Brandin Knight is about to get his first crack at running Rutgers from the top chair, and it comes with no easing in. On Sunday, he’ll make his head coaching debut when the Scarlet Knights host Villanova in an exhibition at Jersey Mike’s Arena, stepping in while Steve Pikiell remains sidelined by a cancer diagnosis.
Knight, Rutgers’ associate head coach, has been waiting for this moment for a while. He spent eight seasons as an assistant at Pittsburgh before arriving in Piscataway in 2016, and on Thursday he was in Chicago at Big Ten Media Days talking through his new role and the roster he’ll guide.
“I just try to focus on what I can control throughout the day and also get our players to understand that we just have to focus on what we can control every day,” Knight said. “We dominate the day, and we worry about what the outcomes will be down the road.”
Rutgers does bring back a core group that gives Knight something real to build around. The Scarlet Knights return six players and 60.4 percent of their possession minutes from last season, which ranks second in the Big Ten. Tariq Francis, Jamichael Davis, Lino Mark, Darren Buchanan and Kaden Powers are among the names back in the mix.
“I think we've had some guys, Lino Mark, Jamichael Davis, Tariq Francis, obviously Kaden Powers is back from last year,” Knight said. “But the thing is, each one of those guys was tasked with trying to take their game to the next level this summer.”
At the same time, this is not the same Rutgers team that finished last season. Knight pointed to the transfer portal and overseas additions as part of a group that has to develop its own identity all over again.
“With some of the pieces that we added through the transfer portal and from overseas, like now every year it's a new team,” Knight said. “So when we go into it, even for the coaching staff, there are some of the positives that we finished with at the end of the year.
You like to look at them and see where you can improve. But also, I try to remind guys that this is a different year.
So, some of the guys' percentages from last year, whether they were good or bad, like we still have to pay attention to how they're progressing and focus on that moving forward.”
The frontcourt is where Rutgers has stacked the most new pieces. Buchanan and Gevonte Ware are back, and they’re joined by Dorin Buca from Kansas State, Will Sydnor from Manhattan, international freshman Mervedi Miteo and Christian Gurdak from Virginia Tech.
“On the interior, we added four big guys,” Knight said. “One who was a returner from last year, obviously, but he wasn't healthy all last year.
He's healthy now. Then our three that we added through the portal or just from picking guys from overseas, I love our front line as a group and as a collective.
Christian Gurdak kind of leads them. He's been a pleasant surprise for us, especially on the interior.
He can really score the basketball when we get it to him. He can play inside and outside.
“And then some of our other pieces there, I think we're going to be in for a rude awakening, like when some other guys see what they're fighting against on a regular night-in, night-out basis.”
Sunday’s exhibition against Villanova is the first test, and Rutgers will get one more tune-up against St. John’s before opening the regular season on Nov. 6 against New Haven.
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Rutgers Debut Brought Back One Concern Fans Hoped Was Gone
Rutgers first look of the preseason came with a familiar feel in more ways than one. In an exhibition against Villanova, associate head coach Brandin Knight handled the sideline duties for Steve Pikiell, and the Scarlet Knights dropped a 77-75 decision in a game that echoed too many of last seasons offensive stretches. Even in an early setting, the possession flow and scoring patterns looked like concerns the program had hoped to move past.
There were also absences to note, with Tariq Francis, Will Sydnor, Dorin Buca and Martin Tonejc not taking part. The bright spot was Virginia Tech transfer Christian Gurdak, who made his Rutgers debut at center and gave the staff something to build on in the frontcourt. For a team still sorting out its identity before the games start to count, that kind of first impression matters, even if the bigger questions from the exhibition remain unresolved. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into A Defining Big Ten Test With Pressure Rising
The Week 7 trip to Maryland arrives with Rutgers still searching for its first breakthrough in Power Four play, and the early betting market reflects how tight the matchup looks on paper. The Scarlet Knights opened as 4.5-point underdogs on the road, a nod to a game that pits two teams still trying to steady themselves after defensive struggles have defined much of the season.
Greg Schianos group is walking into a tough setting as well, with Maryland getting its Homecoming spotlight and an offense that leans heavily on the pass. ESPNs matchup predictor also gives the Terps the edge, so Rutgers is facing more than just another conference road game, it is staring at a test that could say plenty about where this team stands in Big Ten play. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Swimming Is Showing Early Depth Fans Can Feel Good About
Rutgers swimming and diving continued to make a strong early impression at the Rutgers Invitational, closing out the second day with multiple first-place finishes and a steady stream of top-three efforts across both the pool and the boards. The Scarlet Knights looked balanced throughout the meet, with contributions from several areas and enough depth to suggest the roster is settling in well this fall.
The results also hinted at how much room this group may have to keep climbing, especially with a tri-meet against Liberty and James Madison coming next. Rutgers left the invitational with momentum from strong swimming and diving performances, and the kind of early-season showing that can give a team confidence before the schedule gets busier. [Read more 🡒]