BIG EAST ROSTER UPDATE: RUTGERS

May 21, 2008


When Rutgers landed 2009 recruit Greg Echenique it caused a stir across the college basketball landscape. Afterall, Rutgers beat out schools such as Duke, Villanova, Pittsburgh and others who had made strong efforts in landing the native of Venezuela. Now, the news looks even better for Rutgers as Echenique Could Be Arriving Sooner than Expected (CentralJersey.com) for the Scarlet Knights. Pending NCAA Clearninghouse Approval, Echenique is likely to be suiting up to play for Rutgers in the 2008-2009 season.



Projected 2008-2009 Roster:


SENIORS: Anthony Farmer (PG), Jaron Griffin (G/F), JR Inman (F)
JUNIORS: Hamady N'Diaye (C), Jonathan Mitchell (F)
SOPHOMORES: Corey Chandler (G), Earl Pettis (G), Mike Cobourn (PG)
FRESHMEN: Mike Rosario (G), Christian Morris (C), Patrick Jackson (SF), Greg Echenique (C)
EARLY 2009 COMMITMENT: Dane Miller (F), Austin Johnson (F)


The exciting off-season continued for Fred Hill and his Rutgers program as Hill and his staff work to move the Scarlet Knights up in the standings. Over the weekend they got good news from Florida transfer Jonathan Mitchell as the Knights Add Ex-Gator Mitchell to their Round(ball) Table (Star-Ledger).

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Piece by piece, Fred Hill is continues to work Rutgers back into the mix of the Big East. Earlier this spring it was with the commitment of Greg Echenique (as well as 2009 commits Austin Johnson and Dane Miller), which came on the heels of a 2008 class that included McDonald's All-American Mike Rosario. Now, the Scarlet Knights bring Jonathan Mitchell into the fold as the 6'7 froward has decided to leave the Florida Gator program and play his last two seasons in the Big East.

Mitchell was highly coveted by several Big East programs as a prep standout with the powerful Mount Vernon program just outside of New York City. Mitchell opted to attend Florida and bided his time as a freshman on a national championship club. However, an expected larger role did not come to fruition as a sophomore and Mitchell decided to look at other options. After visiting Rutgers, along with Seton Hall and Marshall, Mitchell opted for the Scarlet Knights over Marshall, where former UF assistant Donnie Jones is the head coach.

This past season, Mitchell averaged just over 3 points a game and nearly 2 rebounds as a sophomore. After sitting out the 2008-2009 season, Mitchell will have two years of eligibility and could step into the role filled currently by JR Inman, who is entering his seinior season.

Mitchell should be part of a new-look Rutgers program where Echenique is the BIG prize as the highly coveted 6'9 true post C passed up offers from schools such as Villanova, Duke, Maryland and others to stay in New Jersey and play at Rutgers. Echenique attends St. Benedict's Prep in Newark (NJ) and this past season for Danny Hurley's squad, Echenique averaged 11.2 ppg, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game. Echenique made a trip to Rutgers with his parents who were visiting from Venezuela and they felt the most comfortable with Fred Hill's program, who was the first to offer Echenique a scholarship.

Originally expected to be an incoming freshman for the 2009-2010 season, the plan is now for Echenique to Suit Up in '08 (zagsblog) for the Scarlet Knights. Echenique, along with Christian Morris, will help provide RU with some incomign strength, power and rebounding in the paint. They will team with athletic shot-blocking junior Hamady N'Diaye and big forward JR Inman to give Fred Hill a much-improved front court. After Inman graduates, the hope is for Jonathan Mitchell to step into his role for the 2009-2010 season.

After the news of Echenique's commitment to Rutgers began to circulate, Austin Johnson also desided to pull the trigger and join the Scarlet Knights program. Johnson is a power forward that can play inside and out, making him a nice compliment to Echenique. This past season at Blair Academy, Johnson, a native of Cheltenham (PA), averaged 19 pts and 11 rebounds and was also being recruiting by Seton Hall, Boston College, Virginia and much of the Atlantic 10.

Johnson joins versatile forward, Dane Miller, a very good athlete from Rush-Henrietta (NY) in the class of 2009. Miller, who can play inside and out, is just 6'6, so his success at the college level will be determined by his ability to transition fully on the wing. He is a solid ballhandler and passer for a big man, but the wing skills still need to develop to be a full time small forward in the Big East. Still, only a junior, so he will have plenty of time to work on his skill development. There is a lot to work with here and the potential to be a quality Big East player is very evident.


The rest of the 2008 class is solid, led by St. Anthony's (NJ) guard Michael Rosario who is a 2008 McDonald's All-American. Rosario is joined by Boys & Girls (NYC) HS small forward Patrick Jackson and NYC big man Christian Morris. The early addition of Echenique makes this class even more impressive, especially considering the fact the misses the Big East Tournament the last two seasons.

Other 2009 early targets include guards St. Anthony's star wing Dominic Cheek, Justin Crosgile of DePaul Catholic (NJ), Russell Smith of Archbishop Molloy (NYC), Paul Miller of Potomac Falls and Durand Scott of Rice HS (NYC). Wings Paris Bennett of St. Patrick (NJ), Sherrod Wright of Mt. Vernon (NY), Kevin Parrom of St. Raymond's (NYC) and Brian Oliver of Oak Hill Academy have been followed closely by RU. Big men, David Bruce of Linden (NJ), James Padgett of Lincoln HS (NYC) and Dan Jennings of Oak Hill are also hearing a lot from the Rutgers staff.

Fred Hill and his staff have a lot of good contacts in the NYC/NJ area and there is a lot of talent there to land. Rutgers is, piece by piece, laying a foundation for their future. Pieces like Mike Coburn, Corey Chandler and Mike Rosario seem to have the ball rolling and now a major piece like Greg Echenique has many people talkig about the Scarlet Knights.