Rutgers head men’s basketball coach Mike Rice has a number of messages to preach to his struggling Scarlet Knights, losers of six in a row and eight of nine.
But the second-year head coach insists playing spoiler against in-state rival Seton Hall today is not one of them.
“The motivation is to win,” Rice said Friday. “We haven’t won in a while — in a month. The motivation is Seton Hall. The motivation is to get better. “
But Rice cannot control his players, who he called “college basketball fans.” They likely know the Pirates (19-9, 8-8) are on the verge of making their first NCAA Tournament since 2006. The Knights (12-16, 4-11), meanwhile, must look to next year for their first berth in 21 years — barring a Big East Tournament championship.
Rice never used upsetting Seton Hall as a tool in practice, he said. Instead he can look to Jan. 28, the Knights’ last Big East victory.
“It eats at me that we didn’t reach our goals,” Rice said. “I worry about what I can control. And what I can control is seven freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors.”
He played host to a practice player Friday that exhausted his NCAA eligibility. Hamady N’Diaye, the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, practiced with the team at the Louis Brown Athletic Center.
The fresh outlook — and body — paid dividends, Rice said.
“It’s fun because he has a different spirit,” he said of N’Diaye. “He has such an energy and personality. When I heard he was coming, I thought it was immediately a positive. … He was fun to be around.”
The Washington Wizards cut N’Diaye, a former second-round pick, earlier in the month. The Dakar, Senegal, native recently signed a contract to return to the NBA Development League.
— Tyler Barto
