PAST RECRUITING FAILURES LEAD TO LATEST RU LOSS

February 23, 2009


A balanced West Virginia attack, with six players scoring eight or more points, picked up a 74-56 road win against Rutgers on Sunday afternoon.

The Mountaineers got out of the gate quickly, building a 21-4 lead, but the Scarlet Knights battled back to close the gap to within five before the half and again to within four at around the seven minute mark in the second half. However, Bob Huggins' had his Message Received (Charleston Gazette) and the Second Half Work on the Boards Keyed WVU Win (Daily Mail) at the RAC. After zero offensive rebounds in the first half, WVU corralled 15 in the second half, leading to 10 second chance points as Rebounding Ruins Rutgers (Asbury Park Press) at key points of the contest. For the game, WVU held an edge of 39-29 on the boards, with freshman Devin Ebanks posting a double-double with a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds. Ebanks was a high-priority recruiting target of Fred Hill Jr. and the RU staff before signing with WVU.

Also, Rutgers was Done in by Da'Sean Butler - Another Jersey Kid that Got Way (NY Daily News), Wellington Smith, yet another, and Kevin Jones, a former high school teammate of current Scarlet Knights Mike Coburn and Jonathan Mitchell, who was also heavily recruited by Hill and staff. Smith and Jones Steal Show for WVU (Times West Virginian) as Smith registeres 12 points and 5 blocks and Jones adds 10 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 20 minutes.

The slow start, frenzied comeback, rebounding breakdowns and ultimately, a loss with an ineffecient offense becomes the Same Old Story for Rutgers Basketball (Asbury Park Press) as the Scarlet Knights fall to 1-13 in the Big East and have DePaul to thank for taking the spotlight off themselves for having one of the worst Big East seasons in the history of the conference.

As a team, RU managed just eight assists to their 16 turnovers, who under 42% from the field and 31% from the three-point line. Freshman Mike Rosario had a game-high 15 points, and was a crisp 6-9 from the field, but he committed six of the Knight's turnovers. Classmate Greg Echenique added 11 points and 7 rebounds, but the struggles of Corey Chandler continued as the sophomore was just 1-9 from the floor.

The saving grace, Rutgers will finally play in the Big East Tournament for the first time under Fred Hill Jr, but only because all 16 teams are getting a shot this season.