Ryan Dunleavy | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Montez Mathis scheduled a commitment announcement. Then he postponed it. Then he went ahead with it.

It was a wild final couple days in the recruitment of the four-star guard out of Baltimore, who became the highest rated prospect (No. 66 nationally in the class of 2018) to pick Rutgers since Kadeem Jack in 2010.

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It's a major step forward for second-year Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell, who proved he can overcome the program's outside stigma from before he arrived to land a big fish. Rutgers' top priority in the class of 2017 -- Jose Alvarado -- picked Georgia Tech.

It was two commitments in two days for Pikiell, who also secured a commitment from three-star point guard Mac McClung on Thursday.

Mathis and John Carroll School coach John Zito explained to NJ.com what went into the potentially program-changing decision. First up is Mathis' answers:

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Why Rutgers?

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"I feel like Coach Pikiell trusts in me and believes in me and what I could bring to Rutgers. My whole entire family likes all the coaching staff there. I felt comfortable with the decision of going to Rutgers."

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What did Pikiell do to win over your family?

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"He's real outgoing. Every time he calls me it's not just about basketball. It's about life stuff. It seems like it's not about basketball with him."

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What about the basketball part of it?

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"Everywhere he goes, he wins. That's what I like. His intensity as a coach. Rutgers' winning percentage has gone up a lot since he's been there."

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Why do you believe in a turnaround at Rutgers?

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"I believe in myself. I know what I can bring to the basketball court. I believe in myself and that I can bring a winning environment to Rutgers."

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How big was Mac McClung's commitment in your eyes?

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"It was big. I played against Mac this summer. He's a real good point guard. Can shoot it. I talked to him earlier. I didn't know he was going to commit there. It caught me by surprise, actually. When he committed, it was like 'Oh, ok.' One of those type moments. I like that he's there and I get to come in with him."

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What was the end of your recruitment like?

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"The last 24 hours were like a roller coaster. It was crazy. I had to talk with my family as a whole, and I came to my decision. I just had a long talk with my parents. I was going to (wait) but I just talked to my family about it. My brothers, mom, dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles."

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Who'd you call with the news?

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"Coach (Brandin) Knight and Coach Pikiell. Their entire families were going crazy. There were people in the background yelling. It felt good. His kids were yelling and stuff."

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What does it mean to be the highest-rated recruit for Rutgers in years?

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"It means a lot. A sixth grader right now in Baltimore, when he gets to his senior year, he'll probably say, 'Montez Mathis went to Rutgers.' It's a trend that I can start for top guys to go. Believe in themselves and see if they can change something for once."

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My #Top8 🙏🏾 Four-star SG Montez Mathis has cut his list of schools to eight. Who made the cut? | Story: https://t.co/tFVHavdjbN… pic.twitter.com/8GdVvUHCWS — Montez Mathis (@MontezMathis) June 13, 2017

What do you bring to the court?

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"I think I bring everything. Defense, offense, toughness. An all-around game."

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Was it hard to tell the coaches at UConn and Virignia Tech?

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"Yeah, it was real hard. It was one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make."

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What was it like to be a team's top priority?

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"It made me feel good. It shows that somebody believes in me. I think we can help each other a lot."

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

JOHN ZITO, JOHN CARROLL SCHOOL'S COACH

Zito is a former player and seven-year assistant coach at UMBC, where he faced off annually against Pikiell's Stony Brook teams in the America East Conference. He took over at John Carroll in July 2016.

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What makes Mathis a special talent?

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"A super tough kid on the floor. Obviously he's a great athlete. Shoots the ball well right now, but still needs a little work on his jump shot. But his best basketball is getting to the rim and scoring the ball. He really can score the ball. He had 11 30-point games for us."

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John Munson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

How did Rutgers win this battle?

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"From the start, as soon as Montez came to us, Pikes was on him. Pikes recruited the hell out of him. Brandin Knight was on him hard. Brandin came down a couple times and saw him. They just worked. They really, really worked."

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What does it say about Mathis that he was willing to take a chance and be Pikiell's first 4-star recruit?

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"He's a tough kid. He's not afraid of a challenge. He's not afraid of putting in hard work. He is a really tough, hard-nosed kid. As quiet as he is off the floor, he's one of the tougher guys I've coached in high school or college when you get in between those lines."

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Do you have any sense of what the last 24 hours were like for him?

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"It was a lot on him. I think it's a lot at age 17, 18. It's probably most of their biggest decisions of their young lives up until that point. It's a lot of great things happening, but I know it's stressful on these guys. Especially this day and age. There are so many different forms of media out there that these kids have access to. Everybody that recruited him really recruited him hard. He was recruited well."

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🎤🎥



Mic'd up with Coach Knight (@bknight20) for a behind the scenes look at yesterday's practice. #KnightAndDay https://t.co/mSab0lIGwd — Rutgers Basketball 🏀 (@RutgersMBB) July 20, 2017

It sounds like this was old-school recruiting of forming a bond with a recruit and his family?

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"I know Coach Pike and his mom have a good relationship. I know Coach Pike and his dad have a good relationship. They really did it with old-fashioned hard work from the first day they started with him. I think they really made a commitment to Montez and his family from the first day. They were relentless every single week, whether it was phone calls, text messages, visits. They were relentless in their pursuit."

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Could you tell he was a priority for Rutgers?

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"There was no question of that at all. They made him a top priority. They made that clear to Montez and his family."

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You and Pikiell go back a long time. What's your impression of him?

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"I think Coach Pikiell is going to turn that place around. He's done the same at every other program he has been at. I think it's a great fit for Coach Pikiell and Montez. Pike's fortay was always tough, hard-nosed kids. I'll tell you he's got two (Mathis and McClung) coming in next year for sure.""

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"I knew Pikiell is a great guy. That's what I tell all my kids: Make sure you get to know the head coach as a person before coaching. Obviously basketball is a huge part of it, but it's not everything. It's very important that the kids and the parents get to know the coaches as people. His mom and dad want to know who exactly they are sending their son to."

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NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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Ryan Dunleavy can be reached at rdunleavy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @rydunleavy.