Rutgers men’s basketball coach Steve Pikiell said Wednesday that he is battling cancer, though he did not specify the type.
Pikiell said he went to the doctor a few months ago after not feeling 100 percent. In his statement, he said he plans to stay involved with the team as much as he can and has confidence in his staff when he can’t be around. He also said he believes he will beat the diagnosis.
How much he’ll be on the sideline this season is impossible to know, and that uncertainty sits far below the bigger issue at hand.
Pikiell, a 1991 UConn graduate, played point guard for the Huskies and later spent the first season of his coaching career in Storrs in 1991-92.
He is entering his 11th season at Rutgers and has taken the Scarlet Knights to the NCAA Tournament twice, in 2021 and 2022. His roster has also included highly selected NBA draft picks Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.
Before Rutgers, Pikiell built Stony Brook into an America East force, reaching the postseason six times in seven years and earning conference Coach of the Year honors four times. He also worked as an assistant at George Washington, Central Connecticut State, Yale and UConn.
At UConn, Pikiell spent four seasons under Jim Calhoun and helped the Huskies win their first Big East title and reach the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. He served as captain for two seasons, and both of those NCAA Tournament runs came with him in that role. As a senior, he was part of an 11-seed UConn team that knocked off LSU, led by Shaquille O’Neal.
In other UConn athletics news, the men’s basketball program hosted NaVorro Bowman Jr. on a recruiting visit this past weekend. He is the son of former San Francisco 49ers linebacker NaVorro Bowman Sr.
This weekend, UConn is set to host another notable prospect: Demarcus Henry, the son of former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, who died in 2009 at age 26.
According to Storrs Central, Henry is ranked No. 3 in the nation by On3 and No. 2 by ESPN. He is 6-foot-7 and plays high school basketball in Arizona.
In Other News...
Cal Faces A Week 2 Quarterback Concern It Cant Ignore
Week 1 gave the ACC a quick sorting test at quarterback, with some passers padding numbers against lighter opposition and others showing what they could do against Power Four defenses. The opening weekend also offered a useful early look at where the conferences top arms stand heading into Week 2, with several upcoming matchups set to provide another round of answers for teams trying to separate real progress from early noise.
For Syracuse fans, the bigger takeaway is that the leagues quarterback picture is already starting to tighten, and the Orange will be watching closely as the schedule moves into its next set of games. The weekly ranking of the ACCs top quarterbacks underscores how much these first two Saturdays can shape the conversation, especially for players who either handled stronger defenses well or still have more to prove before the season settles into a rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Is Pushing Hard For A 4-Star EDGE Fans Should Know
Michel Adams has quickly become one of the more interesting names on Syracuses recruiting radar. The 2028 edge rusher, a four-star prospect according to 247Sports, already has more than a dozen offers on the table, with schools such as Boston College, Duke, Florida, Florida State and LSU involved, but the Orange have made sure to stay firmly in the mix. His recent trip to Syracuse for the 2026 season opener gave the staff a chance to make a direct impression, and Adams spent time speaking with head coach Fran Brown and other coaches.
For Syracuse, the visit mattered because Brown made Adams feel like more than just another name on a long board of targets. He was described as a top recruiting priority, which tells you where the Orange stand in the early push for one of the nations more sought-after young pass rushers. Adams is still weighing his options and has not committed anywhere yet, so this remains an open race, but Syracuse has clearly positioned itself to keep pressing as the process moves forward. [Read more 🡒]
Syracuse Has A Calvin Russell Twist Nobody Expected This Soon
Calvin Russell IIIs name has barely been off Syracuses radar since the five-star freshman wide receiver arrived, and now hes suddenly part of the conversation for a very different reason. The Orange listed Russell as questionable for the upcoming game against California even though he is working back from the torn Achilles tendon he suffered in March, a timeline that has already made his situation one of the most closely watched in the program.
Fran Brown has previously pointed to an October return as a possibility, so any hint of Russell being near the field is notable. Syracuse also has fifth-year receiver Justus Ross-Simmons expected to play after being cleared through a temporary restraining order in his ongoing legal situation, while six other players are already ruled out, leaving the Orange to sort through a thinner-than-usual depth chart as the Cal game approaches. [Read more 🡒]