BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

August 29, 2006


VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Earl Pettis, (G) Patterson School in NC.



Projected 2007-2008 Roster:


SENIORS: Ollie Bailey (PF)
JUNIORS: Anthony Farmer (PG), Jaron Griffin (G/F), JR Inman (F), Courtney Nelson (PG)
SOPHOMRES: Hamady N'Diaye (C)
FRESHMEN: Corey Chandler (G), Justin Sofman (G), Earl Pettis (G)


Affectionately known as 'Mr. New Jersey' for his recruiting prowess in the Garden State, Fred Hill reached over state lines as Philly Guard Pettis Commits to Rutgers (Newark Star-Ledger).

The versatile Pettis played for powerful Neumann-Goretti High School in Philadelphia along with Syracuse commits Rick Jackson and Antonio Jardine and 2006 St. Joseph's (PA) commit Derrick Rivera.

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Pettis is the thirs perimeter recruit in the class of 2007 for the Scarlet Knights, joining Corey Chandler of East Side HS in Newark, NJ and Justin Sofman of West Milford HS, who will be prepping at St. Thomas More this coming year. Pettis, who was also recruited by Pittsburgh, Temple, George Washington, Indiana and Delaware will be working to shore up his academics this year by attending the Patterson School in North Carolina.

Pettis is a very versatile perimeter player that can handle, pass and score. He brings good size at over 6'4 to the backcourt and comes from an excellent high school program. He does need to work on his consistency, but being challenged night in and night out in the Big East environment should bring out the best in this player. If he improves his range out to the 3-pt range, he would be a very valuable offensive player. As it stands now, he is a jack-of-all trades that will be a solid contributor, at least, for Rutgers in the Big East.

With the commitment of Pettis, Rutgers still has 4 scholarships left for the class of 2007 and the frontcourt is the immediate need for coach Fred Hill. Of the 9 players committed for scholarships beginning in 2007, six of them are perimeter players. Only Hamady N'Diaye, Ollie Bailey (who will be a senior) and JR Inman (who could also be a SF in the future) are on the roster for the frontcourt.

Some names they could be in the mix for at the frontcourt positions includes Anthony McClain, Brandon Walters, Hamidu Rahman, Mamadou Diarra, Ibraham Thomas, Lavoy Allen, Michael Eric, DeJuan Blair, Austin Johnson and Idris Hilliard. All of these players, to me, would be solid pick-ups for the Big East. McClain is a highly rated true C prospect that is a New Jersey native that has been attending school at National Christian Academy since leaving Jersey. He is a long and lean defensive presence with an evolving offensive game. Diarra and Thomas, at last check, both attend Stoneridge Prep in California, giving them an in with Rutgers, as they were teammates of Hamady N'Diaye last year. Allen, a personal favorite of mine, seems to be a player that just does not get the attention he deserves, but Rutgers has been showing him attention and that could definitely pay off for the Scarlet Knights. Rahman is a big-bodied space-eater that could develop into a serviceable Big East center if his offensive game and conditioning continues to come around. Rutgers is among senveral Big East teams evaluating him. Michael Eric is a long-term prospect that has size (6'10) and is athletic, but he is slender and raw. Teamming him with one of the more finished products would be a nice class of 2 in the frontcourt. Blair got a lot of attention from the Rutgers staff this summer and the bruising forward seems made for the Big East and Rutgers could offer the immediate playing time he is looking for. Walters is a prospect with all the tools, just needs to put them all together on a more consistent basis. Again, he is a very intriguing long-term prospect with excellent potential. Hilliard is more of a combo-forward, but has some solid Big East interest from a few schools.

Any combination of two players from that list of frontcourt prospects would be a good job, three would be ideal and, in reality, a must for Rutgers to shore up their future.

Rutgers also continues to be involved with wing players such as Alvin Mitchell of Florida and Rashad Bishop and Jamine Peterson of NYC/NJ. However, the commitment from Pettis could definitely slow down the recruitment of any additional perimeter players, at least until the fromtcourt needs begin to be met. I wouldn't rule out the JUCO route for another big-body to play immediately, but for now, there are plenty of irons in the fire for the Scarlet Knights with some solid big men prospects. The lack of big man talent was one of the frustrating aspects of Gary Waters' tenure at RU.

With football season beginning and a lot of local talent certainly to be making a few trips to the RU campus, we will watch their search for big bodies very closely.