No one can blame a coach for leaving a low-major program for the opportunity to lead one in a Power 5 conference, no matter the depths to which that program has fallen. For Steve Pikiell, that’s exactly the situation he finds himself in at Rutgers.
The Scarlett Knights won just a single Big Ten game last season under Eddie Jordan, finishing the season at 7-25 overall. The athletic department has been on the wrong side of nearly every media headline for the past three years. It’s a rebuilding job among the most difficult in the country, no matter how successful Pikiell has been in the past.
Still, there are opportunities to be had. If Pikiell can somehow convince some of the 10 prospects ranked among the nation’s top 100 players in the 2017 and 2018 classes to join his vision at Rutgers, he could generate the type of momentum that the program hasn’t seen in ten years–their last winning record was during the 2005-2006 season.
If there are wins to come at Rutgers, it won’t be soon. Patience will be vital for a program among the worst in the country, at least for the last decade.
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