Yesterday, Rutgers men’s basketball head coach Steve Pikiell met with members of the media to discuss the 2025 off-season and the new-look roster.
The first thing that Pikiell mentioned during his talk with the media was how much of an asset President William Tate and Athletic Director Keli Zinn are to Rutgers Athletics. Pikiell mentioned that Zinn has already attended several practices. The conversation circled back to Zinn later on when Pikiell was asked about the general manager situation. Pikiell mentioned that they’ve
been discussing bringing in a general manager for a few years, but haven’t been able to post a full-on job listing until Zinn took over. He also mentioned how they have received a lot of interest in the position, something he also credited to Zinn.
When he discussed the progress that everyone is making throughout the off-season, he mentioned that everyone is making strides on the defensive side of the ball. Baye Fall has been the best shot blocker in practice so far, according to Pikiell, and Darren Buchanan was also mentioned by name as someone who could be a defensive standout for the Knights this season. Kaden Powers was another player who received a lot of praise from Pikiell.
Pikiell also made the point to say that this team is better built to be a physical team than they were last year as well. It sounds like we might see a Scarlet Knights team that is closer to the teams that were around when Pikiell first showed up, rather than anything we have seen recently.
According to Pikiell, there are no starters right now on this team. Everyone is competing for minutes, unlike in past years.
He also talked about how Rutgers landed a lot of its new players for this year. According to Pikiell, the Rutgers coaching staff established a good relationship with players like Harun Zryno, Baye Fall, and Darren Buchanan before they committed to their previous teams. When they entered the transfer portal, the relationship was already there for them to take advantage of.
To watch Pikiell’s media availability, click here.
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