When Steve Pikiell was hired as the Rutgers men’s basketball coach, he cited one of his goals was to assemble a top notch staff. While convincing now associate head coach Karl Hobbs to leave UConn was a major coup, Pikiell had a long standing relationship with him. Jay Young worked for 11 seasons under Pikiell at Stony Brook and when he was surprisingly skipped over for the top job at the Long Island school, it made sense for him to come to Rutgers.
Landing Brandin Knight was a different story altogether. Twice a legend as a high school basketball player in New Jersey and one of the greatest player in Pitt history, Pikiell had no prior relationship with Knight.