Awards pour in for Steve Pikiell, Rutgers from Met Basketball Writers Association following remarkable season
Rutgers didn’t get the opportunity to see it’s remarkable 2019-20 season on the hardwood translate into an NCAA Tournament bid this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the Scarlet Knights are receiving plenty of recognition following the season.
Head coach Steve Pikiell was named the All-Met Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season, after leading Rutgers to a 20-11 record and an 11-9 mark in B1G play. It was the program’s first winning season since the 2005-06 campaign.
A year ago, Rutgers finished with a 14-17 record and went 7-13 against B1G competition.
“I want to thank the Met Basketball Writers Association for this great honor,” Pikiell said in a statement. “There are a lot of terrific programs and well-deserving coaches in this area and I’m thankful that they recognized Rutgers University. I want to thank our players. They decided a long time ago that they wanted to have a special season, and then they went about the hard work and sacrifices that it took to make that a reality. You can’t win awards like this without a great staff, who all did an awesome job this season. It was an unbelievable year, and a special shout-out to Rutgers Nation, who made The RAC the toughest place in America to play. I also want to thank Pat Hobbs, my Athletic Director, who has been by my side the whole time as we try and build this program into one that people can be very proud of, for all of his hard work and dedication to Rutgers athletics.”
Along with Pikiell’s recognition, Geo Baker was a first-team All-Met selection, becoming the first Rutgers player to receive that honor since 2006 (Quincy Douby). Baker average 10.9 points, 3.5 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting at a near-40 percent clip.
Ron Harper Jr. received second-team honors after averaging 12.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per contest.