Big East Report Team Blog: Rutgers

MIKE RICE RETURNS TO PITTSBURGH; RU BEATS AUBURN

2010-12-11T16:26:00.002-05:00

by RAY MERNAGH

PITTSBURGH - Rutgers started out so slow -- the Scarlet Knights missed their first 12 shots from the floor -- that coach Mike Rice let them know a thing or two at the first media timeout.

"He told us we we're soft," point guard James Beatty said before adding "I won't tell you exactly what words he used but he told us we were soft." Beatty's comment drew a laugh from the media.

But the truth is Rutgers isn't soft.

No Mike Rice coached team is soft and this one is getting tougher by the game although their coach would like them to finish stronger at the rim.

And even with their struggles finishing, RU handled Auburn 63-54 here in the first game of the Big East/SEC Invitational here at the Consol Energy Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

Auburn isn't a very good team, in fact they're kind of terrible, but Rice and his staff will be able to use this game to show their guys that they aren't the same old Rutgers.

They'll point to the rebounding margin they won by 13 (46-33) and the fact that when things got tight late after it looked like RU was going to blow the game open, they responded with enough positive plays to win comfortably.

"Coach Martelli (assistant Jim) has been harping on rebounding every day," said Rice, "almost to the point that I wanted to get out there and rebound." Dane Miller was very good for Rutgers and finished with 17 points and 10 boards (4 offensive) to go with 4 assists and 1 steal. Beatty was also big scoring 13 (3-5 from deep) while dishing out for 3 assists and not committing a turnover.

Sophomore big Austin Johnson also made a lot of positive plays for RU in the post.

"It wasn't pretty," said Rice, "but it's great to get a win."

The Scarlet Knights will get more than a few of those -- they're 6-2 after today -- with Rice at the helm.

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RUTGERS RALLIES PAST DEPAUL, 71-62

2010-02-27T21:49:00.007-05:00

Rutgers avoided disaster Saturday afternoon with a big second half to get past Big East cellar-dweller DePaul, 71-62 at the RAC. The Blue Demons entered the game on a nine-game losing streak, but dominated the first half, keading by as many as 13 and finished the half up 37-26.

However, just like their first meeting earlier this month when the Scarlet Knights rallied from 16 points down for a win, behind a monster second-half run, Rutgers rallies past DePaul (Star-Ledger) for a victory.

Rutgers started the second-half with a 30-7 run, taking a 56-44 lead with 9:11 left in the game on a three-pointer by James Beatty.

DePaul would chip away at the lead and close the gap to four points with 2:13 left on a three-pointer from Jeremiah Kelly. However, RU sophomore Mike Rosario, who had four three-pointers in the earlier 30-7 run, would hit a timely bucket to answer the Blue Demon run and RU would hit seven of eight free throws to close out the win.

Rosario was two shy of blackjack in the second-half as he scored 19 of his game-high 24 after intermission. Jonathan Mitchell added 18 in the win as the Scarlet Knights improve to 15-14 on the year and 5-11 in the Big East.

Mac Koshwal scored 20 in the loss for DePaul as the Blue Demons dropped their 10th straight game, falling to 1-15 in the conference and 8-20 overall.

RUTGERS RAKKIE

2010-02-27T21:49:00.003-05:00

RUTGERS RAKKIE

2010-02-27T21:49:00.001-05:00

WITHOUT ECHENIQUE, HAMADY STEPS UP BIG FOR RUTGERS

2009-12-10T10:25:00.001-05:00

Things are not getting any easier for Rutgers as the RU Men Overcome Loss of Greg Echenique and Slow Start to Defeat Monmouth (Star-Ledger) 66-52 Wednesday night at the RAC. Echenique is Expected to Miss a Month (NewJerseyNewsRoom.com), maybe more, after undergoing eye surgery Wednesday to repair a pre-existing condition. The loss is a big blow to the Scarlet Knights as Eqchenique has been averaging 12.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game, and was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll this past Monday.

Hamady N'Diaye Fills in Well for Echenique (Asbury park Press) as the 7-foot senior scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 8 shots in 29 minutes. Rutgers Erases 2nd Half Deficit With 17-1 Run (Asbury Park Press).

Trailing 37-34 early in the second half, the Scarlet Knights embarked ont he game-changing run over the next 6:14 to open a 51-38 advantage to hand Monmouth their 36th loss in 36 tries against Big East opponents.

Mike Rosario had a game-high 23 points for RU.

RUTGERS RALLY'S PAST WINLESS COLGATE AFTER HEARING BOOS

2009-12-07T10:36:00.000-05:00

Colgate entered Sunday's contest at the RAC with Rutgers at 0-7 on the season. For 20 minutes, they did not look like a winless club as they took a 35-30 lead into the half against the Scarlet Knights.

Saving (Some) Face (Hoops Haven) was the theme of the second half for RU as Rutgers Escapes Winless Colgate, 76-67 (Star-Ledger) behind 19 points (on just six field goal attemps) and 8 rebounds from sophomore Greg Echenique and 15 points and 8 rebounds from freshman Dane Miller.

Despite their tallest starter being just 6'6, Colgate outscored RU 14-4 in the paint in the first 20 minutes. The fans voiced their displeasure with the opening 20 minute effort from the Knights by serenading the home team with boos at the half.

After a stern halftime speech from the coaching staff, RU took control in the second half with a 13-3 run after Colgate scored the first bucket after intermission. Sophomore Mike Rosario added 14 points, but did not start the game because of a bruised shin.

Ru is now 5-2 on the season and will host Monmouth on Wednesday.

RUTGERS GETS PAST PRINCETON IN MEN'S HOOPS

2009-12-04T12:13:00.001-05:00

Rutgers improved to 4-2, but to most observers it was not a very fashionable victory as Rutgers Slogs Way Through 58-44 Win Over Princeton (Star-Ledger) last night at the RAC. However, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Fred Hill had to like what he saw from one of his bigs as RU Center Greg Echenique Offers Glimpses of his Ability (Star-Ledger) with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blockes in just 24 minutes of action in the win.

Jonathan Mitchell added 11 points, nine coming early in the first half to help RU overcome a slow and sloppy start to the game. The Knights' defense limited the Tigers to 28.8% shooting from the field, forced 15 turnovers and won the battle of the boards 41-28. What is also important, Rutgers won with sophomore Mike Rosario having an off night. The shooting guard was just 2-12 from the floor, finishing with nine point.

Last night's game was the first of a six-game home stand against lesser conference teams that will take RU through December 28th when they meet North Carolina. They follow that up with a home date against Cincinnati and a road trip to West Virginia to start conference play.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2009-09-08T13:44:00.004-04:00

September 8, 2009

2009 COMMITMENT ALERT: Muhamed Hasani (2011), 6'2 G from Prischtina, Kosovo

With Corey Chandler being dismissed from the Rutgers basketball team just prior to the start of the 2009 fall semester, the Scarlet Knights had an immediate need for guard depth. To help fill the hole, Fred Hill and his staff acted quickly and Rutgers Basketball Lands 6's Guard Muhamed Hasani of Kosova (Star-Ledger) for the 2009-2010 season.

Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

SENIORS: Hamady N'Diaye (C)
JUNIORS: 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), Muhamed Hasani (G)
2010 Commitments: N/A
2011 Commitments: Andrew Nicholas (SF)

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

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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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While it seemed as if they just recently closed out their 2009 recruiting class by adding James Beatty at the end of June, Rutgers was forced to act quickly in the light of Corey Chandler being dismissed from the program in late August. Chandler ultimately wound up at Binghampton and to add depth to a thin backcourt, fred Hill reached overseas with the addition of Muhamed Hasani.

Hasani is definitely a roll of the dice not unlike betting you will land the card needed on the flop while you play Texas Hold'em, but with just 10 players on scholarship, it was a bet the Scarlet Knights felt they needed to make with another long year expected in the Big East. Coach Hill had only been able to view a few game tapes and a highlight video of Hasani, who is expected to arrive on campus tomorrow and is fully eligible to play in 2009-2010.

According to the NJ Star-Ledger, Hasani, who played for the National Team of Kosovo, comes highly recommended from Boban Savovic, the former standout guard at Ohio State who played at East Side High School in Newark prior to heading to the Buckeyes back in 1998.

So while 2009 recruiting has continued throughout the summer, and being in the midst of 2010 recruiting during the open evaluation period of July, somehow, Rutgers found the time to secure a commitment from the class of 2011 when Andrew Nicholas verbally pledged to the Scarlet Knights this week.

Nicholas, nicknamed 'Red', is a 6-foot-6 lefty with an accurate three-point shot that attends Eastern York (PA) High School and runs with the Jersey Shore Warriors on the AAU circuit. According to Keith Sargeant's article at mycentraljersey.com on his commitment, Nicholas averaged 21.2 points per game as a sophomore this past winter to earn Pennsylvania Associated Press Third-team Class AAA All-State honors.

Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's, Florida State, Notre Dame and others were involved early on with Nicholas on the recruiting trail.

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.

After a lengthy search this past winter and spring, Fred Hill Jr. and his staff finally landed a point guard when James Beatty signed on with the Scarlet Knights in early July after committing at the end of June. Beatty joins an incoming class that will also include Dane Miller, Austin Johnson and 6'11 center Brian Okam.

"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 back on June 30th. "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.

With just one senior on the 2009-2010 roster and the transfers of guards Earl Pettis earlier this spring and Corey Chandler in August, 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.

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.

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.

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.

Another player in the class of 2010 that RU has been tracking considerably lately is Eli Carter, a guard with St. Athony's. Carter also performer well at the Rumble in the Bronx playing with the Sports University AAU program.

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.

In addition to Nicholas, other prospects in the class of 2011 have recently told NBE Rutgers is on their list of options. Jerrelle Reischel, 6-5 forward out of Pt. Pleasant Beach (N.J.) gave NBE a school list that included Penn State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Rutgers, Providence and West Virginia at the Reebok All-American Camp. Others listing RU in Philly included Derrick Wilson, 6-1 point guard out of The Hotchkiss School (Conn.), who rattled off a list of Ohio State, Stanford, Georgia Tech (offer), UNC, Washington, Syracuse (offer) and Rutgers (offer) as schools on his list. Tyrone Johnson of Plainfield told NBE that he has visited Georgetown, Villanova and Rutgers, his top three, and also has UNLV, Virginia Tech, Syracuse, Kentucky, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Florida in the mix.

Seton Hall Prep point guard Sterling Gibbs is also on the Scarlet Knights' radar. The younger brother of Pitt's Ashton Gibbs played in front of the watchful eye of Fred Hill Jr. and other staff at the Reebok Summer Classic East earlier this month.

At the Rumble in the Bronx, Myles Davis, the hot shooting guard from St. Peter's Prep told NBE he likes Virginia, Marist, Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Louisville, Wake Forest, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Arizona. Trevor Cooney, a 2011 prospect out of Delaware playing for Team Final gave his current schools of interest as Boston U, Delaware, Syracuse, Villanova, Ohio State, Rutgers, Texas and Maryland. 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.

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.

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.

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.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2009-07-21T09:16:00.003-04:00

July 21, 2009

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Andrew Nicholas (2011), 6'6 F from Eastern York (PA) High School

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)
2010 Commitments: N/A
2011 Commitments: Andrew Nicholas (SF)

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

Rutgers Men's Hoops Secures Commitment for 2011 (mycentraljersey.com) class as Andrew 'Red' Nicholas makes an early pledge to the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers and head coach Fred Hill get off to an early start for 2011 as they continue to hit the trail for 2010.

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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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While they just recently closed out their 2009 recruiting class by adding James Beatty at the end of June and being in the midst of 2010 recruiting during the open evaluation period of July, somehow, Rutgers found the time to secure a commitment from the class of 2011 when Andrew Nicholas verbally pledged to the Scarlet Knights this week.

Nicholas, nicknamed 'Red', is a 6-foot-6 lefty with an accurate three-point shot that attends Eastern York (PA) High School and runs with the Jersey Shore Warriors on the AAU circuit. According to Keith Sargeant's article at mycentraljersey.com on his commitment, Nicholas averaged 21.2 points per game as a sophomore this past winter to earn Pennsylvania Associated Press Third-team Class AAA All-State honors.

Virginia Tech, St. Joseph's, Florida State, Notre Dame and others were involved early on with Nicholas on the recruiting trail.

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.

After a lengthy search this past winter and spring, Fred Hill Jr. and his staff finally landed a point guard when James Beatty signed on with the Scarlet Knights in early July after committing at the end of June. Beatty joins an incoming class that will also include Dane Miller, Austin Johnson and 6'11 center Brian Okam.

"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 back on June 30th. "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.

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.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2009-06-30T15:32:00.003-04:00

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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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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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.

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.

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.

KENNY BRITT LEAVES LEGACY BEHIND AT RUTGERS

2009-04-13T23:47:00.005-04:00

April 13, 2009

by Matt Whitfield

While Rutgers basketball fans hope Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique are the two local high school standouts that are credited with turning around the basketball program by staying home for their college careers, the RU football program might be able to look back at a local star who stayed home and see where their college football odds turned.

Kenny Britt left Rutgers as its most decorated wide receiver, but what he helped do for it was perhaps even more impressive. Despite out of state offers, Kenny stayed in the Garden State and became a major part of the revitalization process in Piscataway. In Britt’s three years at Rutgers he helped lead his team to a 27-12 record (the team was 16-19 in the three prior years), while amassing a school record 3,043 yards and 17 touchdowns. After earning All-America and All-Big East honors his junior year, Britt declared for the NFL Draft.

The 6-3, 215 pound Britt is expected to be one of the top Wide Receivers taken in this year’s NFL draft, and some even expect him to be a first round pick. NBE caught up with Britt’s former High School Coach Rick Rodriguez and discussed many things from Britt’s potential in the NFL to Britt’s high school days as a Bayonne Bee.

“A tall kid, he was 6’3, very fast, physical and once he got onboard with the off-season training program that’s when I knew he was definitely going to be a big time ball player,” said Rodriguez of what stood out to him most about Britt in high school.

However, getting Britt onboard took some doing. Rodriguez said he had to throw Britt off the team for ‘two or three weeks’ his sophomore year because of Britt’s ‘lack of commitment’.

According to Rodriguez, this changed him and by his junior year Britt caught fire. As a junior Britt amassed 28 catches for 630 yards and 10 touchdowns. In one game that season against a tough North Bergen team, Britt ran back a punt 80 yards for a touchdown, caught a touchdown pass, and had 145 yards receiving on top that helping his squad to victory. With Britt’s dazzling play came an assortment of college offers from Illinois, Rutgers, West Virginia, North Carolina State, and Virginia. Syracuse had even offered prior to that season, according to coach Rodriguez, as Britt went against a Syracuse recruit in 7 on 7 drills at Syracuse Camp and, “made him look silly,” thus forcing then Syracuse coach Paul Pasqualoni to offer him on the spot.

Rodriguez left the Bees program in 2005 and with that so did Britt’s production. That year the Bees fell to a mediocre 5-5 record on the season as Britt only hauled in 11 receptions all season long. Despite all this Britt’s eventual college decision came down to Illinois and Rutgers. Rodriguez who still keeps in contact with his former player told NBE that, “I believe the final decision was based upon Kenny not wanting to leave the state of New Jersey.”

At Rutgers what Britt did is very well documented. Britt came in as a true freshman and had a good showing against Louisville in what became perhaps one of the biggest wins in school history. Following that game, Britt’s play was consistent and outstanding and he easily became Mike Teel’s favorite target. To Rodriguez this really is no surprise, as he told NBE that the only thing really holding Britt back was his academics saying that, “as long as Kenny’s academics hit,” he would be a success at Rutgers. Britt had by far his best year this past season at Rutgers as he averaged 114 yards a game in helping his team earn its fourth consecutive bowl bid.

After shattering numerous Rutgers receiving records Britt choose to go pro at the end of the 2008 season. This surprised some including Rodriguez.

“I was against it,” Rodriguez said. “I felt if he stayed one more year he’d of been a more polished receiver, [and] also faster and stronger, and definitely a top 10 pick.”

Rodriguez says he feels Kenny will get drafted ‘between late 2nd to the 4th round,’ due to the ‘quality and quantity of receivers in the draft.’

Rodriguez who has always been impressed with Britt’s raw power told NBE that Britt hang cleaned 315 pounds in high school. According to Rodriguez, “physically Kenny can definitely play in the NFL.” However, Rodriguez knows all too well from being a former college player and a friend of NFL coaches that, “the most important aspect in the NFL is the mental phase and the injury factor and that’s what keeps [many] NFL players from excelling or making the team.” Due to Britt’s strength and explosiveness, Rodriguez compares Britt to Terrell Owens saying that, “[Britt] plays like TO, is chiseled like TO, [except] with no TO attitude.”

Regardless, if Britt becomes the next coming of Terrell Owens or not, Rodriguez is very proud of his former player. “His production speaks for itself,” Rodriguez said. “He was third team All America and the best receiver in Rutgers history, and as his coach I’m very proud of those accolades.” Rodriguez and Rutgers fans will see where Britt falls in the NFL Draft.

[Rick Rodriguez was Kenny Britt’s high school coach for three years. As Head Coach of the Bayonne Bees from 2000-2004 Rodriguez led the Bees to a 29-12 record, a state championship in 2002, and three state playoff appearances. Rodriguez also coached former heralded recruit and now linebacker at Linebacker U (Penn State) Jerome Hayes.]

JUCO POINT GUARD VISITIN RUTGERS SOON

2009-03-23T10:57:00.002-04:00

March 23, 2009

James Beatty, a native of Wilmington (NC), is a hot commodity this spring recruiting period as one of the top uncommitted JUCO prospects on the market. This past season, Beatty set a Miami-Dade College 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.

"The Biggest impact was his leadership and knowledge for the game," Miami-Dade head coach Matt Eisele told NBE. "He is a basketball player!"

Currently, Beatty is being recruiting by Rutgers, St. John's and DePaul from the Big East as well as the likes of Baylor, LSU and Kentucky among others.

The process of heading towards a decision is likely to be put into motion in the very near future. Beatty will head out on an official visit this coming weekend and one Big East school is definitely going to try and put their best foot-forward while he is on their campus.

"He will visit Rutgers next weekend," said his coach. "That is the only visit he has committed to at this time."

With point guard being a point of emphasis on the recruiting trail for Fred Hill Jr. and the staff of the Scarlet Knights, it definitely looks like Beatty has become their priority recruit at the position this spring. Will a Rutgers visit tempt Beatty to pull the trigger? That will be the question RU fans will be wondering for the next week as they await the answer anxiously, although coach Eisele believes the process will play out a little longer.

“James has expressed to me he will be patience with his decision and there is no leader at this time,” said coach Eisele.

For more on Beatty and his recruitment...please check out the NBE Basketball Report.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2009-03-11T15:20:00.004-04:00

March 11, 2009

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Brian Okam, 6'11, 245 lb C currently attending Lake Highland FL) Preparatory School

Projected 2009-2010 Roster:

SENIORS: Hamady N'Diaye (C)
JUNIORS: Corey Chandler (G), Earl Pettis (G), Mike Cobourn (PG), Jonathan Mitchell* (F)
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.

It has been almost one full year since we have written about a Rutgers recruiting commitment. Well, that finally changes this week as, according to Lake Highland Preparatory School basketball coach Jeff Turner, the Scarlet Knights have picked up a commitment from 6'11 center Brian Okam for the class of 2009.

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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, Tuesday night 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 in the class of 2009, is 6'11 center Brian Okam.

"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. "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 the verbal commitment of Okam, Rutgers still has two scholarships available in the class of 2009. Their most immediate need is for help in the back court, specifically at point guard. Miami-Dade CC point guard James Beatty has become a top target of Hill and his staff, as well as a few others in the Big East. They have also reportedly offered a scholarship to Mesa (AZ) point guard Donte Medder, one of the top players still available from the West in the class of 2009. Also, Puerto Rico's Raymond Cintron Jr. is a player that has appeared on the RU radar and his play at the 2009 Primtetime Shootout has proven he could play at the high-major level.

With just one senior on the 2009-2010 roster, the Scarlet Knights are likely to keep a scholarship open for the 2010 recruiting class. If additional players transfer from the program this spring (we have all seen the Corey Chandler stories), their plan could change and they look for some additional help this spring, but their attention has been on the class of 2010 for quite sometime.

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 Lutheran star. Also, St Patrick's highly recruited guard Kyrie Irving and St. Anthony's big men Ashton Pankey and Devon Collier, along with St. Peter's Prep forward Ronald Roberts are getting plenty of attention from the RU staff during the local high school season.

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 spring circuit nears 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.

RUTGERS MAKES BIG EAST TOURNEY DEBUT UNDER FRED HILL

2009-03-10T14:04:00.001-04:00

March 10, 2009

The conference tournaments can offer teams a second chance on a season. A virtual do-over on a season gone wrong. There is probably no team in the country in more need of a 'do-over' than Notre Dame.

Starting off the season as a universal pick to be among the top four teams in the Big East and a near consensus as a Top Ten preseason team in the country, the Irish season started off well enough, reaching the finals of the Maui Invitational with a win over highly regarded Texas before falling to No. 1 North Carolina. They fell a week and a half later to Ohio State on a neutral floor, but Luke Harangody was still recovering from a bout with pneumonia.

The Irish then started off Big East play at 3-1, but a surprising loss at St. John's opened some eyes. However, nobody could forsee how quickly the Big East could demoralize a team, especially a veteran-laden squad as highly regarded as the Irish.

The Irish lost at Louisville, in overtime, to fall to 3-2. It was the first game of a difficult period of their schedule. As the games kept coming, so did the losses, seven in a row in all, knocking the Irish to 3-7 in the Big East and 12-10 overall.

The losses stopped suddenly, with a 90-57 pasting of Louisville at the Joyce Center, but the damage was done. The Irish finished 8-10 in the league and 17-13 overall, squarely on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble.

Now, they have new life. The Irish showed they can be capable in their thrashing of conference champ Louisville to break their streak, but frustrating defensive lapses and lack of consistent scoring from anyone outside of Harangody and Kyle McAlarney has derailed their season. Senior Ryan Ayers has shown a better scoring touch of late, and they will need more of that in the Big East Tournament.

So, tonight, in Madison Square Garden, begins a clean slate for Notre Dame as they tip off the 2009 Big East Tournament against Rutgers.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found online today:

Rutgers vs. Notre Dame (Chicago Tribune)
Hill Likes Rutgers' Chances (Asbury Park Press)
Kyle McAlarney is Notre Dame's Best Hope for Tournament Run (Chicago Tribune)
History Not on Notre Dame's Side (South Bend Tribune)

Two weeks ago, Notre Dame rallied form a 35-27 halftime deficit on their home floor to defeat Rutgers, 70-65. The Scarlet Knights are using that game as a confidence booster as they prepare to face the Irish on the Madison Square Garden floor.

In his third year as head coach of the Scarlet Knights, this is Fred Hill's first trip to the Big East Tournament. After seasons of 3-13 and 3-15, Rutgers actually went backwards in his third year, finishing 2-16 in the Big East and 11-20 overall on the season.

With McDonald's All-American freshman Mike Rosario and highly touted Greg Echenique as freshmen starters from day one, this was supposed to be the start of Rutgers move under Fred Hill up the standings, not another season of the 'same ol Rutgers.'

The March Madness betting odds have the Irish as an 11 1/2-point favorite in this game. With Notre Dame still believing they are a good team, look for a solid effort out of the Irish while the Scarlet Knights' offensive woes continue under the lights of Broadway.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 74
Rutgers 58

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SOUTH FLORIDA @ RUTGERS

2009-03-07T08:39:00.000-05:00

March 7, 2009

JR Inman, Anthony Farmer and Jaron Griffin were supposed to represent a new direction for Rutgers basketball as the three local Jersey recruits were wooed into staying home by Gary Waters. However, Waters did not make it past their freshman seasons and now, with a 1-16 Big East record in their final season, the three seniors look to end their final home game in the RAC on a positive note.

