Rutgers Men and Women’s Hoops Attend Media Day in Minneapolis
With tip-off of the 2023-24 Rutgers basketball season near, both men’s and women’s teams were well represented in Minneapolis this week for the Big Ten Media Day.
Coming off a disappointing finish to the 2022-23 season, men’s head coach Steve Pikiell expressed his excitement for the new season.
The Scarlet Knights saw a whirlwind of changes to its roster in the offseason, but there is still a familiar veteran presence. While Caleb McConnell and Paul Mulcahy have moved on to the next chapter of their basketball stories, the likes of Clifford Omoruyi; Oskar Palmquist; Mawot Mag; Aundre Hyatt, and Derek Simpson highlight the returning core.
Rutgers also features one of its best freshman recruiting classes led by Gavin Griffiths, who was the No. 20th recruit in the country, making him the highest recruit in the Pikiell era.
“We got a freshman class that I feel is very good about,” Pikiell said. “We do, my staff, does a really good job to develop players, graduate them. It’s a great time to be at Rutgers. The university is in a good place.”
“The international tour was great for a lot of reasons, we went to Africa and Portugal,” continued Pikiell. “The off-season was great. Derek Simpson is fast and can play. Gavin Griffiths is the highest ranked guy I’ve recruited here to Rutgers. We did lose the national defensive player of the year in Caleb McConnell, but I will make sure we will play defense. But we score at a high level.”
Women’s Basketball
Meanwhile, Rutgers women’s basketball is also looking strong. After a rebuilding year in 2022-23, the Lady Scarlet Knights hit the recruiting and transfer portal hard.
Joining Rutgers: Destiny Adams from North Carolina, and Mya Petticord from Texas A& M; Rutgers also named a top recruit in freshman Lisa Thompson.
Head Coach Coquese Washington told Fox Sports New Jersey that she is excited for the new season, adding the deeper rotation will allow Rutgers to mix and match its schemes throughout the season.
Washington was also in Minnesota to talk about her team.
Rutgers vs Wagner 9.30.23
