BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

June 30, 2009


VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: James Beatty, 6'2, PG currently attending Miami-Dade (FL) College



Projected 2009-2010 Roster:


SENIORS: Hamady N'Diaye (C)
JUNIORS: Corey Chandler (G), Mike Cobourn (PG), Jonathan Mitchell* (F), James Beatty (PG)
SOPHOMORES: Mike Rosario (G), Patrick Jackson (SF), Greg Echenique (PF/C)
FRESHMEN: Dane Miller (F), Austin Johnson (F), Brian Okam (C)

* Sitting out 2008-2009 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Will have two years of eligibility left beginning with the 2009-2010 season.

"James Beatty is going to Rutgers!"

Those were the excited words typed by Miami Dade College head coach Matt Eisele in an e-mail to NBE earlier today to inform us that is point guard has chosen a college to attend in 2009-2010. With Beatty's decision, Rutgers finally can end their exhaustive search for a point guard that has lasted throughout the spring recruiting period and into the summer.

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Its been a trying several months for the Rutgers men's basketball program. A season that was met with excitement and raised expectations with the additions of Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique to a team that had several veterans who have paid their dues in the Big East. However, the opening round of the Big East Tournament closed the chapter on a disappointing season, one where the Scarlet Knights finished 2-16 in the Big East and 11-21 overall, with a 61-50 loss to Notre Dame in the first round of the 2009 Big East Tournament.

Under coach Fred Hill Jr., the Scarlet Knights continue to plow forward on the recruiting trail, hoping to climb the Big East ladder. The latest addition, joining forwards Dane Miller and Austin Johnson and 6'11 center Brian Okam in the class of 2009 is Miami Dade College point guard James Beatty.

"James is a very good player and does a great job of running a team," Beatty's coach at Miami Dade, Matt Eisele, told NBE today. "He can really shoot the ball as well."

Rutgers has been on a mission this spring, looking high and low, to add a point guard. They recently went to Europe for several games last month and used a walk-on and (rising) junior swingman corey Chandler predominately in the point guard position. Another junior, Mike Coburn, also will see time as a lead guard, but none of the candidates would be classified as true point guards like Beatty.

"He does so many little things to help a team win," said Eisele.

Beatty, a native of Wilmington (NC), set a Miami-Dade school record with 16 assists in a game and finished the 2008-2009 season averaging 13.4 Points, 7.9 Assists, and 2.7 Steals per game. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound point guard also shot 39% from three-point range.

Beatty is the second spring addition for the Scarlet Knights, joining 6'11 center Brian Okam, who verbally committed in March and signed in April.

"He made his decision over the weekend and let Coach Hill know Monday afternoon," Lake Highland Prep coach Jeff Turner informed the NBE Basketball Report of Okam's verbal commitment last march. "It was a difficult decision but ultimately, I think he just felt in his heart that Rutgers was the right place for him. He felt a connection to the players and coaching staff."

The name Jeff Turner is certainly a familiar one to many basketball fans. The Lake Highland (FL) coach was a former all-SEC player at Vanderbilt University and a member of the 1984 gold medal winning USA Basketball team. Coach Turner was 1st round pick of the New Jersey Nets and spent 10 of his 12 professional seasons in the NBA, seven with the Orlando Magic, where he also served as nine years as the team's radio analyst following his playing days before joining the Lake Highland Prep Basketball Program in 2005.

Coach Turner did not have Okam available in games this season as Florida High School Athletic Association rules deemed the big man ineligible because he had exhausted his four-year window of eligibility once completing the 8th grade. Still, coach Turner has played a big role in his development and has seen excellent growth in Okam while attending the central Florida prep school.

"We have spent a lot of time working with Brian on his skills around the basket," says coach Turner. "He is a true post player. He has unbelievable athleticism, so we have concentrated on working with him on his balance and footwork in the post and developing a go to move and then a counter to that move. One of my assistance is former NBA [and]Cal-Berkeley center, Michael Stewart. Michael has spent a lot of time working one-on-one with Brian."

Previously, the Nigerian-born big man had attended Montrose Christian in Rockville (MD) and played on the AAU circuit with the DC Blue Devils, with other African imports headed to the Big East in the 2009 class including Mouphtau Yarou (Villanova) and Talib Zanna (Pitt), on a program that has sent many to the Big East and other top programs, including Jerome Dyson (UConn), Dante Cunningham (Villanova), Billy Edelin (Syracuse), Jonathan Flowers (WVU), Roy Hibert (Georgetown), Kene Obi (DePaul), Ricky Shields (Rutgers), Michael Sweetney (Georgetown) as well as Kevin Durant and Stevie Francis, among others.

When NBE saw Okam last spring at the King James Shooting Stars Tournament, Brian was making the most impact on the defensive end as he was still raw offensively, but his athleticism was very evident, and that adds to his upside potential that his future coaches and current coach both believe very much in.