South Florida stunned NCAA hopeful Cincinnati earlier this week, and in doing so, the Bulls set a Big East season-best in their history with four conference wins. Dominique Jones once again led the way with a 30-point performance in the win.

Luckily for both teams this is not their last game as the 2009 Big East Tournament has expanded to include all 16 conference teams. So, they will both get to lace them up at least one more time this year. It will be USF’s first trip to the Big East tournament, same for RU coach Fred Hill, Jr.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

Rutgers Men’s Basketball Seniors Know Expectations Were Not Met, Are at Peace (Star-Ledger)
For RU Seniors, A Day of Reckoning (mycentraljersey.com)
Trio Takes Away Bond of Friendship (Asbury Park Press)

A week ago, USF looked absolutely gassed as their short-handed team was running on empty in a home loss to West Virginia. This week, however, UC rebounded and showed life with a strong second-half in a win over Cincinnati, a team playing for their NCAA Tournament lives.

Now they hit the road for the regular season finale with Rutgers. A team that will look to salvage a little something in their season gone wrong. At 1-16 in Big East play, RU has little left to play for except for a chance to send their three seniors out as winners. Distractions foreshadowing a possible rocky offseason have begun with the Corey Chandler transfer possibilities becoming public after Tuesday’s blowout loss to Syracuse.

The lone conference win for RU this season was a home beatdown of winless DePaul earlier this year. This should be their second conference win…if not…well, there really is not much lower they can go at this point.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 66
South Florida 60

RUTGERS MEN FALL TO 1-16 IN BIG EAST

2009-03-04T15:43:00.001-05:00

March 4, 2009

OK, so by now it is 10 PM on Tuesday night. Cincinnati has lost to South Florida, Georgetown has lost to St. John's and they go to the half at the Carrier Dome with Rutgers taking a 20-19 lead into the locker room over Syracuse. Could it just be one of those nights?

Well, not entirely, while the Scarlet Knights remained amazing consistent(ly bad) in the second half, scoring just another 20, Syracuse found their footing and put up 51 as they bomb RU, 70-40, sending the Knights to their 16th Big East loss in 17 games.

The Orange Breaks Rut (Syracuse Post-Standard) early in the second half, feeding Arinze Onuaku the ball inside and embarking on a 24-8 run immediately after intermission in the first nine minutes to take control of the game and cruised the rest of the way over Rutgers.

It was showtime early and often for SU in the second half and Paul Harris led the way with 18 points and several high flying antics. Jonny Flynn added 10 assists, but also committed seven of the 20 Orange turnovers in the sloppy contest. With chants of 'Krist-of, Krist-of' (Post-Standard) echoing through the Dome, SU's lone scholarship senior Kristof Ongenaet added 10 points and six rebounds, playing 25 minutes, in his final SU home game. SU walk-ons Juston Thomas and Jake Presutti also got extended time in the rout, playing over three minutes and the seniors gave the crowd a reason to sheer as Thomas scored four points and Presutti drained an open three.

Syracuse will close the regular season in Milwaukee when they take on Marquette on Saturday before hoping to make another run in the Big East Tournament (tickets) next week at Madison Square Garden, where they should have plenty of fans urging them to make a run.

Rutgers will end their regular season with a home game with South Florida on Saturday. The Scarlet Knights are just 1-16 in the Big East and a season that had some hope back in October has gone horribly wrong under Fred Hill. In his third season, Hill finally gets to see the Big East Tournament because for the first time since the league exapnded to 16 teams all 16 are invited.

Against SU, freshman Mike Rosario scored 16 points, but was just 6-21 from the field in doing so. As a team RU shot a combined 15-59 as a team from the field, had 19 turnovers to just 8 assists and looked completely outclassed in the second half...in other words...just another night for Rutgers...

RUTGERS LOOKS TO HALT LOSING AT SYRACUSE

2009-03-03T11:55:00.001-05:00

March 3, 2009

It is senior night in the Carrier Dome and Syracuse, winners of three of their last four, come into the home finale feeling a little bit better about themselves. Last week, SU applied a thorough beatdown on both St. John's, in Madison Square Garden, and Cincinnati, at home, to improve to 9-7 in the Big East and 21-8 overall.

The Dome faithful will look to send the lone SU scholarship senior, Kristof Ongenaet, off as a winner when the Orange host floundering Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights dropped two more last week, at Notre Dame and vs. Rutgers, and are now 1-15 in the Big East.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on tonight's game:

Happy Days are Here Again at SU (Post-Standard)
Orange Scouting Report: Syracuse vs Rutgers (Post-Standard)
Syracuse-Rutgers Scouting Report (Asbury Park Press)
Griffin Making an Impact for Rutgers (Asbury Park Press)

There really is not a whole lot to analyze in this game. The Orange, according to the latest college basketball odds are 15 1/2-point favorites. SU will likely sit in their trademark 2-3 zone defense and dare the Scarlet Knights to make shots and create off the dribble by attacking the seam of the zones. Rutgers continues to struggle with a gameplan and then the execution of getting the ball into the paint. If you are unable to do that, the SU zone will tear you apart.

Offensively, Syracuse has too many athletic weapons for Rutgers to keep up with. Jonny Flynn, Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris can all score and then Andy Rautins comes off the bench to drain three's and liven up the crowd. In the paint, Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson will at least hold their own against the under-utilized Greg Echenique and under-developed Hamady N'Diaye. Off the bench in the frontcourt is Ongenaet, a likely source of energy and toughness that will give his team an emotional lift when needed.

For Rutgers, the game will likely hinge on if freshman Mike Rosario can shoot the Knights into the game from beyond the arc. There seems to be little plan of attack after that. The script usually reads the RU opponent racing out to a big early lead and the Scarlet Knights bombing away from three-point range hoping to make a run. If Rosario is on against the zone it could happen. If not, it could be ugly...I am thinking it might be closer to the ugly side tonight.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Syracuse 86
Rutgers 67

RUTGERS BASKETBALL LOSES, AGAIN...

2009-03-02T15:45:00.000-05:00

Providence showed little sign of a letdown from their monumental upset of No. 1 Pittsburgh earlier in the week as they led host Rutgers 62-43 with 8:35 remaining in their Big East conference match-up on Sunday afternoon.

However, the Scarlet Knights did not go away without a fight as they embarked on a 16-0 run in the next five and a half minutes to cut the lead to 62-59 with three-minutes left. After a PC timeout, Jeff Xavier's Three-Pointer Thwarts Rutgers' Rally (Providence Journal) as PC wins 73-66. Xavier's 25-footer was the lone field goal made by the Friars in the last 8:35 of the game.

Weyinmi Efejuku led PC with 28 points and Xaiver added 13. PC's Reward is a Bye in the Big East Tournament (Providence Journal) as their two-game sweep over UC guarantees them a finish no-worse than 8th in the Big East.

As for RU it is the same ol', same ol' as the Knights Set a Dubious Mark (Asbury Park Press) of back-to-back home losing marks the last two seasons.

Freshman Greg Echenique had a great all-around game for Rutgers, scoring 14 points, grabbing 16 rebounds, blocking 7 shots and making 5 steals. Makes you wonder why they can only get him 8 shot attempts in a game...

The Scarlet Knights, 1-15 in the Big East, will play out the string this week with a trip to Syracuse and back home for senior day on Saturday when they host South Florida. For the first time in Fred Hill's tenure at RU, the Scarlet Knights will be invited to the Big East Conference Tournament as all 16 teams are going for the first time. Congrats, I guess...

RUTGERS LOOKS TO SPOIL IRISH NCAA HOPES

2009-02-25T10:38:00.001-05:00

February 25, 2009

Mike Brey has stated his goal is for the Irish to make things interesting come Selection Sunday. Things were not looking like it would be very interesting when the Irish were mired in a seven-game losing streak, however ND has rebounded to win three of four including a thrashing of Louisville and a road win against Providence to make things interesting yet again. At 6-8 inthe Big East, they certainly have work left to do, and it starts tonight with a game they can not afford to slip up on against Rutgers.

As for Rutgers, playign out the string of another season is not sitting well for fans. The Scarlet Knights are 1-13 and in Fred Hill's third season, fans are quickly growing tired once again of the lackof success on the court. Some recruiting excitement lifted expectations heading into the season, but the continued losing ways will quickly wipe away any of that momentum.

Rutgers is led by freshman shooting guard Mike Rosario and classmate Greg Echenique has manned the paint adequately this season. While those two are certainly the building blocks for the future, they need help. The season long struggles on the court of Corey Chandler have been very evident by his drop in production and effectiveness after a promising, yet injury-plagued freshman season. Mike Coburn, another sophomore, is coming off a solid outing in their 74-56 loss versus WVU on Sunday, but he has not built on a solid frosh campaign either. Seniors Jaron Griffin and JR Inman continue to underachieve as their time on the floor seems to vary from half to half. Senior point guard Anthony Farmer has been solid throughout, but the lack of player pushing him for time does not give one much hope for a brighter future anytime soon for RU.

Luke Harangody continues to be a double-double machine and that is not likely to slow down against Rutgers. While the shot-blocking ability of Hamady N'Diaye and length of Inman might cause Harangody some difficulty at times, it is nothing greater than what he usually sees and is unlikely to deter him from racking up the points and rebounds. Teams are able to expose 'Gody defensively and wear him down to make him less efficient on offense, but RU seems adverse to going inside on offense, so do not expect them to challege the reigning Big East Player of the Year on that end of the floor.

With Rutgers likely in a 'playing out the string' mode at this point in time, do not be surprised to see Kyle McAlarney and Ryan Ayers finding open spaces to 'tee-it-up' from beyond the arc. When they get time, they are deadly. The Irish offensive abilities will carry them a long way against RU in this game.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Notre Dame 84
Rutgers 65

Irish Still Have Shot to Salvage NCAA Hopes (Post-Tribune)
Patience Pays Off for Notre Dame Bench Players (Chicago Tribune)
Notre Dame Not Taking Rutgers Lightly (Star-Ledger)
Fighting Irish Not Giving Up on NCAA's (Asbury Park Press)
Ejection Reaction Positive for Nash (South Bend Tribune)

PAST RECRUITING FAILURES LEAD TO LATEST RU LOSS

2009-02-23T13:45:00.000-05:00

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.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: WEST VIRGINIA @ RUTGERS

2009-02-22T10:17:00.000-05:00

February 22, 2009

West Virginia has won three of their last four games to move to 7-6 in the Big East and 18-8 overall. All three of those wins came at home and now they embark on a three-game road swing of winnable games, but they have lost their last three conference road games.

The first opponent for WVU in this road swing is the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers, who are 1-12 in Big East play. The game is a homecoming of sorts for junior small forward Da’Sean Butler and forward Wellington Smith, a pair of Jersey natives in the WVU starting line-up.

Huggins Sees No Let Down at Rutgers (Times West Virginian)
WVU Hits Road for Three Games (Times West Virginian)
Rutgers’ Frosh Sensation (Charleston Gazette)

West Virginia finds themselves in a pretty good position heading into the Big East stretch drive. They have climbed over .500 in the conference and they have a favorable slate to close out, even with the next three on the road.

The WVU toughness and willingness to defend and rebound should serve them well against Rutgers. Expect them to hold a lead throughout with Da’Sean Butler and Alex Ruoff leading the way like upperclassmen should.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

West Virginia 76
Rutgers 64

RUTGERS FALLS TO VILLANOVA, 82-72

2009-02-20T11:04:00.000-05:00

February 20, 2009

Villanova got back in the win column following a loss in their last game by extending the misery of Rutgers under Fred Hill. Villanova Shakes off Loss With Win over Rutgers (Philly Daily News) as the Wildcats Claw Past Knights (Asbury Park Press) on 'Senior Night' for Villanova.

A 24-7 run by Villanova put the game in their control after Rutgers took a brief 54-52 lead around the 10-minute mark of the second-half. Twenty turnovers were the biggest downfall for the Knights as Rutgers Loses to No. 12 Villanova, 82-72 (Star-Ledger).

Scottie Reynolds had a game-high 21 points for 'Nova as the Wildcats improve to 9-4 in the Big East and 21-5 overall. Corey Stokes added 17 and Corey Fisher 14 in the win. The sophomore duo played their high school basketball in New Jersey and came off the bench to key the big run that decided the game for VU.

Freshman Mike Rosario had a team-high 19 for Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights shot a season-best (in Big East play) 52% from the field and found the range from three-point range, shooting 10-22, but their 20 turnovers and being out-rebounded on the offensive boards 14-5 led to 13 more shot attempts for Villanova and the difference in the game.

Rutgers falls to 1-12 in Big East play and will return home to face West Virginia on Sunday afternoon.

RUTGERS TRAVELS TO MEET VILLANOVA

2009-02-19T10:29:00.000-05:00

February 19, 2009

Villanova's hot streak was interrupted on Friday night when they were thumped by West Virginia in Morgantown. The Wildcats had won six games in a row entering that game, including hanging 102 points on Syracuse and Marquette in back to back wins before the 93-72 loss at WVU.

Jay Wright's squad is now 8-4 in the Big East and 20-5 overall. They returned everyone of signficance from a club that last season went to the Sweet 16 as a 12-seed and this year they should certainly be looking at a seed anywhere between a 3 or a 6 in the NCAA Tournament.

On the other side of tonight's ledger is Rutgers. It is another disappointment for Fred Hill's squad, although this season was supposed to be different. Expectations were rising for Hill's program as he entered his third season with some solid returning players and some highly regarded recruits. Unfortunately, results on the court have not come very quickly and RU is in real danger of having their worst season yet under Hill.

Rutgers is currently 1-11 in the Big East and suffered out of conference losses, at home, to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghampton. In three season as Rutgers' head coach, Hill is 6-42 in Big East conference games. OUCH!

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the web:

Villanova's Wright Hopes Big Loss Woke Team Up (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Villanova's Reynolds Gives Team Whatever it Needs (Philadelphia Daily News)
Colonia's Donnely Now Helping 'Nova (mycentraljersey.com)

Not so long ago, Fred Hill recruited New Jersey to the benefit of Jay Wright. Hill was a key part of Wright's staff and was the lead recruiter fr players such as Randy Foye, helping Villanova reach the Elite 8. Now Hill is recruiting Jersey for the benefit of his own program and had some impressive success the last couple years with players such as Corey Chandler, Greg Echenique and Mike Rosario. However, recruiting success has not brough success on the court as of yet and the Scarlet Knights are scuffling through another losing season. The continued losing has also slowed down the recruiting momentum as well.

Last season, Rutgers surprised a nationally ranked Villanova squad in the RAC. With everyone back for the Wildcats, they will certainly remember that result as they prepare to meet the Knights this season. This time the game is at the cozy Pavilion on the VU campus.

Villanova is likely to attack the ballhandling and decision-making defeciencies of Rutgers directly. Guards Corey Fisher, Scottie Reynolds and Reggie Redding are all strong defensively and they will extend pressure to take RU out of their offense. In the paint, Dante Cunningham will use his shooting touch to move inside and out to score points.

Rutgers will need a hot-shooting performance from Mike Rosario as well as other players to step up offensively. The interior players such as Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman should be able to find some success in the paint against a smaller Villanova line-up, but the trick is to get them the ball, something the RU guards have been unable to do with any consistency this season.

Villanova is an 18 1/2-point favorite tonight on their home floor. Their combination of hot shooting and pressure defense will be a very tough combination for RU to handle away from home.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Villanova 90
Rutgers 68

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ PROVIDENCE

2009-02-14T09:09:00.001-05:00

February 14, 2009

On Saturday evening, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights head to Providence to take on Keno Davis’ Friars. Rutgers has been off since last Sunday’s home loss to rival Seton Hall. RU is now just 1-10 in Big East play this season. Providence snapped a three-game losing streak with a 77-62 win at South Florida, pushing their Big East record to 7-5.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

PC Can’t Afford to Slip Against Downtrodden Rutgers (Providence Journal)
Capsule Preview: Rutgers @ PC (Providence Journal)
PC’s Postseason Hopes May Hinge on Strong Regular Season Finish (Providence Journal)

Well, it is year #3 of the Fred Hill era and, despite the addition of McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario and highly touted 6-foot-9 Greg Echenique, things are not looking much different than year’s #1 and #2. In fact, this season has a real chance at being the worst yet, a very disappointing, but very real, possibility.

In Big East play under Hill, the Scarlet Knights are a pathetic 6-41, good for a .128 winning percentage. Once again, it is an anemic offense that is the root of their struggles. In Big East play, Rutgers manages just 0.948 points per possession. That would be an offense that ranked 266th in the NCAA and be the worst among all major conference teams. While Providence is certainly not going to win any defensive awards, the RU offense is more of a tonic for the PC defense than the PC defense for the RU offense.

On their home floor, PC can definitely score some points and they have plenty of scoring options, while Saturday’s opponent seems to rely solely on Mike Rosario to shoot them into games. On the road, this is probably not a good game plan to follow.

As for the Friars, like the South Florida game, PC needs to avoid any possibility of slipping up in this game to remain in the top half of the conference and to keep their slim NCAA Tournament hopes alive. With their best non-conference win coming against the A-10’s Rhode Island, the importance of finishing up strong in the Big East is not lost on Keno Davis.

“I think finishing in the top half is very important because if you don’t finish in the top half, you have to have a very good RPI or a very good non-conference coming in,” Davis said in the Big East coaches conference call this week. “Not many people have picked Providence to be one of the top division teams and right now we are. That’s a nice spot to be in and we control our own destiny if we’re going to be in the top half of this league.”

Winning on Saturday is another step in securing that possibility and give them 8 league wins. With Louisville, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh, before finishing with a rematch against Rutgers and then a conference finale with Villanova ahead on the schedule, this is a most-win game for the Friars.

While Rutgers will likely scrap and try to get physical, the Friars will have too much offense and the offensive struggles of the Scarlet Knights are likely to prevent them from keeping up in this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Providence 78
Rutgers 63

RUTGERS FALLS TO SETON HALL, AGAIN

2009-02-09T11:30:00.000-05:00

February 9, 2009

The Jersey grudge match that is Seton Hall and Rutgers took place for the second time in 10 days, this time at the RAC on the Rutgers campus, on Sunday afternoon. As expected, it was a tight and intense affair that came down to the final minutes.

The Pirates finished the game on a 7-0 run as Seton Hall Beats Rutgers, 65-60, to Sweep Season Series (Star-Ledger). After starting Big East play 0-6, SHU has now won four straight and have a date at DePaul next. The Rutgers season of improved expectations and momentum from some recruiting success is turning into another disaster as they fall to 1-10 in the Big East and 10-14 overall.

Jeremy Hazell had a game-high 19 points and John Garcia gutted out a 13-point, 8-rebound performance to lead the Pirates as Seton Hall Beats the Scarlet Knights for Second Time this Season (Asbury Park Press).

Rutgers did not help themselves down the stretch as they turned the ball over, missed free throws and shot after shot. The Loss to Seton Hall Shows Rutgers Coach Fred Hill, Jr. is Getting Outcoached (Star-Ledger) and his Big East head coaching record is 6-41 in his third season. The third season is the year where a coach is supposed to make his move and the direction of the program is established. With Rutgers scheduled to have a new athletic director in place in the near future, Hill better show some progress in the near future. As the losses continue to pile up, the recruiting momentum that was built last summer seems to dwindle rapidly.

Mike Rosario led RU with 15 points, but the tough defense of SHU senior Paul Gause made him work very hard for each of those points and forced him into 5 turnovers. Gause has Become the Senior Leader for Seton Hall (Gloucester Times) and he added 10 points and 4 steals in the win yesterday.

While RU's struggles under Hill continue, maybe Bobby Gonzalez is point the Pirates in the right direction. While the four game win streak has not come against teams with a 9-35 (.205) combined Big East record, it looks like Gonzalez Rights Seton Hall (NY Daily News) after the 0-6 start and has positioned them above the other conference bottom-feeders, something many believed Fred Hill was going to start doing this year.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SETON HALL @ RUTGERS

2009-02-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

February 8, 2009

It is already time for the rematch between Garden State rivals on Sunday when Rutgers and Seton Hall square off at high noon at the RAC. Just 10 days earlier, Seton Hall held off a late Rutgers rally for a 70-67 win in the always hotly contested match-up.

Seton Hall is riding the momentum of a three-game winning streak in the contest which has been largely thanks to the extremely hot hand of Jeremy Hazell. The sophomore scorer-extraordinaire scored 35 in the win over Rutgers, with 28 coming in the second half. In his last outing, a 91-81 SHU win over St. John’s, Hazell scored 31 more.

Rutgers finally got their first Big East win of the year as they beat up on punching bag DePaul last weekend. They followed that up with a 57-47 setback at Georgetown and now face their rivals, looking for revenge from the earlier defeat.

Here are some pregame stories and previews on the game:

Friendly Rivals (Asbury Park Press)
Mike Rosario is Still Working Hard for Rutgers as SHU Comes to the RAC (NJ.com)
RU vs. SHU: The Sequel (mycentraljersey.com)

We keep waiting for Rutgers to show some progress and improvement in Fred Hill’s third season as head coach. The Scarlet Knights were 2-14 and 3-15 in his first two seasons and there was some hype surrounding this year’s club with the additions of Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique. However, it has not translated into success on the court as RU is just 1-9 in the Big East this season.

Rosario has done his part as one of the top freshman in the Big East, unfortunately, the team around him often plays in a dysfunctional manner with little flow on offense and often playing into the opponents preferred style.

Seton Hall will try and get Rutgers into their manic style of basketball. That is often easier done at home than on the road where the crowd and officials can be more favorable to tilt the game in their favor. Now, they will have to get back onto the road and see if their momentum of three straight wins will carry over.

The Pirates just finished a four-game home stand, winning their last three, and now face RU and DePaul on the road before the schedule toughens once again. They certainly have some impressive offensive talent, now they will have to come together on the road for a win.

The college basketball lines this morning show Rutgers as a 1 ½-point favorite on their home floor. While SHU looks to be the better team, Rutgers is likely to play this game as it is their season on their home floor. Look for the Knights to come out with a win, in a very intense battle between the two Jersey schools of the Big East.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 73
Seton Hall 70

RUTGERS TURNS OVER WIN TO HOYAS

2009-02-04T13:58:00.000-05:00

February 4, 2009

The Georgetown/Rutgers games was definitely not a pretty one. However, the result was one that the Hoyas needed desperately as Georgetown Puts an End to Five-Game Skid (Washington Times) with a 57-47 victory over the Scarlet Knights in the Verizon Center on Tuesday night.

While their offense is still in need of some work, the Hoyas' defense did the job as Rutgers is Held to a Season-low 47 points in Loss (Star-Ledger) to Georgetown.

Senior guard Jesse Sapp showed signs of snapping out of his extended shooting slump, scoring a team-high 11 points on four of five shooting from the field and hitting both of his three-pointers. Greg Monroe added 10 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists as the Hoyas move to 4-6 in the Big East.

Rutgers seemed more intent on imitating Plaxico Burress and wounding themselves as Miscues Lead Georgetown Over the Knights (Asbury Park Press) as RU turns the ball over 21 times. The sloppy ball handling was singled out by coach Fred Hill following the game.

"Obviously you can't play like that as a guard — 20 minutes, eight turnovers, I'm not sure I've ever seen that," Hill said to the Asbury Park Press following the game about sophomore Corey Chandler. "You can't keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again and expect to win. He's go to shore up his decision-making and his ball-handling."

Mike Rosario scored a game-high 20 points for RU, who trailed at one point, 49-29, before chipping away at the final margin of defeat.

