ROSEMONT, Ill. – Rutgers men's basketball participated in the Big Ten's annual preseason Media Day ahead of the upcoming season. Head coach
Steve Pikiell alongside student-athletes
Dylan Grant and
Jamichael Davis suited up and tripped out to the event at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center to speak with assembled media and preview the team and the new season.
Throughout the day, both Coach Pikiell and the players spoke with media present at the event, as well as filming content for various digital and marketing elements for television broadcasts throughout the season, as well as social media content. The Scarlet Knights met with outlets including Sirius XM, NBC, Bleacher Report, Fox and CBS.
Coach Pikiell and the players also appeared Big Ten Network on the BTN Studio Set. Pikiell spoke on national television about his philosophies and what he sees out of this year's squad.
"We're doing our work in the offseason," head coach
Steve Pikiell said to Dave Revsine on Big Ten Network. "We've gotten back to our blue-collar roots. We're physical and we have tremendous size. We've got to get back to rebounding and defense. It's a competitive group and they've been fun to coach. I couldn't be more excited to coach them. I think Rutgers fans are going to really like this version of Rutgers basketball."
Davis is entering his junior season after playing 63 games as a Scarlet Knight over the past two years. The dynamic guard known for his strong defense has 64 career steals and 113 assists.
"The guys have been great this summer," Davis explained on BTN. "Everyone has been coming in and working hard and wanting to get better. That's a good trait to have. Everyone is competing at high level, trying to stack good days together, and getting connected at a high level. We're trusting the work and getting better as a group, staying levelheaded and not shying away from the work we have to do."
Grant is set for his sophomore season after breaking out towards the end of his freshman campaign. The forward started in 16 of his 21 games, averaging 5.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18.8 minutes per game.
"I'm really excited about the new players we've brought in this season," Grant explained. "There is always a lot of energy at practice, it's always a dogfight. We have a lot of fighters in that locker room that bring a lot of energy. We have a bunch of dogs out there and we work every day to be every day guys."
Rutgers is less than four weeks away from the start of the upcoming season with the full schedule, game times and television designations recently announced. Rutgers starts play at Jersey Mike's Arena on Wednesday, November 5, hosting Rider in the season opener.
"The fans are always showing up and showing out for us," Davis said. "We're excited to have them back and seeing them again."
The Scarlet Knights will also host a 'Meet the Team Knight' next week on Thursday, October 16. More information and registration for that event can be found
here.
