Rutgers coach Pikiell has cancer; Knight takes over — SkimNews
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- Steve Pikiell announced Wednesday he has been diagnosed with cancer after visiting doctors at RWJBarnabas Health, with Memorial Sloan Kettering also guiding his care following what he called successful surgery.
- Brandin Knight, Rutgers' associate head coach, will serve as interim head coach with no set timetable for Pikiell's full return to the sideline, per athletic director Keli Zinn.
- Pikiell is in his 10th season at Rutgers with a 161-160 record, having led the Scarlet Knights to NCAA tournament appearances in 2021 and 2022 — the program's first since 1991.
- Pikiell won the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year award in 2020 after guiding Rutgers to a 20-win season in a year where the NCAA tournament was cancelled.
- Pikiell has been a Division I coach for 35 years, previously spending 11 seasons as head coach at Stony Brook (four America East titles, NCAA bid in 2016) after starting his coaching career in 1991 under Jim Calhoun at UConn.
Why it matters: A Rutgers program that broke a three-decade NCAA tournament drought under Pikiell now enters its most uncertain stretch in years, with the 35-year Division I coach stepping away midseason for cancer treatment and an interim replacement with no public return date.
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