Rutgers will host in-state rival Seton Hall at noon on Sunday as the two meet for the second time in 10 days.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS HITS ROAD AGAINST HOYAS

2009-02-03T09:23:00.001-05:00

February 3, 2009

It is now or never got John Thompson III and his Georgetown Hoyas. If they can not snap out of their funk tonight in the Verizon Center when they host Rutgers, it might never happen this year.

Georgetown has lost five games in a row and now sit at 3-6 in the Big East at the halfway mark of conference play. They return home after an 0-3 road swing that included losses at Seton Hall, Cincinnati and Marquette.

Rutgers snapped their own nine-game losing streak with a 75-56 drubbing of DePaul at the RAC this weekend. It was the first conference win for the Knights who are 1-8 in conference play.

Here are some pre-game stories and previews from around the internet this morning:

At Big East Midpoint, Hoyas Face Steep Climb (Washington Post)
Knights Draw Sliding Hoyas (Asbury Park Press)

Georgetown did get injured DaJuan Summers back for their game against Marquette over the weekend. The Hoyas' leading scorer had missed the entire second half with an injured ankle the previous game, a loss to Cincinnati, and was listed as doubtful for the game with the Golden Eagles. Summers helped the struggling Hoya offense with a team-high 22 points and Chris Wright added his best performance in a while with 19 points and 8 assists.

However, on a day they got some offense (was averaging just 58 points in their previous three losses), Georgetown could not stop Marquette from scoring in the 94-82 loss. The game was tied at 42 at halftime, but the quickness of Marquette was too much for Georgetown as they committed 27 fouls and were outscored 30-8 from the foul line. So, despite shooting 56% from the field and hitting 10 of 20 from three-point range, it was another loss for the Hoyas.

Rutgers won the Big East Super(bad) Bowl on the eve of the Big Game by keeping DePaul (0-9) winless in the conference. Led by Mike Rosario and Jaron Griffin's season-high 16 points a piece, RU cemented the place of the Blue Demons in the conference basement.

Georgetown is listed as a 16 1/2-point favorite in the latest NCAA basketball betting odds. The line seems to be dead-on, but could be skewed with the early season effeciency numbers of the Hoyas which have not been the same of late.

Rutgers seems dysfunctional at times on the floor with poor decisions and gameplanning, but they do seem to play hard and they can utilize some size that might give the Hoyas some trouble at times. Georgetown definitely has more talent, especially in the starting line-up, but their lack of depth and inside muscle could keep Rutgers hanging around, at least a little bit.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Georgetown 76
Rutgers 63

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: DEPAUL @ RUTGERS

2009-01-31T09:25:00.001-05:00

January 31, 2009

Well, something has to finally give here. DePaul travels to New Jersey to take on Rutgers in a battle between the last remaining winless teams in Big East play. Both the Scarlet Knights and Blue Demons are 0-8 in conference play.

Here are some pregame stories and previews:

Rutgers-DePaul Scouting Report (Asbury Park Press)
Blue Demons Head East to Rutgers (bluedemons.com)

Thus far this season, Rutgers has proven to be an enigma, as their talent does not seem to be matching their results. DePaul, on the other hand, just seems to be plain old bad.

Even though it was a stretch to think RU was going to compete for a spot in the top half of the league, they seemed to have a mix of potential and experience that could make them dangerous, but their 0-8 start in the league has things looking bleak.

DePaul has already been swept by South Florida, losing both handily, so we see where their standing in the conference currently is. Mac Koshwal and Dar Tucker are good players and will be matched against Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique of RU. The supporting casts for each team have been a disappointment, but the group at Rutgers should be the difference in this game.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 66
DePaul 60

RUTGERS LOSSES NINTH STRAIGHT, 0-8 IN BIG EAST

2009-01-30T09:34:00.001-05:00

January 30, 2009

In the first have, Seton Hall scored 26 points and found themselves trailing Rutgers 27-26 at the Prudential Center.

In the second half, however, Jeremy Hazell exploded for 28 points himself and the Pirates held off a late Scarlet Knight rally as Seton Hall Knocks off Rutgers, 70-67, Behind Hazell's 35 Points (Star-Ledger).

Hazell finished with his first career double-double as he also added 10 rebounds in the contest. He was effecient offensively, scoring 35 points on 17 field goal attempts (10-17), connecting on three of four from beyond the arc and made 12 of 13 free throws.

It was SHU's second consecutive win after beginning conference play 0-6. Robert Mitchell added 11 points and Eugene Harvey fought off strept throat to add nine points and nine assists in the win.

The Struggle Continues for Rutgers, Now 0-8 in Big East, After Loss to SHU (Star Ledger) and are now 5-37 in the Big East under Fred Hill Jr.

The hope of the RU program is that freshmen Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique lead them to better days. Rosario scored 25 points last night and Echenique added 13 points (all in the second half) and 8 rebounds, but they can not do it themselves. Their teammates shot just 12-35 from the floor, good for just 34%

With No Love Lost Between the Jersey Coaches (SNY.tv), the game was full of subplots, but in the end, it was settled on the court in a game that tightened up in the last 30 seconds with Rutgers failing to get off a potential game-tying three before the buzzer sounded after a SHU turnover.

Rutgers will match-up with winless DePaul on Saturday, but their schedule is looking much tougher here on out. Matching last year's 3-15 Big East record is looking like a very tall order for the Scarlet Knights. With a new AD on the horizon, the pressure on Fred Hill will only become greater if progress continues to lack in the program.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ SETON HALL

2009-01-29T08:22:00.002-05:00

January 29, 2009

The battle of New Jersey in the Big East will commence tonight in Newark at the Prudential Center, aka 'the Rock', as Seton Hall will welcome in Rutgers.

This is as true of a rivalry game as there is. In many cases, it is the fans that get worked up for a rivalry game, but this is one that the players, coaches and everyone else associated with each school and program has a deep desire to win.

Last season the two teams split their two meetings, each winning on the other's home court in thrilling fashion. The second meeting, the RU win at Seton Hall, set off quite an interesting post-game with Bobby Ganzalez's tantrum toward the officials that led to his one-game suspension that was served in their conference-opening loss to Syracuse last month. From the handshake between the coaches after the game to the postgame comments, this was a rivalry game that meant something.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the internet this morning on the game:

Rutgers' Farmer is Approaching 1,000 Points, but all he Wants are Wins (Press of Atlantic City)
Rutgers, Seton Hall Reunite at the Rock (Asbury Park Press)
Rutgers, Seton Hall Excited to Renew Rivalry (Star-Ledger)
Scouting Report for Rutgers-Seton Hall (Asbury Park Press)
SHU Not Taking Rutgers Lightly as RU Looks for First Big East Win
Rutgers Freshman Rosario Makes Most of Transition (NY Times)

Never mind the fact that Rutgers and Seton Hall have a combined Big East W/L record of 1-13. Records will mean very little for the two+ hours that the Scarlet Knights and Pirates will battle tonight in Newark. One could be undefeated and the other winless and this game would still be a battle that will have fans from both schools at the edge of their seats.

There is no question that Rutgers has been a disappointment. While most reasonable prognosticators felt Rutgers would win six, maybe seven in the Big East this season, they are looking like a team that will struggle to exceed last year's total of three conference wins, even matching that will be difficult if they do not find a way to pull out a win very soon.

With star Jersey recruits in Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique making the highly publicized decisions to stay in the Garden State for their college careers, Fred Hill's program was one many thought would begin to rise from the ashes of the Big East cellar. The duo was to join sophomores Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn, junior Hamady N'Diaye and seniors JR Inman and Anthony Farmer to form a line-up capable of playing with the top teams, winning their share against the middle of the pack and pulling themselves out of the bottom. So far, none of that has happened.

While the schedule has not been much of a help, RU has not helped themselves by losing by double-digits on the roas to St. John's and Cincinnati. When looking at RU, you can't really pinpoint their biggest weakness other than they do not have 'it.' What exactly 'it' is can vary from one explanation to the next, but this team seems to have some form of a dis-connect somewhere, which leads to the poor results. Progress was needed in the third year of Fred Hill's tenure, not an 0-7 start with a season looking to be going down the drain quickly like his previous two, and with it is likely any recruiting momentum built with the signings of Echenique and Rosario.

Seton Hall picked up their first conference win on Saturday with a 65-60 win over slumping and floundering Georgetown. The Pirates have also not had much luck with a tough early conference schedule, but they also had lost two of their last three out of the conference to the likes of IUPUI (home) and James Madison (away). The schedule eases significantly now with Rutgers twice in 11 days and St. John's at home in the middle and DePaul following the second meeting with RU. That is as winnable of a four game stretch any team will face in the Big East this season and the Georgetown win has given Bobby Gonzalez's team a new thrust of energy.

The Pirates are led by long-range bomber Jeremy Hazell and forward Robert 'Stix' Mitchell going inside and out. Point guard Eugene Harvey runs the show with defensive dynamo Paul Gause, the lone SHU senior, teamming in the backcourt with him.

Where the Pirates are really thin is the frontcourt where oft-injured John Garcia, the under-performing Mike Davis (fouled out in two minutes against Georgetown) and the still-developing Brandon Walters make up the ranks. Walk-on Matt Cajuste has been getting playing time lately to help counter the lack of depth.

Will Rutgers take advantage of their size advantage with JR Inman, Echenique and N'Diaye inside? They have been too content much of the season to let Rosario shoot them into, or just as easily, out of games. Rosario will likly bethe target of the SHU defense and the fans. If RU can find some sort of balance offensively, they would be helping themselves out tremendously.

In the end, SHU seems to have the confidence in themselves and each other, despite the losses. I do not see that with Rutgers. If RU is off to a slow start, it could be lights out for the game...and their season...

Seton Hall is a 7 1/2-point favorite in this game tonight.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Seton Hall 74
Rutgers 65

RUTGERS NOW 0-7 IN BIG EAST

2009-01-25T01:04:00.000-05:00

January 25, 2009

More of the same for Rutgers as a Sluggish Start Dooms Scarlet Knights (Asbury park Press) in a 70-59 loss at St. John's in Big East play.

It was the eighth straight loss for RU and Rutgers is Still Winless in the Big East (NJ.com) at 0-7.

SJU led by 11 at the half and RU got it to as close as two points late in the game, but the Redstorm held them off and scored the games last 9 points.

Paris Horne hit 12 of 13 shots and finished with 27 points to lead the way. DJ Kennedy added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.

Mike Rosario, the lone Scarlet Knight in double figures, scored 16.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ ST. JOHN'S

2009-01-24T09:02:00.000-05:00

January 24, 2009

Rutgers, 0-6 in Big East play, will look for their first conference win tonight when they travel into the Big Apple to take on St. John’s at Carnesecca Arena. The Redstorm were left reeling after collapsing down the stretch in a 71-60 loss against Cincinnati Thursday night. The ‘storm had an 11-point lead in the second half, put were outscored 31-9 to finish the game.

One has to wonder how St. John’s will rebound from that loss with such a short turnaround. Luckily for the Redstorm, Rutgers has enough of their own problems that will probably make sure this is a competitive ball game.

One thing SJU will do is defend. They play tough on the defensive side of the ball and will look to pressure the Rutgers backcourt into mistakes and forced shots. The RU offense is nearly entirely centered and dependent on Mike Rosario connecting from the perimeter. That is a lot of pressure for a freshman on the road who will face a pretty good defensive team.

However, SJU has their own ballhandling concerns with point guard Malik Boothe out with an injury and freshman Quincy Roberts running the show. While SJU is at home, there is something that keeps telling me that Rutgers is not as bad as their 0-6 record would indicate. After being thoroughly embarrassed by Louisville on their home floor this week, I look for a more urgent performance and the front court trio of Greg Echenique, Hamady N’Diaye and JR Inman to control the paint on both ends of the floor. If Mike Rosario does not shoot the Knights out of it, I like for them to come up with a surprise and win one on the road, even if the college basketball odds tell me I am wrong by listing SJU as the 4 ½-point favorite at home.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Rutgers 67
St. John’s 64

LOUISVILLE SPANKS RUTGERS AT THE RAC

2009-01-22T11:29:00.001-05:00

January 22, 2009

The Scarlet Knights drops their seventh straight game as Louisville earns a Runaway Win in Piscataway (Louisville Courier-Journal) over Rutgers, 78-59.

Louisville Routs Rutgers (NY Daily News) using an early 23-0 run to take command of the game with a 28-7 lead on their wat to a 40-20 lead at the half and the Scarlet Knights, dropping their seventh straight game, never challenged to streaking Cardinals.

Former New Jersey high school stars Earl Clark and Samardo Samuels each added 15 for UL and Edgar Sosa added 10 as Louisville Rolls over Rutgers (Asbury Park Press).

Freshmen Mike Rosario (21 points) and Greg Echenique (13 points), a high school teammate of Samuels, were the only Scarlet Knights to reach double-figures.

Notes:

-Schedule eases up for RU, which is now 0-6 in the Big East and has lost 35 of 40 conference games under Fred Hill. The next three games for Rutgers comes against St. John's, Seton Hall and DePaul, teams with a combined conference record of 1-15 currently.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS HOSTS LOUISVILLE

2009-01-21T11:16:00.001-05:00

January 21, 2009

Louisville will hope to extend their 4-0 start in Big East play while preventing Rutgers (0-5) from earning their first conference of the year.

The Cards come in hot after beating Notre Dame and knocking Pittsburgh from their top-ranked perch last week. Now, ahead of a date in the Carrier Dome against Syracuse this weekend, Louisville travels to take on Rutgers at the RAC.

Rutgers continues to sputter in the third year of the Fred Hill era. There was some new excitement around the program heading into the season as the Scarlet Knights added McDonalds All-American Mike Rosario and highly toured Greg Echenique to a line-up that had some solid returning players. However, much like the first two years under Hill, wins have been hard to come by in the Big East. Hill is now just 5-34 in Big East games as a head coach. With a new athletic director soon to be coming on board, the pressure on Hill and his staff to find some wins is sure to mount.

Here are some pregame stories and previews found on the internet:

Rutgers Game Not a Trap Game to Cardinals (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Pitino Talks About Rutgers Match-up (Courier-Journal)
It's Apparent Cards Possess a T-Will to Win (Courier-Journal)
Pitino Pep Talk Charged Cards After Tough Loss (Kentucky.com)
Former St. Benedict's Stars Echenique and Samuels to Face Off Tonight (Star-Ledger)
Echenique, Samuels Meet Again (Asbury Park Press)

Although Louisville is saying all the right things, it is only natural to have a letdown tonight. That does not mean Rutgers is an 'upset' alert or the Cards will not win handily, but after the two tough games at home last week, overtime win over Notre Dame and stirring comeback against Pitt, the Cards probably need to take a breath and come up for air...and, with SU looming ahead this weekend, they might be taking that breath tonight.

On the flip side, and this makes this conference SOOOO tough, Rutgers is desperate for a win, playing at home against a hot opponent with a lofty national ranking, Rutgers will come out firing on all cylinders.

However, when the game gets settled down, Louisville's talent will take over. Senior Terrence Williams has assumed command of the UL ship and is coming off an MVP-worthy week where he compiled 24 points, 16 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals against ND and then followed it up with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the win over Pittsburgh. Rutgers' Corey Chandler will have his hands full on both ends of the floor with T-Will.

Rutgers put a scare into Pitt and Marquette on their home floor and will look to do so against Louisville tonight. Mike Rosario scored 22 against both Pitt and MU, but in the other three conference losses, the former McDonald's AA is shooting just 12-50 (24%) from the floor overall and 5-28 (18%) from three-point range. He has totalled 36 points on those 50 shot-attempts.

Rosario certainly has the confidence to make 'the next one' and the green light to do so, but often times it looks to be at the expense of getting the ball inside. In those very same three losses, Greg Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman have combined for 51 field goal attempts (one more than Rosario) and 75 points. So, where should the RU coaching staff be trying to get more scoring opportunities from?

In the end, Louisville will have the better game plan and their constant defensive pressure should prey on the Rutgers backcourt that is prone to make poor decisions and force shots when panicked. The oddsmakers have pegged Louisville as a 10 1/2 point favorite on the road. At times I think RU will make a few runs to make it somewhat interesting, but the Cards will turn it on when they need to in order to get the win, but a little closer than expected at the end.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Louisville 70
Rutgers 60

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ CINCINNATI

2009-01-14T10:19:00.003-05:00

January 14, 2009

Rutgers and Cincinnati meet tonight in a Big East conference match-up between two schools looking for their first wins of the 2008-2009 conference season. Rutgers is zero for four in Big East play, losing at home to Pittsburgh, Marquette and, in their last game, Syracuse. They were also bombed by UConn, 80-49, in their lone road game.

The Bearcats are 0-3 in Big East play, losing on their home floor to Providence and Connecticut. To open Big East play, they were mauled on their road against Marquette.

Here are some pregame stories and previews from the web:

Time for Bearcats to get Ugly (Cincinnati.com)
UC, Rutgers Starved for Win (Cincinnati.com)
For Knights, Rebounding Will be the Key (Asbury Park Press)

The biggest culprit in UC's poor conference start has been their defense. The Bulls have surrendered an average of 84 points a game in the three conference games with opponents bombing away at a clip of 55% (35-64) from three-point range and the field overall (84-152).

Defense was the main ingredient for the Bearcats last season as they raced out to an 8-3 conference mark to begin conference play. However, a rotation that is on the inexperienced size, other than junior Deonta Vaughn, is not creating the defensive pressure that the previous team was able to do. Outside of Vaughn and the potential of freshman Yancy Gates, this is not a team that has the talent on offense to outscore Big East competition.

If your defense is ailing, Rutgers is usually a cure. However, other than their 49-point performance on the road against UConn, the Scarlet Knights are averaging just over 71 in their other conference games. Mike Rosario is leading the offensive improvment, but the key seems to be production from Corey Chandler, something that was not happening consistently in their pre-conference struggles early on.

Rutgers would be much better served if they would be able to get more production from the paint from Greg Echenique, Hamady N'Diaye and JR Inman. The trio has been effecient, but touches and opportunities have been limited as their backcourt has dominated the offensive chances.

Cincinnati can ill-afford to go 0-3 in this rare three-game conference homestand. A win could give the Bearcats some momentum as they hit the road for three games that are winnable with some improved play on the defensive side of the court. UC is an 8 1/2-point favorite on their home floor tonight according to the latest college basketball odds and they should come up with a win.

NBE Blogger Preview:

Cincinnati 69
Rutgers 62

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE @ RUTGERS

2009-01-10T10:31:00.003-05:00

January 10, 2009

Every so often Rutgers rises from the depths of despair to pull out a few surprising wins at home at the RAC. And, more than once, Syracuse has been their victim. However, those wins have yet to come in the Fred Hill era, although, they have made a couple runs already in close losses to Pitt and Marquette at home early in conference play.

Syracuse has a killer 10-game stretch beginning next week. They look to close out this four game conference opening stretch with another win, but they can not afford to be looking past the Scarlet Knights who are itching to knock one of the big boys off.

Here are some game articles and previews from the web:

Chandler Excels on the Wing for RU (myCentralJersey.com)
Orange Scouting Report: Syracuse vs. Rutgers (Post-Standard)
Syracuse Heads to Rutgers on Saturday (Syracuse.com)
Orange Set for Scarlet Knights (Syracuse.com)
Super Frosh Chose Rutgers (Post-Standard)

This one might be an interesting game with a Saturday night RAC crowd ready for something positive to happen for their Scarlet Knights. RU has size inside to match up with Arinze Onuaku and Rick Jackson with Hamady N’Diaye and Greg Echenique starting and JR Inman coming off the bench. Corey Chandler will have his hands full with Paul Harris, but Chandler is not one to back down from a mano-y-mano challenge on the court. SU has a clear advantage at point guard with Jonny Flynn, although Anthony Farmer, a senior, has been playing pretty well at times this season. RU also has a zone buster in Mike Rosario who has the green light to shoot RU into (or, at sometimes out) of games.

The early college basketball odds have Syracuse as a road favorite of 7 ½ points. With SU 3-0 in the Big East and a brutal stretch coming, and the Scarlet Knights 0-3, it will be mighty hard for the Orange not to take a breath in this game and let their guard down. Eric Devendorf off the bench is likely to be the difference in tilting the game to SU’s favor as RU narrowly misses another upset.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Syracuse 74
Rutgers 69

RUTGERS/SU GAME NOTES

2009-01-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

By Zach Smart

A wild, 60-foot buzzer-beater and an off-campus incident supposedly sparked by Eric Devendorf may have but the lone blemishes on Syracuse’s otherwise unflappable road to redemption, but the Orange are certainly back on the map.

The sense of urgency is certainly there for the Orange, which has arguably the best backcourt in the conference in Jonny Flynn and Devendorf.

The Orange have sacrificed individual totals for team harmony, unison, and the inevitable success that this selfless surrender yields way to.

The Orange trounced DePaul (8-8, 0-3 Big East) to the tune of 85-68 Wednesday night. Andy Rautins continued his hot shooting, scoring a team-high 17 points. Paul Harris and Arinze Onuaku scored 14 a piece, and Devendorf chipped in with 13. Flynn handed out a game-high eight dimes, and the Orange withstood an 18-point performance from Demon forward Dar Tucker.

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“In the first half, I thought our defense was good for long stretches,” said coach Jim Boeheim, following the beatdown.

“I thought we really helped each other and did a good job rebounding and offensively, we moved the ball. In the second half we came out a little bit like (we did against) South Florida, we made 2-3 mistakes and, you know, just couldn’t get a rhythm going on offense. Sometimes that happens when you have a lead. You still don’t want that to happen, but we made enough plays and we got an opportunity, I thought, to work on our defense. We did a lot of good things, some things I think we could have done better.”

It was the first time the Orange (15-1) sat in a man-to-man defense for an extended period, as Boeheim would add.

Paul Harris, who missed the South Florida game, looked a step behind at first but picked it up as the game progressed. He was aggressive and active, pulling down nine rebounds to supplement AO and Rick Jackson down low. Jackson, who’s beginning to flower, scored 11 points to go with six boards.

This triumvirate needs to be just as efficient against Rutgers, which has upgraded their frontline with Gregory Echenique and Hamady N’dyiaye, who are an average height of 6-10. The two bigs were apparent against Marquette, as they helped Rutgers outrebound the Golden Eagles 37-25. Marquette, of course, was able to eke out the win.

Echenique has emerged into one of the conference’s top rebounders. N’dyiaye, still green and frail, is slowly coming along.

-The 9-7 Scarlet Knights, who everyone pegged as the surefire Big East doormat after witnessing them lose games to Lehigh, Stony Brook, and St. Bonaventure, has shown some toughness. They hung tough with a formidable Marquette team, falling by a tight 81-76 margin.

-After UConn clamped down on fabulous freshman Mike Rosario, throwing him into a 2-for-13 funk, the Jersey City native scored 22 points against Marquette. Corey Chandler helped the Scarlet Knights with 19 as their upset bid of the Golden Eagles fell short.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: MARQUETTE @ RUTGERS

2009-01-07T12:38:00.000-05:00

January 7, 2009

While Rutgers might be through with the brutal stretch of top 5 teams North Carolina, Pittsburgh and UConn, who were ranked 1, 2 and 3 when they played them, the Big East allows no breathers and next up for the Scarlet Knights is Marquette. The Golden Eagles will look to build on their best-ever 2-0 Big East start at the RAC tonight.

Here are some of the pregame stories and previews found on the web this morning:

Seniors Hoping to Avoid Letdown Against Rutgers (Journal-Sentinel)
Stats Don’t Tell Story for Knights (mycentraljersey.com)

Peeking ahead in your schedule is not hard to do in this league, but Marquette will try and concentrate at the task on hand tonight in New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights gave #1 ranked Pittsburgh all they could handle in their Big East opener on New Year’s Eve and that should certainly have the attention of the Golden Eagles this evening.

