NEW YORK — Forget about building a wall around New Jersey.
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell is ready to recruit anywhere.
“I want kids that want to play for me, I don’t care where they’re located from,” Pikiell, who is entering his second season at the Big Ten school, told me Thursday at Big Ten Media Day at Madison Square Garden.
“We went to California, we got a center [Myles Johnson]. I think he’s good. Geo Baker’s up in New Hampshire. I think he’s good, I think he can play. I think he can play anywhere. When you’re in these builds, you’ve got to get kids that want to fight through the tough times, and then once you fight through the tough times then it makes it easier for the sexy guys to come and play for you. So we’re recruiting everywhere.”
Those comments are a long way from previous administrations at Rutgers that talked consistently about building a wall around the state to keep its lush talent base from leaving.
But then again, the Garden State’s top talent has been leaving the area for some time now.
The Kentuckys, Dukes and Syracuses of the world have robbed and plundered New Jersey for years, from Kyrie Irving (Duke) to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky) to Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) to Tyus Battle (Syracuse) and on and on and on,
Of the top stars in the Class of 2018 in the state, none are staying local. The Hudson Catholic trio of Jahvon Quinerly (Arizona), Luther Muhammad (Ohio State) and Louis King (Oregon) are all headed elsewhere, as is Roselle Catholic star big man Naz Reid (LSU).
(Of Rutgers two Class of 2018 recruits, one is from Maryland — Montez Mathis — and one is from New Jersey — Ron Harper Jr.)
Looking ahead to 2019, Duke, Kentucky, Florida and Villanova are among those hot on the trails of Ranney School stars Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis.
Rutgers wasn’t even on the final list for any of these players, so it makes sense that Pikiell isn’t obsessing with keeping Jersey boys at home.
“We can go anywhere,” he said. “The Big Ten is everywhere. There’s alumni bases everywhere. We can go to Wisconsin, we can go to Michigan, and Europe is another avenue. Every avenue has to be open to us.”
Asked if Rutgers need to win first in order to become more attractive to the Jersey kids, Pikiell said, “Well, I think to get any kids winning is what they want first and foremost. And I want to get the right kids, whether he’s from Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Ethiopia, I want to get the right kids.
“And I think it’s more important when you’re building to get the right kids than to get the geographic kids.”
Pikiell even suggested that it’s sometimes “easier” to get kids from further away because they aren’t hearing all the negative things associated with the school.
And let’s face it, from the various scandals surrounding the Rutgers athletic program in recent years to its recent history on the court, there has been plenty of negativity swirling around the program.
“Sometimes it’s easier to recruit in areas where people aren’t hearing such negativity about a program or your area,” he said. “Rutgers is a great school. I go out to California, Myles Johnson, great student. So he pulls up our Engineering program and he’s like, ‘I’m going to visit.’ Next thing you know we got a guy.
“If he was from the New York/New Jersey area, it would’ve been a lot different recruiting process with him. The closer you are sometimes to a place, the more you’re going to hear about things that aren’t as attractive about the place. That happens anywhere. If you go out to Wisconsin, you’re not going to be hearing about Rutgers. So what you’re going to know is what the coach educates on.
“It’s one of the great things about going to school in this area, but it’s also one of the things that detracts from kids going to schools locally.”
That philosophy is a long way from building a wall around your state.
Photo: Jordan Ozer
