What They Are Saying
Stony Brook, N.Y. - Stony Brook University Director of Athletics Jim Fiore
is pleased to announce the hiring of Steve Pikiell, the former Associate
Head Coach at The George Washington University, as the new head men's
basketball coach. Pikiell becomes the tenth coach in the program's
history, coming to Stony Brook after four years at GW and highly successful
assistant coaching stints at Central Connecticut State, Wesleyan, Yale and
Connecticut.
"We are thrilled to welcome Coach Pikiell to our Seawolves family," said
Fiore. "He has a passion, enthusiasm and work ethic that is extremely
contagious. I am confident our University, athletic department and men's
basketball program will feed off his boundless energy and we anticipate
that Steve will take this program very far, very fast. Finally and most
importantly, he has a keen understanding that the relationship between
athletic and academic excellence is paramount for success as a head coach
at Stony Brook University."
Pikiell (pronounced PIKE-el), 37, who is known as one of the top assistants
and one of the most successful recruiters in the nation, has been an
integral part of the rebirth of the George Washington basketball program
over the last four seasons. In 2004-05, the Colonials recorded 22 wins,
the most since the 1997-98 season and the second most in 50 years, en route
to their first-ever Atlantic-10 title and automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament. The 14 conference victories were the most in GW's Atlantic-10
Conference history, signaling a complete turnaround for a team that
finished last in the Atlantic-10 in 2001. The remarkable resurgence was
punctuated with the Colonials appearance in the Associated Press and
ESPN/USA Today Top 25 national polls in 2004-05. At GW, Pikiell landed two
Top 25 national recruiting classes and brought four Top 100 players to the
program. Two of Pikiell's recruits, Mike Hall and Pops Mensah-Bonsu,
recently declared for the 2005 NBA draft.
He joined the GW staff in 2001 and in his third season under Karl Hobbs,
the Colonials posted an 18-12 mark, a second-place finish in the
Atlantic-10 West Division and earned a bid to the National Invitation
Tournament. The second-place finish marked the best showing for the
program in the previous five years.
"I am overjoyed at the opportunity to be the head men's basketball coach at
Stony Brook University," said Pikiell. "I look forward to working with
President Kenny and Jim Fiore in elevating our basketball program to new
heights. I am excited about the current members of our team, the direction
of our athletic department and university as a whole. Lastly, it is truly
an honor to follow in the footsteps of Nick Macarchuk, one of the most
respected people in men's college basketball. We will work tirelessly to
build upon the strong foundation of the former coaching staff."
Prior to GW, he served for five seasons (1997-01) as an assistant coach at
Central Connecticut State University which, prior to his arrival, had never
posted a winning season at the Division I level. During his tenure, CCSU
posted an 81-63 (.563) record, including a 25-6 mark in 1999-2000 and the
university's first bid to the 2000 NCAA tournament. He was part of a staff
at CCSU that posted three straight winning seasons, including the 25-6
campaign which set a new Northeast Conference record for victories in a
single season.
Pikiell was also instrumental in recruiting three players who won Northeast
Conference Player of the Year awards in 2000, 2001 and 2004 including
CCSU's first-ever NBA draft pick, Corsley Edwards. Seven of his recruits
went on to earn all-conference recognition and he helped the 1999-00 team
post the highest G.P.A. in the school's Division I history.
A 1990 graduate of the University of Connecticut, Pikiell was a two-year
captain and four-year letterwinner at point guard for the Huskies from
1987-91. UConn won its first Big East title and advanced to the "Elite
Eight" and "Sweet 16" during the two years that Pikiell captained the
Huskies. He played in 106 career games and averaged 8.2 points a game as a
freshman. In 1991, Pikiell was given the UConn Club Senior Athlete Award
for outstanding contributions to UConn athletics.
"Steve was my only two-time captain at UConn and he is clearly like a son
to me," said Jim Calhoun, head coach at the University of Connecticut. "I
can think of no coach in the country who will bring more enthusiasm,
knowledge, heart and work ethic to the game of basketball than he will.
Stony Brook will feel an immediate jolt to its program with Steve at the
helm. He is undoubtedly one of the brightest young coaches in the nation."
Pikiell also spent three years as an assistant coach at Yale (1993-95)
after spending one season as an assistant coach at Connecticut under head
coach Jim Calhoun in 1991-92.
Pikiell replaces Nick Macarchuk, who retired from coaching at the
conclusion of the 2004-05 season. He is the first former UConn alum who
played under Calhoun that has gone on to become a head coach at the
Division I level.
The Bristol, Conn., native has been an instructor at several summer
basketball camps, including his own camp from 1991-99 in Cheshire, Conn.
Pikiell and his wife, Kate, have three children: Brooke Elizabeth, 5, John
Patrick, 3, and Olivia Kathryn, 2.
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