Marquette is coming off an 84-50 route of Cincinnati and if they unleash their defensive pressure from the outset, they could do something similar to RU. Jerel McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Mathews have been excellent this season both offensively and defensively. In their last game, they held Deonta Vaughn scoreless against Cincinnati and will look to make life just as difficult tonight against RU freshman Mike Rosario, who seems to be the catalyst of the RU offense.

Marquette is not the biggest team in the conference and the Scarlet Knight could match-up very well in the frontcourt with Greg Echenique, Hamady N’Diaye and JR Inman, but they will only be as productive as their backcourt getting them the ball in position to score.

Marquette is a 9 ½ point favorite on the road, but look for RU to play this one tough. Marquette still pulls it out with more talent, but the young Knights will also use some of their experienced players and play well at home.

NBE Blogger Prediction:

Marquette 70
Rutgers 63

ROSARIO HAS BIG TARGET ON HIS BACK

2009-01-04T21:32:00.003-05:00

Rutgers freshman Rosario romped in Gampel debut

By Zach Smart

Storrs—It was a rude awakening for highly-touted freshman Mike Rosario at UConn last night.

The Huskies’ trio of Jerome Dyson, Stanley “Sticks” Robinson, and Craig Austrie negated the scoring machine that eclipsed Samuerdo Samuels as the top freshman scorer in the Big East.

Dyson hounded, harassed, and hurled Rosario into the worst shooting night of his young collegiate career. The 6-foot-3 neophyte from Jersey City shot an arctic 2-for-13 from the field, finishing with just 10 points.

While he drew fouls and sank 5-of-6 from the charity stripe, Rosario hit nothing but iron during the first half, going 0-for-8 before an announced crowd of 10,167 at the Gampel Pavilion.

Rosario, who hit up North Carolina for 26 and hung 22 on Jamie Dixon and Pittsburgh, watched his hot-streak quickly falter as he met a team dripping with height, long arms and athletic wings in UConn.

So, he wrapped up his three-game stiff competition test with an average of 19.3 points.

Not bad for a callow freshman but Rosario’s got to watch out for those older, wiser, big dog gamers.

On a night when the Huskies were thirsting to come back with a vengeance in the worst way imaginable (they were outplayed by Georgetown in Monday’s lost and got a classic Jim Calhoun earful for their listless performance), they put a straightjacket on Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights looked as if they were handcuffed in the jungle at midnight, shooting a paltry 6-foot-23 in the first half. The confines of the perimeter weren’t much more comfortable for Rosario.

The kid that rained threes on bottom-tier teams such as Robert Morris and NJIT (though he hit 4-for-8 from beyond the arc against UNC), shot just 1-for-6 from three-point territory.

“All great players go through games like that,” said Rutgers head coach Fred Hill, who knows how important a productive Rosatio is to the Knight's college basketball odds of winning.

“In the second half when you're grinding it and you're not making shots, I think you mentally get worn down. I think in the second half the end of the week got to us mentally more than I would have liked, but you've got to give UConn the credit for being so physical and so tough."

While Austrie did a good job denying and Robinson used his freakish athleticism and aggression to keep Rosario at bay, Dyson deserves most of the credit for the negating job he did.

“We were able to get stops,” explained Dyson. “Defense is what drives us.”

Rosario tried to get himself free, but was cut off. The long arms were in his face all night, making it difficult for him to get some good shots off. Shooting over opponents that stand 6-feet-7 is much more difficult than Rosario’s workaday matchup.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ CONNECTICUT

2009-01-03T06:51:00.002-05:00

January 3, 2009

Rutgers completes their grueling three-game stretch on Saturday when they travel to Storrs (CT) to take on Connecticut in a Big East conference match-up on Saturday evening.

Rutgers has already lost to No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday and #3 Pittsburgh on Wednesday and now must face the second-ranked Huskies to finish an unprecedented three-game stretch. So far, as expected, RU is 0-2 in the stretch. However, they have shown some signs of improvements since dropping home contests to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghampton earlier in the pre-conference schedule. The Scarlet Knights lost at UNC 97-75 and hap Pitt on the ropes, with a 55-50 lead with just over 10 minutes left on New Year’s Eve before a 20-4 Panther run ended the hopes for an upset.

Connecticut fell from the ranks of the unbeaten when they were surprised by Georgetown at home in the conference opener Monday night in Hartford. The Hoyas took command early with a 15-1 run to start the game and they turned back every Husky run in the 74-63 victory.

Here are some pre-game stories and previews found on the internet this morning:

Rosario Brings Respectability to Rutgers (Bristol Press)
UConn Men Jump Back into Big East Battle (Connecticut Post)
Happy New Year; Sticks to Start, Rutgers Coming In (Hartford Courant)
A Line-up Change for UConn (TheDay.com)

Well, it did not take long, after one-loss, Stanley Robinson is back in the starting line-up and Craig Austrie will be coming off the bench. It was not too long ago that Robinson was an expendable piece of the UConn puzzle, but after Nate Miles was expelled from school and the NCAA decision on the Ater Majok eligibility continues to hang in the balance, the former sheet metal industry professional is back in Jim Calhoun’s starting line-up just three weeks after coming back into the program after a hiatus.

Rutgers will not be intimidated heading into Storrs, but a Jim Calhoun team coming off a loss in a game where he did not like their effort or toughness, the Scarlet Knights could be in some serious trouble. Rutgers is led by freshman scoring machine Mike Rosario, who has averaged 24 PPG the last two against UNC and Pitt, but the emergence of Corey Chandler from an early shooting slump seems to be a catalyst for their improved play.

Improvements or not, look for UConn to be personally challenged and motivated in this game. Jeff Adrien, Hasheem Thabeet and Stanley Robinson is an NBA-sized frontcourt and AJ Price and Jerome Dyson make up an excellent backcourt duo.

Look for a complete effort early on from the Huskies at both ends of the floor as they quickly put the memories on Monday’s beating behind them and put Rutgers, who is a 21 1/2–point underdog according to the latest college basketball odds away early on.

Prediction:

Connecticut 86
Rutgers 66

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: PITTSBURGH @ RUTGERS

2008-12-31T00:41:00.000-05:00

December 31, 2008

The crazy week of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights continues on New Year's Eve as RU welcomes third ranked Pittsburgh to the RAC. Rutgers played No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday night and have Connecticut, currently ranked No. 2, on the schedule for Saturday. Rutgers lost the first leg of this three-game stretch 97-75 to UNC.

Pittsburgh has not played since December 21st when they won a tough, physical match-up at Florida State. It was the Panthers first true road game of the season and they got the win despite shooting just 33% from the floor and their floor general Levance Fields going just 1-10. Pitt showed they still had tough defense and strong rebounding, with DeJuan Blair second in the nation in rebounding average, but also Sam Young is a difference maker and his two late baskets keyed Pitt's win.

Here are some of the pre-game previews and stories found on the internet about the game:

Pitt Set to Open Big East Play Today (Tribune-Review)
Rosario, Woodall Enjoy Reunion (Tribune-Review)
Boys Hit the Big Time as Rosario, Woodall Reunite (SNY.tv)
Pitt Opens Big East Play at Rutgers (York Daily Record)

it is still hard for me to believe that Rutgers has lost to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh and Binghmpton at the RAC already this season. They have also struggled mightily against 5-9 Marist (winning by two) and 2-13 Delaware State (winning by 5) on their homecourt which is regarded as one of the tougher venues in the league.

With a roster that has added a pair of freshman all-americans in Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique to a line-up that had veteran upperclassmen in Anthony Farmer, JR Inman and Hamady N'Diaye as well as sophomores Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn who had some success individually as freshmen, this was supposed to be a stronger RU club, but something has yet to jive.

The Panthers come into the game with a 12-0 record, a no. 3 national ranking and a RPI ranking of #1. Pitt has a veteran leader at point guard n Levance Fields as well as a senior star in Sam Young. Also, star-in-the-making DeJuan Blair is a menacing rebounding in the paint.

Not forgotten to the Panthers is a stunning 77-64 home loss to the Scarlet Knights last season, an outcome that is likely to be reminded often to his players by Jamie Dixon. Pitt was without an injured Levance Fields in that contest.

Current college basketball odds show the Panthers as a 14 1/2-point road favorite. Rutgers is likely to play with some renewed energy and maybe even a little extra confidence from their game against UNC last Sunday. While the Pitt defense will likely be tougher and the conference atmosphere will mean a more intense game, RU should keep Pitt from running away with the win. The Panthers also must avoid looking ahead to their date with Georgetown this weekend.

Prediction:
Pittsburgh 67
Rutgers 55

Big East Journey Begins With Pitt Stop At Rutgers

2008-12-29T11:02:00.000-05:00

December 29, 2008

By Zach Smart

Jamie Dixon has never been one to make an ant an elephant. He knew that the pre-season point guard dilemma was nothing to stamp home about, nothing to fret over or dwell on, and nothing that would interfere with lofty, titanic aspirations.

“You know, nobody’s feeling sorry for us,” said a serene Dixon, one of the nation’s premier recruiters who molds young talent at the same rate that Bob Marley would smoke trees and sing epic freedom-themed songs.

At the time, there was a question mark surrounding point guard Levance Fields. Fields aggravated an injury to his left foot and was the most experienced, dynamic staple of the Panther backcourt. When Fields is delivering pin-point passes and sticking momentum-rolling threes, Pittsburgh’s college basketball odds of winning increase.

Dixon was going with walk-on Ryan Tiesi (Travon Woodall was out with a concussion as well) and callow freshman Ashton Gibbs in practice, and it looked like an indicator that the mighty may have fallen.

Not so fast.

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Fields has played in every game this season, leading the undefeated Panthers to their zenith while averaging 10 points and 6.4 assists.

With Sam Young (20.1 points, 5.8 boards) establishing himself as one of the country’s elite scorers and 6-foot-7, 265-pound behemoth DeJaun Blair patrolling the paint to the tune of 14.7 points and 13 rebounds per game, Pitt assures you they’re for real this season.

They’ve eaten up the meat of the nonconference schedule in shark-sized bites, going 12-0 while shellacking opponents by an average of 20 points per game.

Prior to their recent 56-48 triumph over Florida State, no team Pitt faced was able to pull within 12 points of them. Dump off and dump off, the Panthers have vaulted into the top chamber of the nation’s most talented teams and a staple of your March Madness betting pools. They are ranked third and one of four unbeatens, sitting alongside an elite group in UNC, UConn, and Oklahoma.

One player who has come in and forged his imprint is guard Jermaine Dixon. The Baltimore product is the younger brother of NBA guard and University of Maryland standout, Juan Dixon.

For Jermaine, who was raised in the hardscrabble streets during trying times for his family (both of his parents succumbed to AIDS), viewed one as a father figure.
He was essentially raised by his brother and he shoulders that same savvy that Dixon brought to Maryland, when he won coach Gary Williams a national championship over Indiana (that was back when Jarred Jeffries had game) in 2002. Jermaine Dixon has displayed an aptitude for taking cats off the dribble and finishing strong at the cup.
Entering Big East play Dec. 31 at Rutgers, the bullseye is centered on the Panthers’ back.

GAME NOTES

-In order to make it a close game, the Scarlet Knights must clamp down on Young, who loves to snake along the baseline and get free for jumpers.

-Rutgers has clearly been downgraded to the low-rent district of the Big East after dropping games to St. Bonaventure, Lehigh, ad Binghamton—all teams which lack the personnel and essential ingredients to tred water in the Big East Ocean.

-Sunday’s game at top-ranked UNC, one of the four unbeatens in the NCAA, should help prepare the Knights for the athletic and more intimidating, physical brand of ball that Pittsburgh employs.

-The battle on the boards will be a major component of this Big East opener. With boardsmith DeJuan Blair, the Knights will have their hands full. Super-sized bigs Gregory Echenique and Hamady N’Dyiaye, 6-foot-9 and 6-foot-11, respectively, need to become more aggressive and crash the boards. If they want to make it a game, they cannot let the 6-foot-7 Blair outhustle and outstrength them. Echenique has become a presence patrolling the paint, averaging a team-high 9.5 boards per. N’Dyiaye, a Sudan native who’s still sushi-raw and a work-in-progress, has been active on the glass with 7.1 RPG. The task of boxing out Blair and keeping him in check, however, is about as easy as attempting to put toothpaste back in the tube.

-Rutgers has apparently undergone a metamorphosis, with J.R. Inman playing a much lesser role. His minutes have dipped, significantly, while his offensive production has dropped like the flailing economy. With Echenique and N’Dyiye providing a towering tandem that Rutgers hasn’t had in quite some time, the writing’s pretty much on the wall.

PAPAJOHNS.COM BOWL PREVIEW

2008-12-29T10:12:00.004-05:00

December 29, 2008

Two college football teams left for dead at one point earier this season will meet this afternoon in Birmingham (AL) for the Papajohns.com at 3 PM. The match-up of Big East and ACC is a common theme this year's NCAA Bowl games as West Virginia met North Carolina in the Meineke Bowl and Cincinnati will also meet Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl. The Big East will look to go 2-0 in these games today after the Mountaineers beat UNC, 31-30, on Saturday.

Rutgers started off the season 1-5 and looked pathetic in doing so. However, six wins in a row later, RU was finishing second in the Big East and 7-5 on the season.

The key in the turnaround was quarterback Mike Teel, who rebounded from a poor start that had many calling for him to be benched. Teel threw 20 touchdowns and for 1,737 yards in the last five games. In their season finale 63-14 win over Louisville, Teel connectec for 7 touchdown passes.

Back in Octoeber, North Carolina State also looked like a team headed nowhere. The Wolfpack were 2-6 and 0-4 in the ACC. They have won four games in a row, including their season finale over Miami, 38-28, to become bowl eligible and get the match-up with the Scarlet Knight.

Current NCAA football odds list the Scarlet Knight at 6 1/2 point favorites in tonight's match-up. Look for Rutgers to continue their season turn-around and come up victorious in the Papajohns.com bowl tonight.

Prediction:

Rutgers 37
NC State 28

ST. BONA UPSETS RUTGERS FOR CHALLENGE TITLE

2008-11-24T08:46:00.002-05:00

by Ray Floriani

PISCATAWAY, NJ – It was a ‘grind it out’ game in the words of St.Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt. It was an accurate assessment as St.Bonaventure upset Rutgers 64-63 in overtime at the Rutgers Athletic Center. The loss was the Scarlet Knights’ first of the season.

Three keys to the contest:
1. Rebounding – Entering the game this was a concern for St.Bonaventure against a bigger Rutgers frontcourt. The Bonnies won the battle of the boards and even had a 23-13 edge on the offensive glass. Rutgers coach Fred Hill noted on numerous occasions his team had their hands on the ball and lost it. “Rebounds are crucial when the game is close and each possession is important,” Hill said. ”We have to be stronger with the ball.”

2. Offensive execution – Hill said that Rutgers did what was needed the final five minutes of the game and overtime. But the rest of the game was a different story. “We didn’t do a good job in our ‘sudden’ set,” Hill said. In that particular set the Rutgers offense is in transition and enters an offense designed for a quick and good shot opportunity. “Credit their (St.Bonaventure) defense,” Hill said. “Their defense was solid.”

3. Turnovers – Before the game Rutgers assistant Darren Savino remarked that keeping turnovers to a minimum was a Rutgers priority. Rutgers finished with 15 turnovers but had 11 the first half. That was crucial because those losses of the ball prevented Rutgers from going on any run. St.Bonaventure stayed even and trailed by one at the half. “The longer we hung around the more our confidence grew,” noted Bonnie coach Mark Schmidt.

The final numbers….
.................Possessions...................Efficiency
St.Bonaventure........69..........................93
Rutgers...............72..........................88

Stat of note: St. Bonaventure enjoyed an offensive rebounding percentage of 46%. That number is derived in this manner. OR PCT = OR / (OR = Opp Def RB)

A number of 40% or more is virtually off the charts and greatly increases your college basketball odds of winning.

Hill praised the work of J.R. Inman who began the year out with a suspension. Inman played 16 minutes and had 5 points but drew accolades from Hill for blocking a potential game winning shot by the Bonnies Jonathan Hall in regulation.

Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique led Rutgers with 14 points each. Echenique celebrated his birthday with a double double as he added 14 boards. Bonnies were paced by Hall’s 18 point 9 rebound effort.

Game was the last for both teams in the Garden State Challenge. The win gave the Bonnies the championship as they finished 3-1 as did Rutgers.

Savino also remarked that, ”Outside of North Carolina, St. Bonaventure has the best talent one through ten (players) of any non-conference team on our schedule."

RUTGERS WIN OVER MARIST WRAP-UP

2008-11-16T23:47:00.002-05:00

by Ray Floriani

Coach Fred Hill was pleased with the Scarlet Knight win noting, “we did the things and made the plays we needed to win. Corey Chandler in particular made a few big plays.”

Hill had Rutgers scrimmage UMASS specifically to prepare for the dribble drive motion offense. It is tough to defend especially if you have never played it. And seeing it on film is nowhere near playing it. UMASS is coached by Derek Kellogg. Both he and Marist coach Chucky Martin served as John Calipari assistants at Memphis before securing their present positions last Spring.

Mike Rosario led Rutgers with 17 points. Rosario did not force things and passed up a few early shot possibilities to look for team mates on screen and rolls. The Scarlet Knight freshman is a scorer but plays very well in the framework of the offense. He is also very dangerous in transition.

St.Anthony assistants were on hand. Ben Gamble, one of the Friar assistants, was shocked to hear Marist was picked for the bottom of their MAAC conference by some publications. Gamble also noted Dominic Cheek was visiting Memphis for the weekend.

Several players went down late in the game due to cramps as the unseasonable warm night was felt in the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Fred Hill was chatting informally after the game when it was pointed out the Big East team pennants behind the hanging from the rafters of the one baseline gave a formidable display of marquee programs. “When my guys let up in practice,” Hill said, “I just point to those banners and remind them of their competition. They get the message.”

Consensus at the RAC was this was a game Rutgers may have lost a year ago and their college basketball odds of winning have improved this season. A big reason for the win was the 16 blocks that tied a school record and negated a good part of Marist’s penetration. Hamady N'Diaye led with 8 while another impressive frosh Greg Echenique added 6.

RUTGERS SURVIVES MAAC SCARE

2008-11-15T23:11:00.003-05:00

by Ray Floriani

PISCATAWAY, NJ - Rutgers survived a scare against Marist on Friday evening. The Scarlet Knights held on for a 63-61 victory. On the positive side, the young Rutgers squad made the plays down the stretch to win, which could help their NCAA Basketball Odds of winning as the season moves along. Both clubs were turnover prone with more TO than field goals the first half. By the numbers…

............1st half TO.......1st half FG.......TO Rate

Marist.........9.................8................25%

Rutgers........10................9................27%

After intermission the miscues were decreased as the final game stats showed Marist with a 17% TO rate and Rutgers at 19%.

The Final totals were:
...........Poss.....efficiency
Marist......71.6.........85
Rutgers.....68.3.........92

Rutgers defended well overall. Marist’s dribble drive motion offense (new mentor Chuck Martin worked with John Calipari at Memphis) caused problems but the visitors had trouble penetrating. The Scarlet Knights tied a school record with 16 blocks. Hamady Ndaye led with 8 while freshman Gregory Echinique was impressive with 6.

Freshman Mike Rosario led all scorers with 17 points. Rosario was effective in the framework of the offense and started the contest looking to pass more off screen and rolls. He was 7 of 15 from the floor (3 of 8 from 3) and only forced two shots (at most)on errant drives.

The detractors say Rutgers struggled against a team picked near the bottom of the MAAC, The ‘half full’ crowd led by Rutgers coach Fred Hill pointed out that Marist posed a defensive problem with their style yet Rutgers , for the most part, gave a good defensive effort (as game efficiency bears out). And in the stretch Rutgers made the plays they needed to secure the win.

Be back with a follow up later in the weekend.

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW GAME #10: RUTGERS

2008-11-15T01:55:00.002-05:00

November 15, 2008

The Rutgers Scarlet Knight put their three game win streak on the line Saturday at high noon when they travel to South Florida for a Big East showdown. The Bulls, on the other hand, look to stop their slide as they have lost three of four and right their season.

Rutgers started slowly last week, falling behind Syracuse 14-0, but rallied and dominated the Orange the rest of the way to win going away, 35-17. After scoring just 79 points in their first six games against Division 1-A opponents, RU has racked up 89 points in their last two games (54 against Pitt, 35 against SU) and find themselves at 3-2 in the Big East and 4-5 overall.

Quarterback Mike Teel has been the catalyst of the turnaround, throwing for 637 yards and nine touchdowns in the two games and his improved efficiency has helped running back Kordell Young find more room. Young gained 143 yards last week against Syracuse.

The Bulls will be glad to be home after two road losses against Cincinnati and Louisville, but the season is slipping away and Matt Groethe really struggled against the Bearcats, completing just 13 of 31 and being intercepted three times.

Both teams have their sights set on the college bowls and need to finish strong. The current NCAA Football Odds have South Florida as an 8 1/2-point favorite, which seems awfully high with the way the Bulls have been struggling. Look for a tight contest that could come down to the foot of a kicker.

Prediction:

South Florida 27
Rutgers 24

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #9 RUTGERS

2008-11-07T09:39:00.003-05:00

November 7, 2008

As improbable as it sounded just a few short weeks ago, the Rutgers football team is working on playing themselves into bowl contention. With their remaining schedule, having to win at least three of four to get eligible is not an improbable propisition, in fact, I would almost Bet on Rutgers to do it.

After a 1-5 start where they did not earn a win against a single 1-A football program, Rutgers has turned the ship around with an ugly 12-10 home win over UConn and a statment road win at Pittsburgh in which they scored 54 points on the Panthers. How remarkable was that outburst? In the previous six games against 1-A opponents, RU averaged a pathetic 13 points a game!

Syracuse also enters the game in a positive move. The Orange matched their conference win total of 2006 and 2007 last week when they upset Louisville in the Carrier Dome, 28-21, earning their first Big East win of 2008. It was also their first win against a 1-A club this year.

The latest college football odds indicate Rutgers as a 14 1/2 point favorite. Pittsburgh-explosion aside, that is a lot of points for a team that has tremendous trouble scoring. Syracuse has been playing a little better under Greg Robinson lately and they should be able to keep the game from getting out of control. Both teams will look to run the ball, so this should be a rather low scoring affair.

Prediction:

Rutgers 21
Syracuse 13

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #8 RUTGERS

2008-10-24T10:01:00.004-04:00

October 24, 2008

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights finalled cracked the win acolumn against a Division 1-A opponent last weekend witn a 12-10 upset win over UConn at home. Now they will go for two in a row when they travel to meet Pittsburgh, a team they have had some good luck with of late.

The Panthers continued their impressive run by blitzing through Navy last weekend for a 42-21 win. The victory was the Panthers' 5th in a row after a season opening loss to Bowling Green.

While Walt Harris had little trouble versus Rutgers, Dave Wannstedt has not had similar luck against the Scarlet Knights. Pitt is 0-3 against RU since Wannstedt took over and will look to ride star running back LeSean McCoy to a win to break that streak.

The oddsmakers certainly believe in Pitt as current NCAA Football Lines have the Panthers as a 10 1/2 point favorite.

Pittsburgh is pretty much middle of the road in most offensive categories, but the play of McCoy has liften them in recent weeks. The sophomore running back has gained 447 yards in the last three games, runnign for an average of 6 yards a carry on 76 attempts. All three games resulted in road wins for Pitt.

Rutgers comes into the game with one of the worst offensives in Divison 1-A and the solid Pitt defense should continue to make life miserable for their guests on Saturday. The graduation of Ray Rice has hit Greg Schiano's club hard and shoddy play at quarterback has exasperated the problem. It has certainly been No Rice = No Dice for RU Football this season.

