PISCATAWAY -- You want some optimism about the Rutgers men's basketball team for a change? An honest-to-goodness, all-caps, pick-your-jaw-off-the-floor-and-gasp level of O-P-T-I-M-I-S-M?

Take a seat next to Corey Sanders at the team's annual media day. Ask the dynamic point guard what he expects from his team in its first year under head coach Steve Pikiell. Just be prepared to catch your eyebrows before they jump right off your forehead.

"I want to win 20 games," Sanders said. "That's my goal in my head. I want to win 20 games. I want to make one of the biggest turnarounds ever. I want people to come to Rutgers like, 'Man. What are they doing over here?' I want them to come ask Coach Pikiell, 'What is he teaching us?'"

Remember: Rutgers went 7-25 last season, a dismal death march that cost Eddie Jordan his job. The Scarlet Knights won just one of their 19 Big Ten games and the results in the other 18 were rarely close ... at halftime.

So Sanders was pressed. Twenty wins? Really?

"I really think it's possible," Sanders replied. "I'm not the type to just talk the talk. I really think it's possible just because of the talent we have. ... I love how everyone thinks we're going to finish last and all the stuff like that. There's not a better time to be a Scarlet Knight."

Okay, two things here:

1. There is absolutely no reason that a player shouldn't be wildly optimistic about his team a week before the season begins. Why not aim high? What's the worst thing that could happen? Good for Sanders.

2. If Rutgers wins 20 games, people won't be coming to Piscataway to see what Pikiell is teaching his players. They will come in search of his mystical powers to unite and lead the human race.

Pikiell is a basketball coach, not a miracle worker. He knows the Scarlet Knights that head into this season are better than the year before, but that his roster has a long way to go before it can truly compete in the Big Ten.

"We have our deficiencies," he said. "I see them every day. I know what we need to improve. I've got to get them to overachieve. I've got to get them to really embrace defense. I've got to get a team that didn't rebound to rebound and a team that couldn't stay healthy to stay healthy."

Still: Pikiell already has raised the expectations around this program before his team has played a single game. Rutgers isn't going to win 20 games. But I feel very confident in saying it's going to win much more than seven.

How many more? A strong start against the non-conference schedule could give this team a chance to double that win total from last season, or at the very least, get to the Dec. 23 rivalry game against Seton Hall with a good enough record to create a little buzz.

Not that anyone in Piscataway is going to count the Ws this season. The bar is so low, it's not even on the ground. The dignitaries who gathered for the groundbreaking on the new practice facility Tuesday could have dug for weeks and still not found it.

Most fans will be happy just to have a reason to watch the second half of conference games and to have a team that shows some competency in the basic fundamentals of the sport. Pikiell said he is starting from scratch in those areas, teaching everything from work ethic and how to be good teammates.

"I don't know yet what this team is capable of," he said. "We've got some pieces. We've got some unique pieces. If I can get them to really play hard and really embrace that defensive end of the floor, we could be a really interesting basketball team."

That starts with Sanders, who admits his first instinct when Jordan was fired was to run like hell for the door. He declared for the NBA Draft, found no interest from professional teams, then fully embraced Pikiell's vision for the program.

He gives the Scarlet Knights an elite backcourt player. Forward Deshawn Freeman, who missed all but seven games a season ago, will provide a scoring and rebounding presence up front. The rest?

It's hard to say, really. Rutgers has more size, with transfer C.J. Gettys and a much slimmer Shaq Doorson. It has several intriguing newcomers, most notably 6-foot-9 wing player Issa Thiam. Rutgers is deeper and more athletic, but still is woeful short on natural scorers from the perimeter.

The reality is, Rutgers might be much better from a season ago and not have it reflected in wins and losses. That's the nature of playing in a conference with 13 other teams focused on the postseason.

"The league is so good," Pikiell said. "Michigan State, I was looking down at their roster, and I think they have 12 NBA prospects. So it's all relative to the league that you're playing in. Obviously, when you win one game you have to upgrade your talent a lot."

Pikiell has spent much of his first six months trying to improve that. The work ethic of the coaching staff is no longer in doubt, and clearly, that attitude is rubbing off on the players.

Rutgers will be better. Twenty games better? That is a wee bit much to expect from a program trying to climb out of the Big Ten basement, but any optimism around this team is a welcome thing.

LISTEN: Episode 6 of NJ.com's Rutgers Football podcast

Rebuilding Rutgers: From The Ashes takes you inside the new football regime. This episode is a 10-year anniversary retrospect of Rutgers' greatest win.

Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevePoliti. Find NJ.com on Facebook.