HC Steve Pikiell divulges why Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper chose Rutgers
Steve Pikiell and Rutgers managed to secure commitments from two highly ranked prospects, Ace Bailey (No. 2) and Dylan Harper (No. 3), for the 2024 recruiting class. As a result, the Scarlet Knights basket program is ranked fourth in the 2024 recruiting class team rankings, per 247Sports.
After almost every player from the previous season departed, except for redshirt senior Jeremiah Williams and sophomore Jamichael Davis, coach Pikiell needed to completely overhaul the roster. He landed five freshmen, including Bailey and Harper, who both chose to join the Rutgers family.
On Tuesday, Steve Pikiell joined "Sports Nation Nightly" for an interview with host Perry Sook to preview the upcoming season. During the interview, he shared the key factors that influenced these top talents to commit to Rutgers.
"I mean first and foremost, great families — my staff did a fantastic job recruiting them," Steve said, "they wanted what Rutgers is, they wanted to play in front of sellouts which they do, they wanted to get better and we've proven that players come here and get better.
"They wanted the challenge and play in the best conference in the country, they wanted a great college experience which they're getting here," he added. "Thankful they picked us. It's going to be exciting five months with them and we're going to try to do as many exciting things as we can on the basketball court."
Steve Pikiell discusses home field advantage of playing at Jersey Mike's Arena
Teams have had a tough time playing at Rutgers' home arena, Jersey Mike's Arena, over the past few seasons.
Last campaign, the Scarlet Knights lost only one game at home between November and the end of January, until Purdue handed them a defeat. They further suffered three losses at home to Penn State, Maryland and Ohio State.
For the new season, Steve Pikiell said the home atmosphere will be key for Rutgers to win more games.
"I love playing at Jersey Mike's. The fans come out, the students are awesome," Pikiell said (via Sports Nation Nightly).
"We have season ticket holders throughout the years that continue to be supportive and we've raised a level of alertness here that makes it one of the toughest spots to play in college basketball so we need to keep that advantage. We're looking forward to making this a real tough place to come in and play."
Steve Pikiell's men will tip off their season at Jersey Mike's against Wagner on Wednesday. They will host Purdue, UCLA and Illinois at home this season as well.