That said, 10 1/2 points is a lot of points for the Panthers to cover. Rutgers will look to take advantage of some expected poor weather and a slippery Heinz Field turf to keep this game close, but Pitt should be able to earn win #6 in a row.

Prediction:

Pittsburgh 20
Rutgers 12

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #7 RUTGERS

2008-10-17T11:56:00.001-04:00

October 17, 2008

Connecticut and Rutgers might be on the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to records, with the Huskies at 5-1 and the Scarlet Knights at 1-5, they do have one thing in common, both have been blitzed by North Carolina this season. RU lost to the Tar Heels 44-12 back on September 11th while UConn fell to UNC in their last outing, 38-12, on October 4th.

Last year, Ray Rice was the engine that made the Scarlet Knight's train go, this year, however, No Rice has Meant No Dice for RU Football as their offense has been awful to date, scoring no more than 21 points agains Division 1-A foes. Their lone win, a 38-0 trouncing of Morgan State, really means little as Greg Schiano is watching the shine dim very quickly from his coaching star.

What UConn has this season is their own version of Ray Rice as running back Donald Brown continues to pile up astronomical rushing totals despite not much backing from the passing attack. Brown has rushed 179 times for 1,067 yards (6.0 yds/carry) and 12 touchdowns in six games. He also leads the team with 14 receptions on the year. UConn will continue to ride Brown as far as he can carry them and do not expect anything different on the road this weekend.

College Football Odds currently have Rutgers as a 1 1/2 point underdog on their home field in this match-up. Are the Scarlet Knights ready to turn the tide on their season and make some noise in the Big East...expect another tight game, but so far, RU has not shown they can win this kind of game this year, until they prove otherwise, don't count on it.

Prediction:

Connecticut 23
Rutgers 20

NO RICE, NO DICE FOR RUTGERS FOOTBALL

2008-10-17T08:43:00.005-04:00

by Zach Smart

A lot can go down between Thursday and Saturday. That’s both a truism and the mantra of the acclaimed, gut-busting funny 1995 comedy, Friday. The film, behind a first-class cast that featured humor merchant Chris Tucker, is in a league of its own. After Tucker left the cast in the ensuing sequels, Next Friday and The Friday After Next, the series lost much of its luster.

A lot can go down between 2006 and 2008. Such is the situation with the ailing Rutgers football program, which has dropped five of its first six games and rapidly faded into oblivion. Greg Schiano resurrected a struggling program in the 2006 season, as the Scarlet Knights quickly evolved into the nation’s media darlings. Under the jet-quick antics of feature back Ray Rice (who won state championships in football and basketball at New Rochelle High School, a perennial power in the New York City suburbs backdrop), the Knights ran off an 11-2 record that culminated with their first bowl game victory in program history. Rice, who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens (34 carries for 108 yards in the neophyte’s early NFL career), left a lasting legacy at the school, one that few can eclipse. Running parallel to the lingering effects that Tucker’s departure had on the Friday series, the Knights just haven’t been the same without Rice, making it difficult to Bet on Rutgers having another turnaround soon.

Matt “Beef” Whitfield chronicles the colossal loss, the Knights problems recovering from it, and Rutgers shortcomings this season in his recent blogpost, “RU Serious?” While Ice Cube and Tom “Tiny” Lister Jr. (who played “Debo,” the character from which former NBA player Rodney Rodgers earned his nickname) were both great in Next Friday. The problem was, they didn’t have the supporting cast to make up for Tucker’s eye-opening, stomach-slaying performance as “Smokey” in the original.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOg1rfPxhI&feature=related

Fast forward this clip to 3:50 if you want to see Smokey at his finest. The scene is a testament to his comical genius. Now, the problem that Schiano and Rutgers face is similar to the one that materialized with Director Steve Carr and writers Ice Cube and DJ Pooh in 2000, when Next Friday hit the theaters. They are trying to stamp tickets and victories without the main cog, whose lightning-quick evolution allowed Rice to become the face of the program. With the absence of Rice, many opined that Rutgers would languish around the .500 mark. They’ve been a far cry from mediocre this year, failing to give an efficient account of themselves and their offensive weapons. The residual effects of Tucker’s—ooops—I meant Rice’s departure has hurt them. Last season, the only thing Rice was smoking was fat pounds of defensive backs. He blazed opponents to the tune of 2,069 yards and 5.3 yards-per-carry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JWPbzMUKX8

To paraphrase Walt “Clyde” Frazier, they have “been floundering” this season. The lack of team chemistry has led to the severe power outage. The characters that were supposed to pad the loss of Rice have been similar to the way Mike Epps was in Next Friday, when he was supposed to fill Smokey’s size 10 Nikes.

QB Mike Teel is more widely recognized for hitting his players physically than hitting them with TD bombs.

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HATE MAIL: Speaking of teams in the tri-state area that have floundered, what's to be said about the NY Mets? There was a college professor who taught MEP105, who certainly was not too fond of me. He didn't like my penchant for wearing Yankees attire to class and liked using me as a scapegoat for problems with the equipment (well, in my eyes he did. Then again, I did take the class three times until I finally passed it and graduated). The situation with me and this class was kind of like the situation with Tony and "tv class" in the movie Blue Chips, the one that starred Shaq and Penny.

Well anyway, after I finally passed his class, I began sending him e-mails as the Mets' post-season hopes began to quickly die out. So, here is a recent email I sent him. It is in a response to an email he sent me about how the Mets will be killing the playoff scene at this time "next year."

"Next year? C'mon, that's what you guys said after last year's freefall. Next year is no excuse for Team Titanic II, which fired Willie prematurely and gave the game ball to guys like Aaron "the automatic dinger button" Heilman in the always-reliable bullpen. We shit the bed too, but at least we have valid excuses---Our star hitter couldn't hit a t-ball into the Hudson River if he was standing on the big A-Rod yacht (its probably filled with more strippers than Eliot "client 9" Spitzer's dream) when something other than personal statistics were at stake, he scores more runs with the NYC strippers than he does when the game is on the line, our ace (Wang) and stallion young gun (Joba) suffered season-altering injuries and the New York Dead Bats Society got handcuffed every time we faced a legit pitcher.

Let's face it...We weren't the ones that gained sole possession of first place and then squandered it as soon as the 2007 flashbacks and pressure turned on. Granted, we ripped through more paychecks then John Lahey yet still managed to flounder. But the choking queens from, well...Queens continued to make their mark in the city where baseball is now an afterthought (GIANTS FOOTBALL 4-0 BABY). The bombers will just shell out another king's ransom on someone like Sabathia, Burnett, or Sheets to complement Wang as the best 1-2 punch in baseball next year. Plus, we'll pick up someone like Texiera to further eliminate any anxiety generated by Double PLayRODs post-season Houdini act. You guys are still just second-class citizens...you don't see people from all over the world wearing Mets Caps...This is New York and America's team. Not the queens choke artists or the Sawx nation. The best baseball in the world still lives in the Bronx. Yankees Universe."

Blowing off steam in this way is of course questionable, and speaks volumes about my own character (or lack of it).

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #6 RUTGERS

2008-10-09T11:41:00.001-04:00

October 9, 2008

The Cincinnati Bearcats open their Big East schedule this weekend when they host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and the current college football lines have made the Bearcats 7 1/2 point favorites in this contest.

Cincinnati enters the contest with a 4-1 record with a solid air attack led by QB's Dustin Grutza and Tony Pike, whoever is healthier, and a good rush defense.

Rutgers has been a major dissapointment and is off to a 1-4 start, with their lone winning coming against Morgan State. The Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily scoring points and that is likely to continue on the road this weekend.

While I still think there is some hope for RU, I think this wil lbe a tough game, fairly low scoring, and close. Rutgers has continually shot themselves in the foot this season and come up short, if they can limit the turnovers, they will have a shot to win this game late, but until they prove they can, expect them to fall short once again.

Prediction:

Cincinnati 23
Rutgers 20

2008-2009 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 13) RUTGERS

2008-09-26T14:17:00.002-04:00

September 27, 2008

It is a long way up from the bottom of this Big East conference and that is exactly where Rutgers is starting from. This is the third season under Fred Hill Jr and the first two have not gone well. With a head coaching record that now sits at 21-39 and a Big East record of 6-28, Hill enters an important year #3. While we are not likely going to see Ben Howland (Pitt), John Thompson III (Georgetown) or John Beilein (WVU) third year bump, this is the season that progress needs to be shown at Rutgers and, from where we sit, we think it will be coming.

However, you can not expect miracles. In the Big East, you need to have talent and you need that talent to be mixed with experience. On paper, Rutgers seems to have that with three seniors that have all played key roles since they came to Rutgers, but as you can tell from the records, that has not brought along any success. Now, two of those seniors (Jaron Griffin and JR Inman) could be suspended well into the out of conference portion of their schedule, meaning the youngsters might be called on earlier than anticipated, which could be both good and bad.

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Comings:

There is a definite sense of optimism around Rutgers based on the recruiting success Fred Hill Jr. has found recently. Dubbed by fans as ‘Mr. New Jersey’ for his in-state ties, Rutgers welcomes a celebrated class that includes Greg Echenique, 6-foot-9, 260 lb center from St. Benedict’s Prep and Mike Rosario, a 6-foot-3 McDonalds All-American shooting guard from legendary St. Anthony’s of Jersey City. Gaining a highly touted player from both Bob Hurley at St. Anthony’s and son Dan Hurley at St. Benedict’s definitely served notice to other programs near and far. Hill also crossed over the river into New York City and brings along Patrick Jackson, a 6-foot-6 wing who played at Boys & Girls High School in the Bronx last season and Bronx native Christian Morris, a 6-foot-8, 280 pound big man.

Rutgers will also welcome Jonathan Mitchell, a former star at Mount Vernon High School, into the program after transferring from Florida. Mitchell will sit out the 2008-2009 season due to NCAA transfer rules and have two years left with RU beginning in 2009-2010.

Goings:

Byron Joynes was the only senior on last year’s roster. The serviceable big man worked hard in his career, but injuries and conditioning never allowed him to excel in the Big East and his modest three points and five rebound a game averages should be easily made up by others. Also exiting the program are Courtney Nelson (academics) and Justin Sofman (transfer) and neither probably would have seen much time this year.

Net Impact:

The Scarlet Knights easily make out on the plus side of the ledger when taking into consideration what left and what comes into the program. Echenique and Morris provide much needed size to a frontcourt that has had found competing in the Big East to be very tough. Rosario and Jackson add some offensive to a line-up that sorely lacked scoring ability last season. This class should start pushing the Scarlet Knights upwards in the standings, even though from where they are starting out, that is not too hard to comprehend. How high up the standings is still to be determined.

2008-2009 Backcourt Outlook:

The Rutgers backcourt will be improved this coming season. Not only does senior Anthony Farmer return, but a healthy Corey Chandler and a more experienced Mike Coburn will be joined by McDonald’s All-American Mike Rosario, giving RU a very good group of four guards. Fred Hill was an assistant on Jay Wright’s Villanova clubs as they began to assemble a guard contingent that was successful running a four guard line-up, while I can not quite see that coming to fruition at RU this season, this is a group that could develop over time into a top of the line group.

After a 23-point, 8-rebound performance in a loss to North Carolina, it looked like Rutgers had a freshman star in Corey Chandler. However, a foot injury sustained at that time sidetracked the guard’s season and he never seemed to be consistently in the flow the rest of the season. Chandler will be healthy this season and looks to be a player that could have a huge breakthrough season ahead of him.

Returning as a sophomore is Mike Coburn of Mount Vernon (NY). Last season, Coburn was the catalyst as the Scarlet Knights knocked off ranked Villanova and Pittsburgh in consecutive contests for two of their three conference victories. Those two games were part of a three-game stretch where Coburn averaged 21 points and connected on eight of nine three’s. This year, Coburn is likely to be called on to be more of a playmaker than a scorer, and that transition will go a long way in determining the success of RU this season.

Senior Anthony Farmer returns and is coming off a solid season where he scored 10 points a game and a team high 2.3 assists a contest playing 30 minutes a game. Like Coburn, seeing more playmaking ability from Farmer is a must this season. Other players will likely develop as better scoring threats, so the Rutgers offense will need to reflect that development. There is the possibility that Farmer’s role is reduced some this year as the younger players are groomed for future success, which has the potential to be higher than this season’s potential.

Rounding out the backcourt is swingman Earl Pettis, a versatile guard that can handle the ball well and slash to the hoop. Pettis is a perfect role player that also showed he has some potential for more with an 18-point performance against UConn late last season.

On the wing is senior Jaron Griffin and incoming freshman Pat Jackson. Griffin seems to be a perimeter shooting threat, however, he seems to be mired in a three-year long shooting slump, not too promising when that is your biggest weapon. Now, Griffin must deal with the suspension that will keep him out of game action indefinitely to begin the season. Last year, Griffin averaged 7.5 points a game, shooting just 27% from three-point land. In his three year career, he has shot a dreadful 26% from the arc on 324 career attempts. He has led Rutgers in three-point attempts the last two seasons despite not cracking the 30% clip. Jackson is a strong and athletic wing that is constantly working to improve his game. Extending his range and improving his ball handling abilities will have him pushing for more time this year. With Griffin unavailable, Jackson has a great opportunity to seize some additional time early on.

2008-2009 Frontcourt Outlook:

Every year we wait and wait for JR Inman to bust out. However, there is always something that holds him back. As a freshman, it was an injury that cut short his season and last year there were some discipline concerns that kept him out of the starting line-up and catching the ire of Coach Hill. This year, once again we will wait for Inman to bust out, this time because he is suspended from game action indefinitely. Inman is a classic inside/out forward threat with the skills to play outside and the size to play inside at 6-foot-8, 220 pounds. However, the light has yet to click on consistently and now he is in danger of ending his career with much unfulfilled potential. Every season we point to Inman as the key, this year is no different.

Even with Inman being a question mark, the frontcourt should be improved by just having solid depth at the very least. Junior Hamady N’Diaye should be ready to claim more minutes with the graduation of Byron Joynes. N’Diaye is one of the more imposing big men because of his shot blocking skills in the conference and he averaged three blocks a game despite limited time last season. If he improves on the offensive side of the floor, Rutgers will have a very good weapon at their disposal.

Even if N’Diaye is not ready for the full load in the post, Greg Echenique is also a candidate to gain the bulk of the time in the middle. The former St. Benedict’s star where he teamed inside with Louisville Samardo Samuels was quite the recruiting coup for Fred Hill. Echenique was being chased by schools such as Duke, Florida, Pittsburgh, Villanova, etc and made what looked like a very early commitment to Rutgers for the class of 2009. However, as time passed, Echenique began to look into the possibility of becoming a 2008 recruit and lo and behold, here he is. Echenique has a Big East body ready to bang in the post and could be the anchor to the RU team for several seasons.

Completing the RU roster is freshman big man Christian Morris. The large bodied post player still needs to be consistently in shape and might not be called on too much this season, but he is a luxury that Fred Hill has not had since coming to Rutgers, and that is depth up front.

2008-2009 Team Outlook:

On paper, seeing Rutgers picked to finish 13th in the Big East and with a 6-12 conference record might draw some ire from the RU faithful, and I understand it. I really do like this team and am excited to see them in action. I think they are building an EXCELLENT foundation and now they need to learn to win games in the Big East. The talent is there, but largely it is inexperienced and the experienced players have yet to win much at all in this conference. The learning curve on willing is very steep for this squad, from the head coach right down through the new freshman that will be counted on heavily.

I do feel this squad could be a could be a couple tough losses from winning eight or even nine games in the Big East. Their youth and inexperience in winning at this level will cost them a few times, but do not take them lightly, especially in the RAC, or you will be defeated by the Scarlet Knights. Either way, doubling their conference win total is a very good step forward and if they were to get anything from their veterans, more might be able to be accomplished.

2008-2009 Big East Prediction: 6-12

One interesting note...I was looking at one preseason publication on NCAA basketball and the top three teams in the nation were: 1) North Carolina, 2) Connecticut and 3) Pittsburgh according to their rankings. Come early January, Rutgers will know plenty about ALL THREE teams! On Sunday, December 28th, RU plays in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. They then come home to open Big East play on New Year's Eve at the RAC as they host Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. The close this stretch by them traveling to meet Connecticut on Saturday, January 3rd. So, in the course of SIX days, RU faces what might be the three best teams in the NATION! W-O-W! Of course, they follow that up with Marquette and Syracuse the next week...yeah, that's a breather...

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #4 RUTGERS

2008-09-26T12:34:00.002-04:00

September 26, 2008

Rutgers will look to take out some frustrations from a 0-3 start on a sacrificial lamb, Morgan State, this weekend on their home field. Their latest disaster saw the Scarlet Knights lost at Navy 23-21 and left RU emotionally spent and their QB, Mike Teel, swatting at teammates trying to encourange him.

The season is getting out of control quickly for Mike Schiano and his squad, so Morgan State comes to town at precisely the right time. Even though Morgan State sits at 2-1 on the young season, they have yet to play any major conference school and their loss cam eto Towson, 21-16, on the road.

NCAA Football Lines currently show Rutgers as a 28 and a half point favorite. Look for there to be finally some smiles from the RU faithful this weekend as they run over, around and through Morgan State and take out some frustrations on the undermanned squad.

Prediction:

Rutgers 49
Morgan State 13

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: GAME #3 RUTGERS

2008-09-19T08:47:00.004-04:00

September 19, 2008

Greg Schiano has resisted pressing the panic button and will stick with quarterback Mike Teel after the Scarlet Knights have opened the season 0-2. Teel has just one touchdown and has been picked off five times in their first two games, a 24-7 loss to Fresno State and an embarrassing 44-12 loss to North Carolina on national television, both at home.

Making matters worse for RU has been the injury to running back Kordell Young, who was supposed to fill the large shoes of star Ray Rice who is now with the Baltimore Ravens. With Young shelved, the running game has not held its own, adding more pressure on the senior Teel, who has struggled.

After their opening home losses, Rutgers now hits the road for a date with the Navy Midshipmen in a must-win game. Navy comes into the contest at 1-2, dropping two straight on the road against Ball State (35-23) and Duke (41-31). Last season Navy lost at Rutgers, 41-24, but managed to beat Pittsburgh and Notre Dame on the road in earning a bowl bid.

Rutgers has the playmakers at WR to put up some points, Teel needs to deliver the ball to them. Navy is VERY prone to give up points (76 last two weeks) and last season they yielded 36 a game, so this should be a game that helps the RU offense get on track, but the Navy attack will definitely test the Scarlet Knights.

With the oddsmakers installing Rutgers as a road favorite of 6 and a half points, the play this weekend is to Bet on Rutgers to cover the points and come up with a MUCH needed first vistory of the 2008 season.

Prediction:

Rutgers 38
Navy 28

BIG EAST FOOTBALL PREVIEW: RUTGERS GAME #2

2008-09-09T23:17:00.002-04:00

September 10, 2008

The NBE Blogger probably did not put your sports book out of business with his 4-3 performance against the spread, but any weekend in the black is a good one!

On Thursday night, our college football weekend in the Big East kicks off early as Rutgers welcomes Butch Davis and the North Carolina Tar Heels into New Jersey.

With Brett Favre under center for the Jets and Tom Brady going down for the Patriots, football fans in the NYC/NJ may be rushing to check the latest NFL Odds on their beloved J-E-T-S' chances at a Super Bowl run, but for one night, they can enjoy some college football.

After their season-opening 24-7 home loss at the hands of Fresno State, it looks like Rutgers has lost a lot of confidence from those setting the College Football Odds as they are just a 5-point home favorite for a nationally televised night game.

The Scarlet Knights have a very solid offensive core led by quarterback Mike Teel and wide receivers Kenny Britt and Tiquan Underwood. Running back Kordell Young scored the Scarlet Knights' lone touchdown in the opener and rushed for 94 yards as he looks to replace Ray Rice in the backfield.

The problem for RU in the opener was stopping the run as they yielded 206 rushing yards to Fresno State. North Carolina will look to take advantage of that this weekend, but their ability to do so is in question. The Tar Heels opened their season with a win over McNeese State, 35-27. However, UNC was trailing in the third quarter and was out-gained in the game 391-384.

Rutgers will have to stop Brandon Tate, who caught four passes for 93 yards (including a 57 yard TD), ran three times for 106 yards (rest of the team had 57 yards on 26 carries) and also scored on an 82-yard punt return.

The rebuilding job at UNC continues under Butch Davis and look for Greg Schiano, who served as Davis' defensive coordinator for two seasons at Miami, and his Scarlet Knights to earn a nice bounce back win in this game and start to build towards the Big East portion of their schedule.

Prediction:

Rutgers 41
North Carolina 28

RUTGERS RECRUITING NOTES

2008-08-21T16:11:00.003-04:00

August 21, 2008

Kyrie Irving has had a big summer and the 2010 recruit is a Summer Stock booster (Northstar Basketball) that has been getting a lot of recruiting interest. Irving recently told Alex Schwartz that Wake Forest, Ohio St., Providence, Pittsburgh, Kansas, Memphis, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Rutgers, among others have shown great interest with offers from the New Jersey contingent of the Big East, RU and SHU.

Adam Zagoria also has a Givon Crump Update (ZagsBlog.net) as the 6-foot-6 small forward has several Big East schools on his list after an impressive summer. Givon Crump lists Rutgers and Seton Hall, as well as Oregon State, Michigan, DePaul, Wake Forest, South Florida and SMU.

Crump has already taken unofficial visits to Rutgers and Wake Forest and the Scarlet Knights made a nice impression on him. For now, only the official visits the have been decided are to Oregon State and Michigan.

Raymond Balter of the NBE Basketball Report Tevin Baskin, rising senior from Trinity Catholic in Stamford, Conn to get a feel for his recruiting situation.

“Right now, everyone is equal.” Those schools that would all seem on equal footing in their pursuit of him would be UMass, St John’s, Xavier, Providence, Rutgers, Auburn, and “a couple of others,” he said. He paused for a moment, perhaps drawing a momentary blank, then added that “Virginia had been coming pretty hard, Clemson too.”

“Right now,” he went on, “I’m just trying to see what everyone has to offer aside from basketball. I’m trying to see what schools really want me or need me.” He said distance is not a factor, and also said that at the moment there is nothing that specific education-wise about any school that would be a factor, although he did state that he would like to look into the graduation rate for student-athletes at each school.

Rutgers is definitely a long shot in the Odds to Win the 2009 NCAA National Championship (400/1), but adding some of these recruits will definitely help in the future.

Adam Zagoria reports that Seton Hall, St. John’s and Rutgers, among others, are Trying to Get (Jarrid) Famous (ZagsBlog.net), a 6-foot-11, 235 pound C from Westchester Community College.

RU and St John's new assistant

2008-08-13T12:07:00.003-04:00

Adam Zagoria writes this morning that Norm Roberts has hired Kimani Young as an assistant coach on his staff at St John's. This is a move that certainly impacts Rutgers. For one thing, the two schools not only play in the Big East, but are also close neighbors. They have and will continue to recruit many of the same kids.

That is what this move is all about - recruiting. Young is the director of the New Heights grassroots program (AAU to you old-schoolers), and as such has enormous influence with the D-1 prospects who are on New Heights: Jayvaughn Pinkston, Ashton Pankey, Devon Collier, and Devon McMillan.

Let there be no doubt about it: Young has clout with these kids. Even though Pankey and Collier will both play their final two seasons at St Anthony's, Young still remains far more influential in each of their recruitments than Bob Hurley does now.

Not that RU is necessarily recruiting either that hard, though. Same for Bishop Loughlin's Jayvaughn Pinkston. RU under Fred Hill has made New Jersey a top recruiting priority. That makes enormous sense, considering the abundance of talent in NJ, and the fact that Rutgers has never been a dominant recruiting force in its home state.

They've indeed succeeded in making massive inroads in New Jersey, but New York City just got that much tougher for them.