"His size and physical strength are a big plus," says coach Turner when asked about the impact Okam will have in the Big East in the future. "I think he could add another 20 pounds to his frame! As I said before, he is a true center which, from watching the Big East this season, seems like a must to be competitive. He needs to play to improve which is something he has not had the opportunity to do, unfortunately, but I believe he will improve quickly when he gets that chance. It’s up to him!"

Okam was also recruited very heavily by Georgia Tech and in the end, it was between Rutgers and the Yellow Jackets. Coach Turner talked more about the person, not just the player, that the Scarlet Knights are getting for their program.

"As a person, Brian has grown tremendously," Turner said. "This is the area where I am proudest of him. He has been forced to take a tough academic course load because he was way short of the core credits he needed to be NCAA eligible. He has worked hard in the classroom and will complete the academic year with a 3.5 GPA. No easy feat at our school! I think that has carried over into his work ethic on the court. I don’t think he had been pushed as hard as Michael and I pushed him. He will need to work even harder when he gets to college, but he understands that now and has really improved."

With just one senior on the 2009-2010 roster and the transfer of guard Earl Pettis earlier this spring, Rutgers looks to have three spots open for the class of 2010 on the recruiting trail. At the recent Rumble in the Bronx, several area players in the classes of 2010 and 2011 mentioned interest in Fred Hill's program.

Myles Davis, the hot shooting guard from St. Peter's Prep likes Virginia, Marist, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Louisville, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Arizona. He hopes to visit UVA and Pitt soon.

Trevor Cooney, a 2011 prospect out of Delaware playing for Team Final. His current schools of interest include Boston U, Delaware, Syracuse, Villanova, Ohio State, Rutgers, Texas and Maryland. He has been to Delaware and 'Cuse, 'Nova and Maryland and would like to see Ohio State and get a sense for what a Big 10 school is like.

Doron Lamb would tell NBE that Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, St. John's, Connecticut, Louisville, Arizona, UCLA and Rutgers were schools in the mix. He has visited Louisville and plans to see Kentucky, Kansas and Oklahoma in the relatively near future.

Kadeem Jack told NBE that his top three schools are Seton Hall, Pittsburgh and St. John's. Rutgers, Miami, Arkansas, George Mason, Albany, Siena and others are also involved.

Another player in the class of 2012 that is getting some strong college interest already is Alex Murphy. The younger brother of Florida-bound Erik Murphy and son of former Big East player Jay Murphy of Boston College, young Alex told NBE he already hears from Florida, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Rutgers, Boston College, Providence, Arizona and Connecticut.

Shaq Thomas will most likely decide on a college this August. However, he is planning to re-classify into the class of 2011 when he picks his new school for 2009-2010 as he is not returning to Mountain State Academy. The colleges on his list are Syracuse, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, Florida, Providence, Seton Hall and Rutgers.

Pe'shon Howard, who plays for Oak Hill during the school season, listed Stanford, Arkansas, Harvard, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Virginia, Rutgers, South Carolina, Arizona and Xavier as colleges of interest.

Elite 2012 prospect DeJuan Coleman, who was a high school teammate of Brandon Triche at Jamesville-DeWitt HS near Syracuse (NY) this past year, lists Syracuse, Ohio State, Georgetown, Rutgers, Kansas, Kentucky and LSU, according to Jeff Borzello.

One of the hottest prospects of the spring, J.J. Moore, will have plenty of Big East coaches checking him out this summer. His list already sounds like that of an elite prospect with Connecticut, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Marquette, St. John's, Rutgers, Oklahoma and Florida recruiting him. Moore mentioned favorites as Louisville, Pitt, UConn, Syracuse and Marquette. He plans to visit UL, UConn, Marquette and Providence.

Tyrone Garland, the Philadelphia guard from Bartram High School, provided a school list that included offers from Temple, LaSalle, Nebraska, St. Bonaventure and Drexel. Many high-majors are paying attention, including Seton Hall and Rutgers from the Big East, Maryland, Virginia Tech and Virginia out of the ACC as well as Memphis and Western Kentucky.

Also at the Primetime Shootout, Branden Frazier of Bishop Loughlin (NYC) and Shane Southwell of Rice (NYC) were a couple 2010 targets that mentioned their interest in the Scarlet Knights. Fred Hill and staff have also worked hard in developing a relationship with forward Tobias Harris long being one of the favorites in recruitment of the Long Island high school star.

After gaining some positive momentum with some recruiting success with the class of 2008 and 2009, it remains to be seen how the results of the 2008-2009 season will impact the recruiting efforts of the Scarlet Knights. Fred Hill came to Rutgers with a big recruiting reputation, and he has fared well in that area, but results on the court need to be seen quickly, or that recruiting momentum will likely disappear quickly.

Check back for more updates as the AAU summer circuit gets underway and the RU staff will be working hard to give the Knights the opportunity to improve in the Big East as soon as next season.

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