you mentioned a couple guys, young guys came in and gave you great energy. A couple of those guys didn’t play until the second half or late in the first half. What was your thinking on the rotation, and will you look at harder changes?
STEVE PIKIELL: “Yeah, I mean, I have to look at everything. But I went with the rotation in the first half that we’ve won four games with. And I just felt that those guys were our best chance to play with some energy, and I told them to be ready at halftime. I mean, I think the whole team always has to be ready.
So I have a lot of faith in those guys, even though I haven’t played them as much. And they came in and gave us a spark, so we’ll try to build on that. And I think a couple others are gonna get some opportunities, too, here, if they just keep plugging away.
But I wanted to try getting a little more athleticism on the floor, and that’s what Lino brings us, and that’s what Chris brings us, and that’s what KP brings us, and Bryce. So I went with that group.
What do you have to do to turn a team like this over more?
STEVE PIKIELL: “I mean, they’re obviously an experienced team, but they only had seven turnovers, and that was a point of emphasis for this team coming into the season.
Yeah, I mean, huge, and I will tell you, I watched them play Boston College. I really think Jay Rogers, a real quality point guard, nine assists, two turnovers, he was steady, got in the lane, he kinda got where he wanted to get. I mean, we have to do a better job, obviously, on the roller who got behind us a bunch of times, and that’s where he got a bunch of his assists.
But when we’re playing the way we need to play, we’ll turn some teams over. Obviously, we didn’t tonight, and you need extra opportunities when you’re not shooting the ball and you’re not rebounding it. So gotta put in some more trapping things, and we gotta get our rotations down.
But we just have to play better, Jerry, point blank, we just have to play better. And that’s obviously on me, and we have to play hard from the opening tip. And when you give teams confidence like this in your building, and this has been a tough building for people to come and play.
We gave them confidence right off the bat, and I thought we gave American confidence, too, the other night. So we have to get off to good starts with our defense, and obviously, we’re gonna have to against Tennessee.”
Like we said, you got the Players’ Era Festival coming up, then you got Purdue and Michigan on the horizon. What’s gonna have to change for you to compete with those type of teams?
STEVE PIKIELL: “Yeah, I mean, we gotta get better. I mean, it’s a long season, guys, long season. You go through ups and downs.
Today wasn’t our night for sure. And tip of the hat to Central Connecticut, they played a game. I don’t know if our guys’ minds were on the right thing.
Were they already in Las Vegas? I don’t know, I have ten new guys that I’m just learning, but they certainly weren’t on the task at hand. And I have to make sure that they understand what Tennessee looks like, and what Notre Dame looks like, and what Purdue looks like, and what Michigan looks like. We’re four in one, that’s what we are, and we better learn from a night like tonight.
That’s all you can do in a season like this. A lot of ups, a lot of downs. Obviously, this is a down, but we gotta get off the mat, and we gotta make sure that we’re ready to go.
Thanks, guys. Thanks so much, guys, appreciate you guys being here.”
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