Rutgers Notes: Another Wing in RU's Future?

2008-08-08T14:33:00.003-04:00

A reader on this Rutgers forum wonders about the news that Adam Zagoria posted a couple of days ago about Kevin Parrom, and asks a very good question: would the Scarlet Knights take another wing?

The question, specifically as it pertains to Parrom, might be moot at this point, as he appears to be further trimming his list, and RU may have not made the latest cut. However, RU has been pursuing other wings, specifically Dominic Cheek, and one other young man that they may have an even better shot at landing - Givon Crump.

There could be one big hitch to this, though. Crump's biggest concern, expressed to yours truly, is an opportunity for immediate playing time. For that one, Fred Hill may need to don a wizard's cap. Entering this season, Rutgers will return one wing, Earl Pettis, who is just a sophomore, and are welcoming another, 6'7 freshman Patrick Jackson. Add to that mix next year (which will be Crump's first as a college freshman) highly regarded 6'7 Dane Miller, and one wonders just how Hill will be able to mollify Crump's concerns.

Also factor in sweet-shooting Florida transfer Jonathan Mitchell, who will eligible next season, and, well, you get the picture.

One thing is for certain though: should Hill land Crump, one of the country's deadliest pure shooters, to go along with Mike Rosario and Jonathan Mitchell, the Scarlet Knights become a team it might be suicidal to play zone against. The games against Syracuse will certainly be interesting.

RUTGERS ON MINDS OF MANY AT RBK SUMMER CLASSIC

2008-07-17T11:02:00.004-04:00

July 17, 2008

Jeff Borzello spent a couple days at the Reebok Summer Classic East in New Jersey last weekend. For his full report at the NBE Basketball Report, you can see it in his article: Reebok Summer Classic East Review.

James Padgett: Playing without his Juice All-Star partner-in-crime down low in Joel Wright, who was out with an injured ankle, Padgett picked up the slack. The 6-foot-8 class of 2009 post player is a very solid scorer inside, and demonstrated a variety of post moves. He turns to the basket well and can finish with both hands around the rim. He is a very good offensive rebounder and is also active defensively. However, he does not dominate as much as he could, and is not as imposing defensively as his height and athleticism would seem to suggest.

Padgett sees a lot of Big East interest with West Virginia, Pittsburgh, St. John’s, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Providence as well as Maryland (offered) and South Carolina.

Keith Spellman: While he was also solid defensively, Spellman’s offensive game was extremely impressive. The 6-foot-3 guard has a quick crossover and consistently got into the lane. He can finish at the rim with both hands and knocked down plenty of difficult shots over the course of two days. He can knock down pull-up jumpers in the lane and also demonstrated the ability to dish it off to his teammates or score himself. Spellman is a very smooth offensive player.

Spellman lists St. John’s, Rutgers, George Mason, Seton Hall and Hofstra as schools of interest.

Jayvaughn Pinkson: Pinkston, despite having a generally poor body language, was one of the most difficult match-ups in the entire tournament. He has a big, strong body in his 6-foot-6 frame and uses a wide variety of skills that made him near impossible to defend down the stretch of games for New Heights 2010. He can score in the paint with his back-to-the-basket, but is at his best when taking his defender off the dribble and getting to the rim. Pinkston is also effective in the high post, where he can face-up or get good position and back down defender.

Pinkston rattled off a list of St. John’s, Villanova, Xavier, Rutgers (all offered), Florida and Memphis as schools he is interested in.

Isaiah Epps: Epps remains one of my favorite players in the class of 2010, mainly due to his unbelievably smooth offensive game and sweet shooting stroke. The 6-foot-2 lefty is a tremendous outside shooter with deep range who can get off his shot in a hurry. He steps into his shot well and looks calm and confident at all times. He has a slick dribble and can beat his defender to get into the lane. However, he struggles to take care of the ball at times and commits sloppy turnovers.

Epps has Maryland as a favorite because of the opportunity for immediate playing time and also has a trio from the Big East in Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers heavily involved.

Fuquan Edwin: Like the Sterling Gibbs, Edwin looked like a completely different player than he did at the Reebok U All-American camp. The 6-foot-5 forward really is an outstanding all-around player who can do a little bit of everything on the court. Edwin loves to get out in transition and push the ball for fast-break points; he can find people or take it to the basket himself. Offensively, he has a decent mid-range game, but his shooting stroke from three-point range is fairly ugly. Defensively, Edwin has quick hands and routinely picks off errant passes.

Edwin continues to grow on the recruiting radar of many as his list has expanded to include South Carolina, Rutgers (offered), Seton Hall (offered), La Salle (offered), Providence and Texas. Indications are that Rutgers holds an early lead for his services.

Trevor Clemmings: Despite being listed at only 6-foot-6, Clemmings is an absolute beast on the inside. He has an extremely strong and wide body, and his broad shoulders make it difficult for defenders to keep him off the low block for the Playaz. He consistently gets great position and is very tough to stop once he gets the ball near the basket. Clemmings has a variety of moves and fakes inside, and draws fouls constantly. He can also finish with contact and is a strong rebounder.

Clemmings, another Playaz and Paterson Catholic 2010 star is also sees his list of colleges growing more impressive with each event. Currently Rutgers (offered), Seton Hall (offered), La Salle, Providence and Massachusetts are schools of interest.

Sterling Gibbs: As opposed to the passive, unaggressive Gibbs we saw at the All-American camp, this version of the rising sophomore was much more confident and, as a result, more productive here with the Panthers. He was a completely different player, taking the ball to the basket and trying to create his own shot inside the lane. Gibbs was not afraid to shoot the ball from the perimeter and also found holes in the defense to get to the rim for either finishes at the rim or floaters in the paint.

Gibbs, although just a member of the 2011 class, has Pittsburgh, Seton Hall and Rutgers from the Big East with Florida and Maryland on his list.

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Rutgers is definitely a long shot in the Odds to Win the 2009 NCAA National Championship (400/1), but adding some of these recruits will definitely help in the future.
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RUTGERS FOOTBALL ADDS DELAWARE DB

2008-06-24T11:47:00.002-04:00

June 23, 2008

Rutgers football recruiting is not just picking top players from the Cherry State locally, but they have branched into neighboring Delaware for a highly recruiting cornerback in Duron Harmon, a rising senior at Caesar Rodney High.

The Journal News reports that Rutgers Gets Riders' Harmon, a 6-foot-1 cornerback was also was offered scholarships by Connecticut, Maryland, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Temple and Stanford.

RUTGERS SCORES ANOTHER FOOTBALL RECRUIT

2008-06-24T11:41:00.002-04:00

June 23, 2008

For years Rutgers has been considered a 'sleeping giant' among major Division 1-A programs in football and basketball. The term was repeated often enough to the point where it became a mocking connotation towards the program.

Well, maybe the times are changing with head coaches Fred Hill Jr on the hoops side and Mike Schiano on the gridiron.

While Fred Hill is still waiting for the success on the court, Schiano's football program has seen their hard work pay off with results and bowl appearances. Now, the recruiting within the fertile grounds of New Jersey continues to roll along for the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers University football program has received its third verbal commitment from a South Jersey high school player in less than a week. Logan Ryan, a cornerback from Eastern High School in Voorhees joins Gerald Hodges of Paulsboro, who is likely to play safety, and Aaron Hayward of Penns Grove, a probable WR for an in-state trifecta.

Eastern's Ryan Gives Rutgers a Verbal Commitment (Post-Courier) and the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Ryan is ranked 32nd nationally at his position by the football-recruiting Web site Rivals.com and 44th by another recruiting Web site, Scout.com.

TARAN BUIE: 2010 PG HEARS FROM RUTGERS

2008-06-20T23:00:00.001-04:00

June 15th represented the first day college coaches could call prospects of the class of 2010. Since that day, the phone of Taran Buie has had Coaches Calling Early and Often (NBE Basketball Report) to express their interest.

Buie, a 6-foot guard out of Bishop Maginn High School in Albany (NY) and standout for the City Rocks AAU program, is a name that has not generated a lot of attention nationally in the media to date. However, judging by the coaches that have reached out to him the first chance they were allowed to, college coaches are VERY aware of his talents.

“This week I’ve talked to Boston College, Notre Dame, Clemson, Rutgers, Cincinnati, Penn State, Miami, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Florida, Xavier, West Virginia, Marquette, and Maryland,” Taran Buie relayed to the NBE Basketball Report, doing the best he could to recall all of the coaches that have placed calls to him this week.

According to his high school coach, Rich Hurley, scholarship offers have already been extended by “Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Miami, and Fordham.”

RUTGERS 2008-2009 SNAPSHOT

2008-06-12T12:47:00.002-04:00

June 12, 2008

Head Coach: Fred Jill, Jr
2007-2008 Record: 11-20 (3-15 in Big East)

Returning Players:
Anthony Farmer, Senior (Point Guard)
Jaron Griffin, Senior (Guard/Forward)
JR Inman, Senior (Forward)
Hamady N'Diaye, Junior (Center)
Corey Chandler, Sophomore (Guard)
Earl Pettis, Sophomore (Guard)
Mike Coburn, Sophomore (Guard)

Incoming Players:
Michael Rosario, Shooting Guard
Christian Morris, Center
Patrick Jackson, Guard/Forward
Greg Echenique, Center

Incoming Transfer:
Jonathan Mitchell, Junior (Forward)*

Graduated Players:
Byron Joynes, Senior (Center)
Courtney Nelson, Junior (Guard)

Players Transferring Out:
Justin Sofman (Guard)

*Not eligible until 2008-2009 per NCAA transfer rules

Open Items/Issues:
Fred Hill is quickly breathing life into the Rutgers program with some excellent recruiting work. Hill is laying an impressive foundation for the Rutgers program and it is certainly needed. The Rutgers basketball program is building from the ground up, at least now you can see the blueprint clearly.

There are still a couple scholarships open, but Fred Hill has shown he will be very selective in the process. He is not filling holes just to have bodies in the spring. Right now the Scarlet Knights are awaiting final word from the NCAA that Greg Echenique will be cleared academically to play in 2008-2009. Echenique was originally a huge recruiting coup for the class of 2009, but since he attended one year of high school in Venezuela, he decided to pursue the opportunity to enroll as part of the 2008 class.

Summary:
While these is a new sense of excitement around the Rutgers program, they can not escape the fact that they have won a total of six Big East games the last TWO seasons combined, or one less than they did in Gary Waters' final season as head coach.

The key, again, for a drastic improvement will likely lay again with the experienced trio of Anthony Farmer, Jaron Griffin and JR Inman. Waiting for this trio to emerge as a productive group has been frustrating to RU fans and their coach, Fred Hill. If this trio continues to struggle leading the Scarlet Knights to wins, a full blown youth movement will likely take place. Actually, Fred Hill does have a bit of a dilemma, does he play his veteran players he inherited from the Waters' regime at the expense of the younger talent he recruited? Or, does he begin preparing for better days ahead and getting the new crop experience in the rough and tumble Big East?

Saying Rutgers is likely the most improved squad in the league is not much of a stretch. After all, they lost 15 league contests last season, 10 by more than 12 points including seven by more than 18, won just once in the league at the once feared RAC and also lost to in-state opponents such as Rider and St. Peter's. So, improving should not come with much difficulty. Winning just six games in the Big East shows significant progress, anything else might be gravy at this point because the veterans have not shown much potential for more.

The strength in the Rutgers' club will center on their guards. Mike Coburn and Corey Chander had a baptism by fire as freshman and a healthier Chandler should take a major step up this year. Coburn will be helped at the point by senior Anthony Farmer, but the player causing most of the excitement is Mike Rosario, a McDonald's All-American from St. Anthony's in Jersey City. Rosario is a tremendous shooter and comes from one of the great high school coaches. Rosario will have to face the pressure of being hailed as a savior by many hungry RU fans, adding to the pressure to perform. He will be helped by a very competent group of guards, but expect some period of adjustment as the Big East is filled with tough, experienced and athletic guards.

The area of the most improvement for this club is likely in the paint, just having depth alone is a big lift to their prospects. JR Inman returns as their leading scorer and rebounder and will try to stay out of Coach Hill's doghouse. Second leading rebounder and one of the league's best shot blockers, Hamady N'Diaye also returns and their depth is enhanced by Greg Echenique, a big and strong center from St. Benedict's and NYC mountain Christian Morris. Like all freshman, facing players their size and strength night in and night out will be an adjustment, but the rewards in the future will be big.

Rounding out the line-up on the wings is historically inconsistent Jaron Griffin, versatile Earl Pettis and incoming freshman Patrick Jackson. Again, potential is definitely within this group, realizing that potential is what will be needed to help RU eclipse goals next season.

Rutgers is an interesting group heading into the summer. They have a roster of 11 players and all are very capable of contributing at a solid clip. Fred Hill will have to juggle the under-achieving senior group, who definitely still have potential, with the promising younger core to get the results that are best for the program, next season and beyond. Rutgers should be thinking NIT this year and hoping everything falls into place and be a team improving at seasons' end.

2010 NJ STANDOUT HAS RU OFFER

2008-06-03T10:43:00.004-04:00

June 2, 2008

The NJ Playaz U-16 AAU squad is loaded with talent and the star class of 2010 at Paterson Catholic is a big reason why. Future stars such as FuQuan Edwin, Trevor Clemmings, Jayon James and Shaquille Thomas all team up together with PC during the regular season and the Playaz on the AAU circuit. Ron Bailey recently caught up with Jayon James, Who Has Skills & Big East Offers already, even as just a high school sophomore.

James is a versatile 6'5 guard forward who can handle, pass, score in a variety of ways and defend multiple positions. These traits have caught the attention of Fred Hill Jr, of Rutgers and Bobby Gonzalez of Seton Hall as both local Jersey schools have tendered the class of 2010 prospect scholarship offers. Atlantic 10 schools such as Xavier, LaSalle and Fordham have also jumped on board with early tenders.

With his versatiling, expect James to get more looks from schools outside the immediate New Jersey area, in the Big East and beyond, as the College Basketball Odds of winning are MUCH greater with players like James' and all the skills he brings to the court.

BIG EAST ROSTER UPDATE: RUTGERS

2008-05-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

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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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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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.

BIG EAST ROSTER UPDATE: RUTGERS

2008-05-18T01:14:00.003-04:00

May 18, 2008

INCOMING TRANSFER ALERT: Jonathan Mitchel, 6'7 (F) from the University of Florida.

Projected 2008-2009 Roster:

SENIORS: Anthony Farmer (PG), Jaron Griffin (G/F), JR Inman (F), Courtney Nelson (PG)
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)
EARLY 2009 COMMITMENT: Dane Miller (F), Greg Echenique (C), Austin Johnson (F)

The exciting off-season continues for Fred Hill and his Rutgers program as Hill and his staff work to move the Scarlet Knights up in the standings. As they wait on a decision from Devin Ebanks, which is expected later today, 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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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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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 recently 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, there is a very strong possibility that Echenique could be on the Rutgers campus this fall and be part of the team for the 2008-2009 season. The Scarlet Knights could definitely use his size, but he could also take a redshirt 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.

Echenique and Johnson join 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.

Rutgers is likely not done in the class of 2008, either. The still have one scholarship open and are in definite need of a power forward. The Knights lost out late in their attempts to land Quintrell Thomas and Dwight Miller, so the power forward position will likely be addressed this spring.

The most impressive target for 2008 is Indiana de-commitment Devin Ebanks, one of the elite talents in the class of 2008. The 6'8 forward also has Texas, West Virginia and Memphis very much involved and visited each school this spring. Ebanks is expected to make his decision later today, after the spring IS8 championships. Many seem to believe he will choose between West Virginia and Memphis, but Rutgers had felt very good about their chances after his visit, so we will see...

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.

Other 2009 early targets include guards St. Anthony's star win Dominic Cheek, Justin Crosgile of DePaul Catholic (NJ), Russell Smith of Archbishop Molloy (NYC) and Durand Scott of Rice HS (NYC). Wings Paris Bennett of St. Patrick (NJ), Sherrod Wright of Mt. Vernon (NY) 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, but with the addition of Echenique and Johnson, they might be looking at other positions, especially if they can land someone this spring to help out on 2008-2009.

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.

RUTGERS HIGH ON 2010 IN-STATE GUARD

2008-05-15T14:53:00.001-04:00

2010 Guard Isaiah Epps is in High Demand and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights are in a battle to keep the Plainfield High School star playing college basketball in his home state.

Competition is fierce already for the young guard as Maryland has been coming aggressively after Pete Vasil's talented player, “Maryland is recruiting him the hardest right now and Gary Williams wants him very much. Plus, Gary told him he can come and play right away. If Isaiah likes the situation there, I would recommend to him that he takes the offer. That way he has a solid foundation for the rest of his high school career. He can concentrate on his academics and making himself a better player, and he no longer has to worry about where he’s going.”

Also, Big East foes like Pittsburgh and Seton Hall are aggressively pursuing Epps in hopes of luring them to their campus for his college career.

RUTGERS TRACKS VIRGINIA POINT GUARD

2008-05-14T13:00:00.002-04:00

To this point, Paul Miller has flown under the recruiting radar for many high-major schools. However, the Potomac Falls point guard, playing for Hoop Magic, opened some eyes this past weekend at the DC Assault AAU Tournament in Virginia.

Saturday at the DC Assault AAU Event (NBE Basketball Report), Miller showed excellent shooting touch from all over the floor while scoring 18 points in a 56-36 win over the B-More Hoopsters.

Miller is receiving some Big East interest from Rutgers while schools such as Akron, George Mason and Fordham are also in the mix already.

RUTGERS FIRST TO OFFER 2010 TOBIAS HARRIS

2008-05-14T12:25:00.002-04:00

Fred Hill Jr and his Rutgers staff has done a very good job getting out in front of the competition for class fo 2010 small forward prospect Tobias Harris out of Half Hollows Hills West High School on Long Island.

Tobias Harris is Among the Elite in 2010 (NBE Basketball Report) and has offers from other Big East schools such as Connecticut and Marquette.

FLORIDA TRANSFER LOOKS AT RUTGERS

2008-05-08T12:33:00.002-04:00

A Former high school teammate of Rutgers point guard Mike Coburn at Mount Vernon (NY) High School, Jonathan Mitchell, is leaving the University of Florida and could wind up at RU. Mitchell Enjoyed Visit to Rutgers (zagsblog.net) and also recently visited Seton Hall. Mitchell might take a trip to Marshall before making an announcement on his future destination, which should come sometime next week.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2008-03-24T22:12:00.001-04:00

March 24, 2008

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERTs: Greg Echenique, 6'9 C from St. Benedict's Prep and Austin Johnson, 6'7 PF from Blair Academy.

Projected 2008-2009 Roster:

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

Austin Johnson and Greg Echenique have given Fred Hill and his Rutgers program an exciting Daily Double today as the news has hit of Echenique, Johnson to Rutgers (zagsblog) with 2009 verbal commitments.

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Piece by piece, Fred Hill is bringing Rutgers into the mix of the Big East and today might have been the biggest step in the right direction when Greg Echenique and Austin Johnson made verbal commits to the rising Rutgers program.

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 recently 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.

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.

Echenique and Johnson join 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.

Rutgers is likely not done in the class of 2008, either. The still have one scholarship open and are in definite need of a power forward. The Knights lost out late in their attempts to land Quintrell Thomas and Dwight Miller, so the power forward position will likely be addressed this spring.

The most imeediate target for 2008 is Indiana de-commitment Devin Ebanks, one of the elite talents in the class of 2008. The 6'8 forward also has Texas and Memphis very much involved, along with Rutgers, as he takes a second go-round in his recruitment after Kelvin Sampson and Indiana parted ways this past season.

I expect Fred Hill and staff to leave no stone unturned this spring while trying to add help at the power forward position. The off-again, on-again recruitment of Marvel Waithe could be re-opened as well as a look into the JUCO ranks. From the perspective of balancing classes, a JUCO could be a wise direction as Hamady N'Diaye would be the only other junior on the roster and the pickings in the high school class of 2008 is very slim.

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.

Other 2009 early targets include guards St. Anthony's star win Dominic Cheek, Justin Crosgile of DePaul Catholic (NJ), Russell Smith of Archbishop Molloy (NYC) and Durand Scott of Rice HS (NYC). Wings Paris Bennett of St. Patrick (NJ), Sherrod Wright of Mt. Vernon (NY) 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, but with the addition of Echenique and Johnson, they might be looking at other positions, especially if they can land someone this spring to help out on 2008-2009.

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.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CONNECTICUT @ RUTGERS

2008-02-26T09:25:00.000-05:00

February 26, 2008

Connecticut had been finding ways to win as they built a 10-game winning streak. However, on Saturday, they could not find a way to win at Villanova, who ended their streak at 10 games with a 67-65 win over the Huskies. Rutgers, on the other hand, is limping home at 2-13 in the conference, losing their last seven, including a 30-pt loss to Marquette in their last outing.

UConn is expected to get deeper with the return of Jerome Dyson, who has missed the last nine games since being suspended for a failed drug test. Here are the local media game stories and previews on tonight's contest:

Huskies Expect Adjustment Period as Dyson Returns (New London Day)
How is Dyson's Return Game? (Hartford Courant)
Dyson in the Plans for UConn Men (Connecticut Post)
Dyson Returns to Different UConn Team (Rep-Am)
Inman Focuses in his Actions, not Reactions (Star-Ledger)
Thabeet, N'Diaye Take center Stage Tonight (Courier News)
Rutgers-UConn Scouting Report (Courier News)

In his last game, Jerome Dyson scored 20 pts in UConn's thrilling 84-83 win at Cincinnati. A few days later, Dyson and teammate doug Wiggins were cited on campus with possession of alcohol as minors and had to submit drug tests. Dyson's test came back positive and he was suspended from the team for 30 days. The Huskies rallied and ran off 8 straight wins, including victories at Indiana, home against Louisville, Pittsburgh, at Syracuse and against Notre Dame. They seemed to be falling off just a bit, but doing what they needed to do to win at South Florida and home against DePaul. It all finally caught up to them against Villanova last weekend. It seems, Dyson could not be coming back at a better time.

Since Dyson has bene out of the line-up, AJ Price has taken control of the team as their leader on the floor and the source of big baskets when the game is on the line. His growth and maturation in this time has been astounding and he has become the player many expected him to be when he chose UConn as a highly coveted recruit. Also, the shortened rotation as allowed Craig Austrie to become comfortable as the full-time two-guard and that importance was never bigger than when he drove coast to coast after a USF made basket to drill the game winner with 0:00.2 to lift UConn over USF in overtime. Stanley Robinson has also shown growth in this timeframe with consistent touches on offense and playing time.

So, where will Dyson fit back into the mix. When he left, he was the etam's leading scorer and top perimeter defender. He will likely begin in a supplemental role, but the added depth might be the biggest help in the short-term. Getting his legs under him in game situations may take a little time, but he shoudl be at full speed when we hit New York City for the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.

For Rutgers, it has not been a very pretty season. The offensively-challenged Scarlet Knights gave fans a glimmer of hope with wins over Villanova and on the road against Pittsburgh in mid-January, but they have not won since. Freshman guards Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler definitely look promising for the future, but their junior class continues to underwhelm in their performance. JR Inman, Jaron Griffin and Anthony Farmer were supposed to take a step forward this season, but inconsistent performances have continued to plague the trio and as a result, the Scarlet Knights struggle offensively nearly every time out. They will be challenged by UConn inside and out as Hasheem Thabeet will make it very difficult to score inside and their inconsistent perimeter touch will make life tough outside.

