Return Of The Pike

Steve Pikiell (and a good portion of his current Rutgers staff) will return to Stony Brook this Saturday to face the Seawolves who still roster several players they recruited to the Long Island university. Eight total players on the 2016-17 Stony Brook roster were apart of the program Coach Pikiell led to its first NCAA Tournament last season.

Stony Brook first entered Division 1 play in 1999, and success was rare early on. In April of 2005 the administration tapped Steve Pikiell to become the universities 10th head men's basketball coach in program history. With Pikiell at the helm the Seawolves would win just 20 games in their first three seasons. His first staff would include current Rutgers assistant Jay Young as well, both now returning to 100 Nicolls Road as the opponent.

Steve Pikiell's first staff at Stony Brook also lists Dan Rickard as Director of Basketball Operations-- Rickard almost joined the Rutgers staff as a Senior Advisor for this season, before deciding to remain at the Long Island university.

The 2008-09 recruiting class was Steve Pikiell's most important to date.

Certain groups of players have the ability to not only change the culture of a program, but more importantly change outside perception. While Stony Brook had only won 20 games over the previous three seasons, they would win 53 over the next three.

The players would all leave their mark on the Stony Brook record books. Muhammad El-Amin came in as a Junior; Tommy Brenton, Bryan Dougher and Dallis Joyner all as Freshman.

Muhammad El-Amin remains first all time with 16.2 points per game, Bryan Dougher sits 5th in points per game and second all time with 1,609 career points-- his 337 three point field goals are 151 ahead of Carson Puriefoy's second place total of 186.

Tommy Brenton and Dallis Joyner are second and third all time in career rebounds at Stony Brook. Brenton's record was only recently surpassed by Jameel Warney-- who also surpassed Bryan Dougher for first in career points. Tommy Brenton is Stony Brook's career leader in steals with 220-- 41 more than the next closest Seawolf.

This class single-handedly changed the fortunes and future of not only Stony Brook men's basketball, but it's head coach, Steve Pikiell.

For the 2014-15 season Bryan Dougher would join Steve Pikiell's coaching staff at Stony Brook as the Director of Basketball Operations. Two seasons later the New Jersey native would be leaving Long Island to join Steve Pikiell at Rutgers.

David VanDyke and Richard Campbell would also head to the Garden State to join the Rutgers men's basketball program. Five individuals listed on the Stony Brook coaching staff for the 2015-16 season were now at Rutgers.

The Rutgers staff and Stony Brook players know each other inside and out. New Jersey natives and program legends Carson Puriefoy and Jameel Warney have graduated, Junior Saintel from Mays Landing is now the sole NJ native on the Seawolves roster.

Emotions will run high on Saturday, and there will be plenty of love thrown around-- there's also some underlying animosity few will discuss.

As Steve Pikiell departed for Rutgers, his right hand man (since day one) Jay Young became a favorite to take over as head coach of the Stony Brook program. Instead administration decided to go with the splashy outside hire, bringing in Jeff Boals-- a former Ohio State assistant.

If either Steve Pikiell or Jay Young were pissed off, neither strayed from their politically correct message of profusely thanking Stony Brook at every given opportunity.

While the homecoming will be a celebration of past accomplishments, and a homecoming for their family's and friends, you can be sure somewhere deep down the Rutgers coaching staff has a point to prove to those calling the shots at Stony Brook.