UConn is a 9.5-pt road favorite and Rutgers will bring a strong effort as everyone likes to take a shot at the Huskies. However, coming off a loss in their last outing and their ability to make scoring tough on opponents inside and out, I do not see RU scoring enough to keep up the pace with UConn for 40 minutes.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Connecticut 71 Rutgers 59

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ WEST VIRGINIA

2008-02-14T08:53:00.001-05:00

February 14, 2008

Bob Huggins was very critical of his team following a 55-54 loss at Pittsburgh where missed foul shots and defensive assignments saw the Mountaineers let a late lead slip away. The comments questioned the team's toughness and if they were 'winners', and those were the public comments, I wonder what practice was like the last six days as the Season is Pushing Huggins' Patience (Daily Mail). WVU has a chance to get back on track tonight when they host Rutgers at the Coliseum.

Rutgers is tied for last in the Big East and with a tough schedule to finish up league play, the look headed towards another March without a Big East Tournament, making Fred Hill two for two in that category. Their latest setback was a 72-68 loss in overtime to Cincinnati over the weekend. The young Scarlet Knights are inexperienced and lack depth...not a good combination in the Big East, even for more talented rosters.

Here are the local media previews and stories on tonight's game:

Rutgers Trying to Get Over Hump (Charleston Gazette)
Rutgers Playing for the Future (Asbury Park Press)
WVU Men Hope to Bounce Back as they Host Rutgers (Times West Virginian)
Huggins Answers Critical Comments (Times West Virginian)
WVU Offense Slowing Down (Daily Mail)

Summing up their loss at Pitt, Bob Huggins simply said, "Winners make plays." The Mountaineers did not last Thursday as they made just 7-17 free throws and he had his two leading scorers on the bench for much of the game. Alex Ruoff attemtped just two shots from the floor and Joe Alexander was a consistent target of some of Huggins' most stern glares and fiery lectures. Huggins seemed perplexed as players 'refused' to step forward down the stretch and 'didn't listen' to the instructions of the staff.

Also concerning for WVU is the recent offensive slump. The Mountaineers have lost three of their last four games, in those losses (two at home), they have averaged just 50 points a game. A far cry from the team that was putting up big offensive numbers back in November and December. In those losses they have shot just a dreadful 32% (47-149) from the field. The once effecient Mountaineers look to be floundering on offense.

Rutgers is in the midst of a four-game losing streak and have dropped to 2-10 in Big East play. The Scarlet Knights also have trouble scoring points, averaging just 59 points a game in Big East action.

After dropping their first six conference games, the Scarlet Knights showed a spark with wins over Villanova and Pittsburgh (ont he road) with freshman guards Mike Coburn and Corey Chandler leading the way. In their last four, two of the losses have come in overtime, so they are being more competitive. The lone exception was a drubbing at Louisville two weeks ago.

Tonight they should face a highly motivated Mountaineer team looking to get back on track. West Virginia has a favorable schedule down the stretch and kick it off with home games against RU and Seton Hall the next several days. Finding their range on offense will make things much easier. Rutgers does match-up pretty well with West Virginia as they have similar athletes and both are perimeter driven clubs. Rutgers is not deep on the wings or in the backcourt, but they have some size inside.

The Mountaineers are 19-pt favorites, seems to be quite high. I look for WVU to get a win, but the Scarlet Knights shoudl be able to hang around a little bit.

NBE Blogger Prediction: West Virginia 72 Rutgers 59

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: CINCINNATI @ RUTGERS

2008-02-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

February 9, 2008

It is always interesting to see how a team gets themselves back off the mat. Well, that is the challenge for Rutgers after they were embarrased at home by a short-handed St. John's squad, scoring just 14 points in the first half, during a 52-45 loss on Wednesday night.

Cincinnati has been off a week since losing at home, 75-60, to Marquette. Coach Mick Cronin publicly criticized his team for their poor practices leading up to the game as they were getting too cocky and their play in practice carried over to the game. Now, they are rested and I am sure coach Cronin has reeled them in a bit following their loss last time out.

Rutgers remains a bit of a mystery. Sure, on paper, they definitely look to be a bottom-quarter team in the Big East. However, I have felt they should be competing better than they are. Following a 37-point loss at Louisville with their horrid display on their home floor against Rutgers has me questioning their dedication of several of their players. Their junior trip of Anthony Farmer, Jaron Griffin and JR Inman should, at least, be solid Big East contributers and mixing with promising youngsters Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn, be enough to steal some wins at home and compete much better on the road. Yes, they are not deep and more than not, that will cost them games in the Big East, but the lack of effort in several games has been startling and has to be driving Fred Hill crazy.

For the most part, Cincinnati has been the opposit this season. They have played hard and have played tough. Several players have put aside their dreams of being big time scorers and have bought into the defense and team-first mantra that coach Cronin is selling to them. They have a dynamic scorer, Deonta Vaughn, who is capable of putting up big scoring nights. The rest of the team might not be that talented offensively, and Cronin could shuttle in and out 11 players looking to eek as much offense out of the group as possible to win, but they all will work hard on defense and hit the boards.

The trouble for Cincinnati is finding someone else to score besides Vaughn. He will certainly be the target to stop for Rutgers and if they are wise, they would play a box and one on him and try to see if anyone else is capable of scoring.

The good news for UC, they do have someone capable of scoring while we are not sure if Rutgers does. I know several players have the potential to score and score in this conference, we just are not seeing it.

I really think Rutgers can buckle down and get a win here at the RAC. But, until they show that they want to get their hands dirty and step up and make shots, I am going to say Deonta Vaughn makes just enough to pull out a tough one.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Cincinnati 58 Rutgers 57

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2008-02-08T08:31:00.000-05:00

February 8, 2008

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Dane Miller, (F) Rush-Henrietta HS (NY)

Projected 2008-2009 Roster:

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

Fred Hill and staff have landed a commitment in the class of 2009 when Dane Miller of Rochester, NY decided to pledge to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights program. Hill, Rutgers Land Big-time Recruit (Home News Tribune) from an area that Syracuse has long dominated for recruits.

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Versatile forward Dane Miller hopes to start a trend by committing to Rutgers. The 6'6 forward as been his area's top college prospect for a few years and is having a big season for Rush-Henrietta High School, averaging 21 ppg, 17 rebounds and 4 blocks a game. Miller has long been on the Big East radar and Syracuse has followed his development closely, however the Orange seem pretty full at the forward position, opening up Miller's recruitment. Providence, Cincinnati and St. John's were also heavily involved among the Big East schools, but Rutgers was the one showing him the most attention as a priority in their class.

Miller is a very good athlete than can play inside or out. He 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.

Rutgers is likely not done in the class of 2008, either. The still have one scholarship open anre in definite need of a power forward. The Knights lost out late in their attempts to land Quintrell Thomas and Dwight Miller, so the power forward position will likely be addressed this spring.

I expect Fred Hill and staff to leave no stone unturned this spring while trying to add help at the power forward position. The off-again, on-again recruitment of Marvel Waithe could be re-opened as well as a look into the JUCO ranks. From the perspective of balancing classes, a JUCO could be a wise direction as Hamady N'Diaye would be the only other junior on the roster and the pickings in the high school class of 2008 is very slim.

The rest of the 2008 class is solid, led by St. Anthony's (NJ) guard Michael Rosario who is rumored to be headed to the McDonald's All-American Game. Rosario is joined by Boys & Girls (NYC) HS small forward Patrick Jackson and NYC big man Christian Morris.

With Miller on board for 2009, and likely three more scholarships left after adding a big man this spring, St. Benedict center Gregory Echenique, St. Anthony guard Dominic Cheek and St. Raymond (N.Y.) swingman Kevin Parrom believed to be among the top targets of the Scarlet Knights. Parrom plays a position similar to Miller and Echenique has Duke on his mind. Cheek is definitely looking to stay close to home, but Rutgers would have to pass Villanova and Seton Hall in the pecking order to land him of the local schools in consideration.

Other 2009 early targets include guards Justin Crosgile of DePaul Catholic (NJ), Russell Smith of Archbishop Molloy (NYC) and Durand Scott of Rice HS (NYC). Wings Paris Bennett of St. Patrick (NJ), Sherrod Wright of Mt. Vernon (NY) 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, now they need to address their frontline.

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ LOUISVILLE

2008-02-01T15:16:00.001-05:00

February 2, 2008

Rutgers and Louisville meet for the second time this season as the Cardinals came up with a win earlier this year at the RAC. On Saturday, the Scarlet Knights travel to Freedom Hall as the Cards try to rebound from last Monday's defeat at UConn on Big Monday.

Rutgers is coming off a draining overtime home loss to rival Seton Hall. RU rallied from a 12-pt halftime lead to force overtime, but the Pirates regrouped and outscored Rutgers 17-4 in the extra session.

It is time for Louisville to begin turning things on. They are as healthy as they are likely to get this year with seniors Juan Palacios and David Padgett playing upfront with sophomores Derrick Caracter and Earl Clark. The super-athletic Terrence Williams handles the wing position. Rick Pitino will start pointing this club towards 'March' mode and time to let them run. They still need to get their talented, but inconsistent, backcourt to utilize their talent in the frontcourt. They should not be hoisting up 20 three's in a first half like they did against Connecticut last week, even with the imposing presence of Hasheem Thabeet in the middle.

Rutgers doesn't quite have a Thabeet in the middle, but Hamady D'Diaye and JR Inman form an athletic and big duo with Byron Joynes in the frontcourt. However, that is all they have upfront, so I look for Rick Pitino to implore his troops to sttack the post.

Rutgers improvement of the last few weeks has been led by their freshman guard duo of Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn. Coburn scored 40 points combined in the wins over Pittsburgh and Villanova recently and Chandler looks to be getting over the foot injury that limited him as conference play began. Anthony Farmer and Jaron Griffin round out the regulars for RU, they are not deep, but their backcourt is solid.

Coming off the loss to UConn, I expect the Cards to go on a run of good basketball and that it will start on Saturday. They will still look for their share of three's, but the look inside will be made first and that will open up their game.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Louisville 78 Rutgers 65

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: SETON HALL @ RUTGERS

2008-01-30T11:50:00.001-05:00

January 30, 2008

In this year's version of the Big East, a two game win streak can be considered 'hot'. In this case, the battle of New Jersey features two of the 'hottest' teams in the conference when Rutgers welcomes in-state rival Seton Hall to the RAC.

Local media preview articles:

Rutgers, Seton Hall Begin Turnarounds (Courier News)
RU/SHU Scouting Report (Courier News)
Hall Grows in Gause's Absence (Star-Ledger)
Rutgers/Seton Hall Still a Hot Ticket (Asbury Park Press)

Rutgers enters tonight's game full of surprising momentum after a week that saw them beat Villanova at home and then shock the Big East with a win at Pittsburgh, a win that seemed to shock their own players! Led by freshman guards Michael Coburn and Corey Chandler, with solid post play, especially on the glass and defensively, by Hamady N'Diaye and Byron Joynes, RU stormed past the Panthers on Saturday.

The Scarlet Knights stumbled out of the conference gates by looking completely in disarray, especially on the offensive side of the ball. After dropping thier first five, they were looking pretty hopeless and 0-18 whispers began. However, there is more talent on this team than what was being shown and they showed signs offensively at DePaul before a 2nd half collapse allowed a 2nd half lead slip away. JR Inman is a talented and athletic inside/out forward and Jaron Griffin and Anthony Farmer are also juniors who have logged a lot of Big East time and needed to step up. The freshman pair of Coburn and Chandler hold a lot of promise for the future, but the play of the juniors and the big man duo of N'Diaye and Joynes could determine how tough an out the Scarlet Knights are the rest of the way.

Seton Hall also started off slowly, losing their first three conference games. However, the Pirates have stormed back with aggression, winning four in a row (which matches last year's league total) with impressive wins against Louisville and at Providence included. Senior Brian Laing is consistently putting up big numbers as a do-it-all undersized forward with the heart of a lion and the perimter shooting combo of Jamar Nutter and Jeremy Hazell guarantees someone is on from the outside to help put up points in a hurry. The Pirates fly up and down the court and their ability to score fast and often allows them to rally from nearly any deficit no matter the situation.

Rutgers, who are thin on numbers, would like the game to be played at a slower pace. To force the pace to a speed they prefer, the Pirates will pressure the RU guards to induce quick shots and turnovers, that is where SHU is at their best, creating offense off of their defense. The slower the pace of the game, the less SHU can crank up the pace and use their style to their advantage. However, in a weekend win over Cincinnati, the Pirates showed they can buckle down if they have to.

Usually in this rivalry the home team has the edge. I am not convinced Rutgers is ready to beat a team as equally amped to play the game as they are...yet. You know Bobby Gonzalez will have his Pirates on edge for the game, sometimes that can work against a squad, but with the style of play the Pirates prefer, that is exactly what they need.

The RAC will rock, but in the end, SHU has a little too much offensive talent to get by in this one.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Seton Hall 80 Rutgers 71

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ PITTSBURGH

2008-01-25T14:52:00.001-05:00

January 26, 2008

There definitely should be a little extra hop in the step of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights when they travel to face Pittsburgh Saturday evening. The Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily offensively this season, but after nearly knocking off DePaul on the road, they returned home and dominated Villanova at the RAC for their first conference victory of the season.

Pittsburgh rebounded from a disappointing loss at Cincinnati by taking St. John's out behind the woodshed of Madison Square Garden during an 81-57 victory. Sam Young continues to make his case for Big East Player of the Year candidacy with 26 points in the victory.

The key for the Panthers seem to be early starts offensively. In their three losses this season, Pitt has struggled to score in the first 8-12 minutes. Although each game was still close through that portion of the game, runs by the opponent later put Pitt in a tough spot. However, those games were on the road, at home the Panthers seem to be a different level of team. Even with Levance Fields out at least another three weeks and Mike Cook gone for the season, Pitt has made their case to be one of the top teams in the Big East. Freshman DeJuan Blair teams with Young to give the Panthers one of the nation's best 1-2 combination in the front court. Young seems to be a bureoning star in the league and is scoring in a variety of ways both inside and out. The senior guard combination of Keith Benjamin and Ronald ramon entered the season expected to play complimentary roles, but have shown to be more than adequate in the Big East. Freshman such as Gilbert Brown, Brad Wanamaker and Gary McGhee are improving with more playing time and junior Tyrell Biggs could likely be the next Panther to step up his game when called on.

Pittsburgh can be tested by teams that pressure on the ball with a deep group of guards or an effective zone that limits Young's ability to penetrate if their perimeter shooting is off. Foul trouble is also a point to watch as the Panthers are thin in numbers (Fields, Cool, Austin Wallace and Cassin Diggs all out with injuries) and foul problems with Blair could be especially damaging.

Rutgers, however, does not look like a team that can challenge the Panthers' vulnerable areas. The Scarlet Knights are down in numbers as well and the recent development of Courtney Nelson being ineligible for the remainder of the season leaves RU extremely thin. Offensively, Byron Joynes and Hamady N'Diaye do not pose much of a threat to get Blair in foul trouble. Rutgers' best player is forward JR Inman who will be directly matched up with Young in what should be an interesting battle. If Inman relaxes mentally on defense, Young could be past him in a blink and drawing fouls as he attacks the rim.

Fred Hill's most talented offensive option is Corey Chandler, however the freshman guard is battling a nagging stress fracture in his foot and facing the tough, physical Pitt defense could mean a long game for him. Mike Coburn, another freshman, and Anthony Farmer had career games against Villanova and will look to carry over that success. Wing Jaron Griffin is a very streaky shooter whose bad streaks seem to outnumber the good streaks, however, if he is on, he can score some points.

For Pittsburgh, the key is likely the first 10 minutes. If they can avoid early fouls on Blair, but the ball in the basket and get a lead, Rutgers could become discouraged quickly on the road, especially in one of the best home court atmospheres in the college game. It is hard to believe a 1-6 team could be looking at a let down, but Rutgers beat Jay Wright, Fred Hill's former boss, in their last game and they have rival Seton Hall up next, so a quick strike from Pitt could take RU out of the game early.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Pittsburgh 77 Rutgers 61

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: VILLANOVA @ RUTGERS

2008-01-23T09:42:00.001-05:00

January 23, 2008

Rutgers remains winless in the Big East but they did show some life in a road loss at DePaul over the weekend. Villanova got a cherished road win at Syracuse over the weekend and are positioning themselves favorably in the Big East race.

Here are a couple local media stories on tonight's game:

Rutgers Men's Basketball Readies for Villanova (Asbury Park Press)
Scouting Rutgers & Villanova (Courier News)

If the Big East was to hold form from what we have seen in the first three weeks, Rutgers would win this game. While, I can't really pull the trigger on the Scarlet Knights, they do have a similar make-up as a team to Villanova. However, their talent level is a notch below. for the Scarlet Knights to win, they will have to give their most inspired defensive effort of the season, come up big on the boards and not suffer one of their normal putrid offensive performances.

Villanova seemingly finds someone to step-up from game to game to lead them to victory. Whether it is Malcolm Grant, Antonio Pena, Scottie Reynolds, Corey Fisher or another player, Jay Wright has a deep team that gives him several different line-up options. He can go big, small or more of a traditional line-up. Quite a difference from his four-guard line-up out of necessity a few years ago.

Rutgers tends to play Villanova very tough at home from time to time. I think they will be fired up tonight and try to parlay some positives from the DePaul game into a more complete performance against the Wildcats. I do think Villanova has too much talent and once they find the right combination in this game, they will exert that talent to get the necessary stops on defense and get the points needed to win on offense. As a 9-pt favorite, Villanova wins, but it should be closer than expected.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Villanova 74 Rutgers 67

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ SYRACUSE

2008-01-16T09:16:00.001-05:00

January 16, 2008

The young Syracuse Orange return home to meet the offensively challenged Rutgers Scarlet Knights in a Big East match-up at the Carrier Dome. Syracuse dropped a pair of road contests last week, evening their conference mark at 2-2. Rutgers has yet to win in conference action (0-4) and continues to struggle on the offensive end.

Here are the local media previews on tonight's game:

Griffin Shot His Way out of Slump (Courier News)
Rutgers-Syracuse Scouting Report (Courier News)
SU Offense Looks to Get Untracked (Syracuse Post-Standard)

Syracuse is a 17-pt home favorite tonight as the host Rutgers, a team averaging a meager 47.5 PPG in their four conference contests (0-4). How are these for putrid offensive numbers? Rutgers is shooting 33% (70-209) from the floor, 27% (16-60) from the 3-pt arc and 56% (34-61) from the free throw line in their four conference contests. They have also turned the ball over 60 times and has been credited with just 31 assists in conference play.

Leading scorer JR Inman has been coming off the bench for Rutgers in conference play. The reason for the change in the line-up seems to be more than just a ploy to shake things up by coach Fred Hill. Also, excellent freshman guard Corey Chandler has been battling a stress fracture in his foot and it looks like the condition is not going to get better any time soon without extended rest. without being able to practice, Chandler is struggling to find any kind of offensive flow and is 4-29 from the field for a total of 14 points in the three conference games he has played. Without a healthy Chandler, the Rutgers offense has very little potential to imporve any time soon. Junior Jaron Griffin did show some life on Sunday, scoring 23 in a 64-49 loss to Louisville, but he has yet to show any consistency with his shooting touch since arriving at RU.

Syracuse has the opposite issue of Rutgers, the Orange can score with anyone, but they have had a lot of difficulty stopping anyone on the defensive side. They lost a pair of road games last week to Cincinnati (74-66) and West Virginia (81-61) and look to get back home and get back in the win column. Rutgers comes at the perfect time for the young Orange, who have six players in their depleted 8-man rotation playing major 1-A basketball for the first time. Learning the ins and outs of conference play and the increase in the intensity that Big East play brings is an adjustment for the Orange. The young players can not solely rely on their natural talent and ability, but need to be sharper mentally in preparation and their execution.

Syracuse also has few options when things start to go poorly. Jom Boeheim can not afford foul trouble or to sit players for poor decisions, which leads to lazy defense and a slower learning curve for the young team. Tonight, they need to get back to the basics on both ends of the floor with a consistent effort. Donte Greene is a mega-talent offensively, but the team can't get away from getting the ball to Arinze Onuaku in the middle. Syracuse needs to run as their halfcourt offense is not a strength. Rutgers will try to keep the game at a much slower pace than the Orange would like to see, but their shooting woes and inconsistent ball-handling will likely lead to SU getting many break opportunities and players like Paul Harris and Greene finish with the best of them in college basketball.

It would probably be wise for Syracuse to use their man to man press at times to push the tempo when they have the opportunity. If they consistently fall back into the 2-3 zone, the pace could fall into the hands of Rutgers and the Scarlet Knights could find some perimeter shots to their liking, keeping the score closet than anticipated.

I think Syracuse will score quickly and often at times, but Rutgers will creep back into the game once and a while. I think Rutgers will actually break the 50pt barrier, but it wont be nearly enough to win.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Syracuse 77 Rutgers 62

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ PROVIDENCE

2008-01-09T09:44:00.001-05:00

January 9, 2008

The Big East's version of a cure for your ails is Rutgers and their visit to the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence could not come at a better time for the Friars. After dropping their first two conference match-ups on the road, the offensively challenged Scarlet Knights are a welcome site for PC. Rutgers is also 0-2 in the conference, failing to hit the 50-pt mark in either game.

Here are the local media previes on the game:

PC/RU Preview (Providence Journal)
Rutgers N'Diaye a Formidable Defender (Asbury Park Press)
Providence 'QB' Familiar to Knights (Star-Ledger)
Williams Probable as Friars Chase First League Win (Providence Journal)
Rutgers/PC Scouting Report (Courier News)

The Scarlet Knights sit at the bottom of the Big East in virtually every offensive stat, including points (63.3 per game), field-goal shooting (.396), assists (8.6) and 3-point shooting (.274). Those numbers are actually worse in Big East play as RU is averaging 45.5 PPG, shooting 35% from the floor, 21% from 3-pt range and 29% from the FOUL LINE in two games, losses to Georgetown and at South Florida.

There also has been other factors making things more difficult for Fred Hill's club. First, freshman Corey Chandler has missed several games, and has been limited in Big East play, due to a foot injury. Chandler might be RU's best pure scorer. Also, junior JR Inman, a versatile offensive threat, has been coming off the bench for RU. Reasons for his demotion from the starting line-up have been a bit murky, but there seems to be a little bit of a tug of war going on with the staff and players.

Rutgers still will compete and they will work hard on the defensive end. They hope to keep the game as a low scoring affair and 'ugly' it up by pressuring shots and collecting their share of rebounds.

Scoring is not usually the problem for the Friars, but stopping their opponent has been a missing ingredient for PC the last several years and despite an added concentration to defensive effort this year, it continues. However, the injury bug that has spread through a lot of the conference has also hit PC hard, taking their top two point guards out of the line-up as Sharaud Curry and Dwain Williams have been out of the line-up. Curry is still not even ready to practice, but the news on Williams is better and he is likely to play tonight.

With Williams an adequate point guard, players like Brian McKenzie, Jeff Xavier and Weyinmi Efejuku can concentrate on scoring points, not also playing the role of distributor. The Friars also boast hard-nosed and versatile Geoff McDermott and a true point guard will look to take advantage of his talents and also involve Randall Hanke more in the offense, putting him in position to score.

Inconsistent guard play also leads to defensive breakdowns as the opponent is finding more break and transition opportunities. Defensively and in the post is always going to be an uphill battle for PC, but the defensive effrt is something that most likely will improve as the team gets closer to full strength and cohesive.

The Friars come into the game tonight as a 14-pt favorite and they should take advanatage of the opportunity Rutgers provides to get well.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Providence 75 Rutgers 58

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: GEORGETOWN @ RUTGERS

2008-01-04T14:33:00.001-05:00

January 5, 2008

The Big East's preseason favorite, Georgetown, will begin defense of their conference crown on Saturday as they travel to New Jersey to face Rutgers, at the RAC. Rutgers dropped their league opening contest on the road to South Florida, 68-45, Wednesday night.

Things are not going very well right now for Fred Hill Jr and his Rutgers squad. Not only were they drubbed by South Florida, who was picked 16th in the league by the coaches, but they have been without freshman Corey Chandler and his 14 PPG for a few weeks now. On Wednesday night, their other top player, JR Inman, was not in the starting line-up. I know coach Hill says it was a coaches decision, but there has to be more behind it, maybe a message was being sent and a fresh start is ahead.

The status of Chandler is still unknown, this was the game he was targeting to return, but they hoped he would be available for some time on Wednesday. Without Chandler and with Inman in and out of the line-up, Rutgers goes from a below-average offensive team to, well, not a good one at all. Against USF they shot 39% from the field with just 6 team assists in the contest. They also shot 2-16 from the arc and 1-8 from the foul line...YUCK!

On the other hand, Georgetown is one of the most effecient offensive machines in the nation. Although they have been lightly challenged this season until a date at Memphis where they were handles easily by the Tigers, look for Georgetown to flex their muscles on the road and let the rest of the league know they are serious about defending their crown.

The Hoyas will play nine-deep and it is an impressive group. Seniors Jonathan Wallace and Roy Hibbert, the conference's pre-season player of the year, are joined by sophomore, and leading soorer, DaJuan Summers and junior Jesse Sapp as returning starters from last year's squad. Other key contributors return such as Jeremiah Rivers, Pat Ewing Jr and Vernon Macklin. What makes this squad even more dangerous offensively is the addition of a pair of McDonald All-Americans in the backcourt, Chris Wright and Austin Freeman, who come off the bench.

I think Rutgers will play hard and scrap for a while, but over the course of 40 minutes, too many offensive droughts will catch up with them and Georgetown will go about business as usual and pull away consistently.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Georgetown 78 Rutgers 59

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: RUTGERS @ SOUTH FLORIDA

2008-01-02T09:04:00.001-05:00

January 2, 2008

Scarlet Knights Need to Make Right Choices (Asbury Park Press)
Big East Slate Begins in Earnest for Rutgers (Courier News)
Rutgers-USF Scouting Report (Courier News)

Are you ready for this? The South Florida Bulls are an 11.5-pt favorite in a Big East contest! The Bulls, winners of nine of their last 10 games, open Big East play tonight when they welcome Rutgers to the Sun Dome.

We all know Rutgers struggles away from home, and the prospect of playing with a limited, if at all, Corey Chandler, the hopes for the Scarlet Knights definitely looks bleak.

This year, under new coach Stan Heath, USF is deeper and more talented than the editions of the last two seasons. They will once again be anchored in the middle by Kentrell Gransberry. The mountain in the middle averages 14 PPG and 11 rebounds and should find things pretty much to his liking against a thin Rutgers front-line. Byron Joynes will try to body up Gransberry and Hamady N'Diaye will try to use his length and athletic ability, but if Gransberry clogs the lane and catches the ball in deep, he should have his way inside.

However, that is not the only weapon of the Bulls this season. Freshman Dominique Jones has been impressive filling the basket as the Bulls leading scorer with nearly 16 PPG. USF also has a solid, true point guard in Chris Howard who continues to improve and the wing scoring is deeper with former Arizona transfer Jesus Verdejo finding his comfort zone and Florida State transfer Aaron Holmes getting up to speed. Like RU, the Bulls are thin in the frontline after Gransberry, but they definitely have more offensive options this year, playing at home against an offensively challenged opponent, that bodes well for their chances.

Rutgers is led by junior JR Inman and they will need the 6'9 forward to carry them offensively. The versatile threat is averaging 16 PPG and 8 rebounds and the Bulls really do not have a candidate to slow him down. However, who else will score for Rutgers? With Chandler out of the line-up, Jaron Griffin tried to ick up the slack, but shot just 6-17 (0-8 on 3's) in a loss to Rider (61-57) and 1-7 against Manhattan (73-67 win).

Anthony Farmer did become more offensive minded, scoring 34 points in their last two contests and has slid over to the scoring guard role while freshman Mike Coburn has run the team with Courtney Nelson. The pair went scoreless (0-10 from the floor) in the loss to Rider. The uncertainty and inconsistencies on offense will make it very difficult to win on the road.

As mentioned, the Bulls are an 11.5-pt favorite. This might be a team that is also slightly under the radar while Rutgers still has a ways to go to find themselves, especially in the wake of Chandler's injury.

NBE Blogger Prediction: South Florida 75 Rutgers 59

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2007-10-22T08:12:00.000-04:00

October 22, 2007

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Patrick Jackson (SF), Boys & Girls's High School (NYC)

Projected 2008-2009 Roster:

SENIORS: Anthony Farmer (PG), Jaron Griffin (G/F), JR Inman (F), Courtney Nelson (PG)
JUNIORS: Hamady N'Diaye (C)
SOPHOMORES: Corey Chandler (G), Justin Sofman (G), Earl Pettis (G), Mike Cobourn (PG)
FRESHMEN: Mike Rosario (G), Christian Morris (C), Patrick Jackson (SF)

It has sounded this way for quite some time and late last week the news became official as Boys & Girls Senior Patrick Jackson Commits to Rutgers (NYDailyNews.com).

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Rutgers landed the small forward they had prioritized over the last few weeks when Patrick Jackson, a Brooklyn Hoopster, Commits to Rutgers (Herald News). Jackson had narrowed his choices down to RU and Virginia Tech, but he cancelled a scheduled official visit to Blacksburg and commited to Fred Hill and the Scarlet Knights instead.

Jackson is a 6'5 small forward that has good athleticism and a nice looking outside shot. As a junior with Xaverian High School, Jackson averaged over 15 PPG and 8 rebounds a contest for the Clippers. Jackson also had recruiting interest, at times, from local Big East schools Seton Hall and St. John's. Fred Hill hopes that Jackson will immediately add a scoring punch from both wing positions once on campus.

The commitment of Jackson is the third verbal commitment for Rutgers in their class of 2008, joining big man Christian Morris and scoring guard Mike Rosario. Rutgers is now aggressively pursuing power forward prospects and are awaiting the decision of Quintrell Thomas out of St. Patrick's. Thomsas, a 6'8 banger, is expected to decide in the very near future and it looks like a battle between Kansas and Rutgers. For the longest time, Thomas wanted to leave the area, but not go too far. However, he has relaxed that stance and is very open to staying in New Jersey, but the basketball atmosphere at Kansas might have him leaning that way.

Rutgers also recently hosted Texan BF Dwight Miller for an official visit. Miller seems to be just getting into the recruiting process and has a lengthy list of schools. Miller is new to the game and is rapidly developing, he could find himself very much in demand in the spring if he chooses to wait until then to sign and take additional visits. Mount Vernon forward Kevin Jones also receives a lot of attention from the Scarlet Knights, but the Jones' family is very good at keeping the process under wraps and Rutgers is one of about eight schools that have a legitimate shot to land the inside/out threat.

Stay tuned...the Scarlet Knights will aggressively attempt to fill the last open scholarship. If all else fails, Canadaian Marvell Waithe could re-appear on the radar...

2007-2008 BIG EAST PREVIEW: 15) Rutgers

2007-09-22T10:04:00.000-04:00

September 22, 2007

THE RUTGERS ESSENTIALS:

Official Website of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Official 2007-2008 Rutgers Roster and Bios

Meet Coach Fred Hill

Louis Brown Athletic Center: aka ‘The RAC’

2007-2008 Rutgers Scarlet Knights’ Schedule

OVERVIEW:

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are set to begin the second season of the Fred Hill era and will hope to improve upon last season’s 3-13 conference mark which forced RU to miss the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden last March.

Fred Hill has long been touted as one of the best college basketball recruiters of New Jersey talent. He was very successful as the lead recruiter at both Seton Hall and Villanova as they brought in some of the best talent the Garden State had to offer while he was on staff. Now, he not only gets to recruit the talent, but he is responsible for molding them into a winner, something that has not happened much at all for Rutgers since they joined the Big East.

Fred Hill has been aggressively recruiting for Rutgers since his appointment as head coach, replacing Gary Waters after the 2005-2006 season, but the roster is still thin heading into this season and it could be a struggle for Rutgers to improve much on last year’s record.

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2006-2007 SEASON:

Last year the Scarlet Knights struggled scoring the basketball, averaging a conference worst 59.8 PPG on the season and just 58.2 in Big East action. Rutgers were also a league worst in field goal percentage (37.5% in league play) and 15th out of 16 teams in 3-pt shooting percentage (30.1%). In all, the Scarlet Knights were very inept in trying to replace 2006 NBA 1st round pick Quincy Douby and the scoring pop he provided. To make things even more worrisome for 2007-2008, Rutgers graduated two of their top three scorers from last year’s team (Marquis Webb and Adrian Hill).

To illustrate how tough it was for the Scarlet Knights to score last year, the scored 55 points or less 15 times in a game last season. JR Inman was their leading scorer at 12 PPG, but he struggled trying to become their go-to scorer as he hit just 40% from the floor. Marquis Webb was their leading 3-pt shooter at 34%, but the rest of the team manager a meager 28.7% shooting accuracy from the arc.

In addition to losing Webb and Adrian Hill due to graduation, the Scarlet Knights also saw Ollie Bailey leave the program this past summer and move to an NAIA school in Oklahoma. The Knights did not have the services last season of 6’9, 265 lb senior C Byron Joynes, who returns this season from injury and should help their painful lack of size in the paint.

THE BACKCOURT:

Fred Hill worked for several years under Jay Wright and Villanova and helped on the recruiting front for ‘Guard U’, so coach Hill knows the importance of building a program around top-level guards. Last season, Anthony Farmer and Courtney Nelson both struggled mightily shooting the ball. Nelson was shaking off the rust after transferring in from Rutgers and sitting out the 2005-2006 season per NCAA transfer rules. Farmer battled nagging arm/wrist injuries during the season and never found any consistency in his offensive game. They return with experience, but they will be pushed hard from a promising group of newcomers in the Rutgers backcourt.

The most anticipated new arrival is Corey Chandler, a 6’2 guard from East Side High School in Newark, NJ. Fred Hill locked up a commitment from the talented scorer early in the recruiting game. Chandler vowed to act as another recruiter for the Scarlet Knights, but his efforts will be better served with some successful time on the court to attract other locals to follow his lead. Chandler will provide an immediate lift to the meager Rutgers offense, but the freshman will need some help. He should be one of the most productive freshmen in the conference this year.

Three more guards also join the mix this season, led by Mount Vernon product Mike Coburn, a 6-foot point guard. Coburn was part of a very successful high school program under coach Bob Cimmino and will look to bring his winning experience to the Rutgers program. Versatile frontcourt player Earl Pettis, originally from Philadelphia, and sweet-shooting Justin Sofman also are part of the mix. This group has a lot of promise, but with any group of freshmen, especially in this conference, it is going to take them time to mature and get comfortable against this level of competition night in and night out.

Maybe the biggest key is the development of wing Jaron Griffin, a 6’6 junior G/F from Manchester, NJ. Griffin has size and athletic ability, along with 3-pt range to be a very productive wing in the league, maybe a poor man’s Demetris Nichols. However, like Nichols early on at Syracuse, Griffin’s lack of consistent production is frustrating the staff. Last season, playing a vital role in the system, Griffin bombed out averaging just 8 PPG and shooting an anemic 32% from the floor and 27% from 3-pt range. Griffin has too much talent to put up numbers like that again this season. If he can find his niche in the offense and Chandler can provide the boost he is capable of, the Rutgers offense should improve greatly.

THE FRONTCOURT:

This is easily the thinnest unit in the conference and it will be tough to be competitive night in and night out with their lack of numbers in the paint. As it stands right now, the Scarlet Knights have just three available bodies on scholarship in their frontcourt: JR Inman, Hamady N’Diaye and Byron Joynes. OUCH!

The leader of this group is clearly the multi-talented Inman. At 6’9, 220 lbs, Inman is built for success at the Big East level playing inside and out at the forward position. However, with a team desperately in need of help in the paint, do not expect the Scarlet Knights to be able to take advantage of his diverse talents because of their need for him to play like a power forward more than not. Inman managed to average 12 PPG last season and he can stuff the stat sheet with rebounds (7.3 led the team) and toss in some steals and blocks. If Inman can get some help up front, he could be a player that expands his game as much as anyone this season.

With just Joynes and N’Diaye to team with, do not expect much help. Joynes is a 5th year senior that is most effective taking up space in the middle. He knows how to throw his boy around, but he is not that productive on the offensive end nor as a big time rebounder. He takes up space. N’Diaye is a different story, still very raw, especially on the offensive end, N’Diaye does have a high amount of upside because of his size (6’11, 235) and athletic ability. Despite playing just 13 minutes a game last season, N’Diaye led the team in blocked shots. For Rutgers to improve, he must average nearly double that amount of time and be productive during that time.

Rutgers still seems to be involved with ultra-thin 6’6 Canadian import Marvel Waithe at this time. However, do not expect Waithe to turn up at Rutgers until at least the second semester as NCAA Clearinghouse issues continue to derail his career.

2007-2008 PREDICTION:

With their lack of depth, especially upfront, and their lack of proven scorers, it is tough to be high on the hopes of Rutgers this coming season. Individually, I like some of the pieces, but it remains to be seen if anyone is willing to take the leap and become a top-level Big East performer. JR Inman potentially could be that type of player, but he will need Corey Chandler and/or Jaron Griffin to be a consistent perimeter scoring threat every night and for Hamady N’Diaye to ramp up his progression as a top big man in the conference. If those ‘ifs’ develop positively, the Scarlet Knights could steal some wins when your not looking. However, those pieces must fall perfectly into place otherwise their lack of scoring and depth will continue to hold the Scarlet Knights back. Even their improved backcourt depth, while encouraging, will not be the answer if they are forced to go to a 4-guard line-up. Maybe in a few years, but expect another rough season at the RAC in 2007-2008.

BIG EAST PREDICTION: 4-14

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2007-07-16T16:07:00.000-04:00

July 16, 2007

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Christian Morris (C), South Kent Prep

Projected 2007-2008 Roster:

SENIORS: Byron Joynes (C)
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), Mike Cobourn (PG), Marvell Waithe (F)
2008 Early Commitment: Mike Rosario (G), Christian Morris (C)

The first part of the July evaluation period brough some bad news for Fred Hill and his Rutgers staff and some good news. Early in the month, Olu Ashaolu opted to re-open his recruitment after some spirited play at RBK U and other events. He still is considering the Scarlet Knights, but he wants to be able to play on the perimeter in college. However, today Fred Hill got some better news as Christian Morris decided to end his recruitment with the news that Morris is Headed to Rutgers (zagsblog)

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Recruiting is a funny game for sure. Over the weekend, while playing at the Joe Brown Memorial Tournament, Christian Morris indicated that he was going to look around in the recruiting process a little more and get a sense of who else is out there. This came as a bit of a surprise as many beleived he was on the verge of joining the Rutgers program as a verbal commitment. Well, Monday morning came and Morris thought the time was right and he made the verbal pledge to join the Scarlet Knights for the 2008 class.

Morris is a 6'9, 270 lb center that definitely will remind some of Byron Joynes. I am not completely sure how accurate the 270 lb measurement is, because Morris is DEFINITELY big and 270 seems a bit light right now for him. Morris is definitely an inside horse, but getting his weight and conditioning in control will make him effective at the Big East level. He definitely has the potential to be nimble in the post, but if he is not in shape, he has trouble staying out of foul trouble and being effective on both ends of the floor. Morris is a NYC native that Rutgers has made their top big man target for a few months now. Immediate playing time is very likely at Rutgers as he will team with hamady N'Diaye as the only true post players on their roster.

The additionl of Morris, on paper, leaves the Scarlet Knights with one scholarship left for the class of 2008 with the most obvious need still coming in the form of help upfront. St. Patrick BF Quintrell Thomas has seen his recruitment skyrocket this spring, but Rutgers was on him early. Forwards Mookie Jones (Peekskill, NY) and Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon) have also been high on the RU radar. Rutgers remains in the picture for Ashaolu, but their need for players on the frontline might steer him away from the program. There are ongoing concerns on whether Marvel Waithe will get through the clearinghouse to join Rutgers for the 2007-2008 season. He would be an athletic forward that might not help much underneath, but adds versatility and athleticism to the mix.

Rutgers seems to be pretty stacked at the guard positioin with 2007 recruits Corey Chandler, Mike Cobourn, Justin Sofman and Earl Pettis. Their earlier commitment for 2008 from Mike Rosario strenghtened their guard corps even more as Rosario looks to be the perfect compliment to Cobourn and Chandler in a future 3-guard set. Rosario was St. Anthony's leading scorer as a junior and has shown the ability to score in bunches, something Rutgers has struggled mightily to do.

Fred Hill continues to work his tail off to increase the recrutiing profile of the Scarlet Knights. We will keep following the recruiting stories of Rutgers going forward.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2007-05-29T08:43:00.000-04:00

May 29, 2007

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Olu Ashaolu, 6'6, 230-pound from Christian Life Center in Houston, TX.

Projected 2007-2008 Roster:

SENIORS: Ollie Bailey (PF), Byron Joynes (C)
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), Mike Cobourn (PG), Marvell Waithe (F)
2008 Early Commitment: Mike Rosario (G), Olu Ashaolu (F)

Fred Hill and the Scarlet Knights got some good news over the Memorial Day holiday weekend when 6'6 forward Olu Ashaolu chose the Scarlet Knights as his future college destination. Ashaolu to Rutgers (Zagsblog) makes the RU faithful very excited as he joins Mike Rosario in a 2008 class off to a very good start.

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Rutgers reached into their international contacts again and Fred Hill added an impressive athlete to his stable of players with the commitment of Olu Ashaolu to their class of 2008. Ashaolu is a native of Nigeria and grew up in Toronto and wanted to attend school closer to his Tonronto home. If you recall, Olu's older brother Sam was the most seriously injured in the shootings at Duquesne last fall. Being so far away from his family in Texas, Olu definitely felt the need to come closer to home and Rutgers ended being the place he felt most comfotable at, which helped that he is friendly with Rutgers big man Hamady N'Diaye, a native of Senegal.

Ashaolu is a powerful and athletic forward that will attack the rim on offense and hit the boards on the other end of the floor. He still needs to refine his skill level to be as effective as he can in the Big East as he wont be able to outjump and out-muscle everyone, but the upside is there to be a very good college player because of his advanced athletic ability and strength. He has a well-travelled resume, so he will be hitting the Big East running because he has played against high-level competition for several years already.

The additionl of Ashaolu, on paper, leaves the Scarlet Knights with one scholarship left for the class of 2008 with the most obvious need coming in the form of a big man. The big-prize target it St. Benedict's big man Samardo Samuels, however the competition is tough as he is one of the most coveted players in the class fo 2008 and has schools like UConn, North Carolina, Florida and Louisville after him aggressively as their top post target. 6'8 big forward Christian Morris of South Kent Prep is another big target for Fred Hill. The former NYC product is a nimble bull on the inisde and would be an outstanding addition to the Big East school's roster. St. Patrick BF Quintrell Thomas has seen his recruitment skyrocket this spring, but Rutgers was on him early. Forwards Mookie Jones (Peekskill, NY) and Kevin Jones (Mount Vernon) have also been high on the RU radar. The addition of Ashaolu clouds the picture for elite wing Devin Ebanks and Rutgers, altough at this point Ebanks seems to be narrowing things down between Miami and Indiana.

Rutgers seems to be pretty stacked at the guard positioin with 2007 recruits Corey Chandler, Mike Cobourn, Justin Sofman and Earl Pettis. Their earlier commitment for 2008 from Mike Rosario strenghtened their guard corps even more as Rosario looks to be the perfect compliment to Cobourn and Chandler in a future 3-guard set. Rosario was St. Anthony's leading scorer as a junior and has shown the ability to score in bunches, something Rutgers has struggled mightily to do.

Fred Hill continues to work his tail off to increase the recrutiing profile of the Scarlet Knights. We will keep following the recruiting stories of Rutgers going forward.

RUTGERS 2007-2008 SNAPSHOT

2007-05-03T15:26:00.000-04:00

May 3, 2007

Head Coach: Fred Jill, Jr
2006-2007 Record: 10-19 (3-13 in Big East)

Returning Players:
Byron Joynes, Senior (Center)
Ollie Bailey, Senior (Forward)
Anthony Farmer, Junior (Point Guard)
Jaron Griffin, Junior (Guard/Forward)
JR Inman, Junior (Forward)
Courtney Nelson, Junior (Guard)
Hamady N'Diaye, Sophomore (Center)

Incoming Players:
Corey Chandler (Guard)
Earl Pettis (Guard)
Mike Cobourn (Guard)
Justin Sofman (Guard)
Marvel Waithe (Forward)

Graduated Players:
Marquis Webb
Adrian Hill

Open Items/Issues:
The Scarlet Knights are still battling in-state rival for the serives of Mike Davis, the much-traveled 6'9 BF/C from NYC. Davis would give Rutgers a much-needed Big East body upfront to go with Byron Joynes and the developing Hamady N'Diaye. Rutgers also has a verbal commitment, reportedly, from Marvel Waithe of Canada. Waithe still has to make it through the NCAA Clearinghouse to obtain eligibility for next season, something he was unable to accomplish last season when he committed to Loyola.

Summary:
Rutgers struggled in Fred Hill's first seasons as head coach of the Scarlet Knights, posting a woeful 3-13 conference mark as they never found a way to score points consistently, hitting for less than 60 pts in 16 contests last year. They are adding some perimeter firepower through recruiting with Corey Chandler, an exciting scoring guard, Justin Sofman, a sweet-shooting guard, Earl Pettis and Mike Cobourn. They also welcome back Byron Joynes from a medical redshirt, but this team still looks like it will struggle scoring, especially in the paint, which will unlikely create much room on the perimeter as it will be difficult for Rutgers to play inside-out.

There are some players I really like potentially, especially JR Inman and Hamady N'Diaye, but neither look to be the type to carry a team and are still more in terms potential than finished product. The rest of the returning players would largely make up role players on other Big East teams. The newcomers definitely have potential to be a good backcourt in the future, but will take their licks next season. Making the Big East Tournament is a legitimate goal for Rutgers, but they definitely seem like a team that will be on the outside looking in at Madison Square Garden early next March.

BIG EAST RECRUITING UPDATE: RUTGERS

2007-04-24T10:32:00.000-04:00

April 24, 2007

VERBAL COMMITMENT ALERT: Marvell Waithe, F from the Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute in Toronto

Projected 2007-2008 Roster:

SENIORS: Ollie Bailey (PF), Byron Joynes (C)
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), Mike Cobourn (PG), Marvell Waithe (F)
2008 Early Commitment: Mike Rosario (G)

Affectionately known as 'Mr. New Jersey' for his recruiting prowess in the Garden State, Fred Hill crosses the national border this time and heads to the Great North and Canada to land RU's latest commitment in Marvell Waithe. The Forward Will Help RU Hoops as they try to fortify their front court. (Journal News).

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Read More...Click 'Read More' Below!!!

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Marvell Waithe has been on the Rutgers radar for quite some time. We read about him nearly deciding to join the Scarlet Knights last apring as Waithe was close to signing with Rutgers, but committed to Loyola of Chicago, and took summer classes there last year. He returned for a fifth year of high school after the NCAA changed a rule for incoming Canadians, requiring them to have 14 core classes instead of eight. Waithe, a 6-foot-9, 185-pound forward from the Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute in Toronto, has been compared to a Tayshaun Prince-type forward who can block shots, shoot the 3-pointer, rebound and run the floor according to Ro Russell, who founded the Toronto Academy Prep School (TAPS, a program team that finished 45-5 against elite competition on the prep circuit last season in which Waithe scored 25 PPG and added 10 rebounds a contest. Russell said Waithe’s attending Rutgers was dependent on whether he was cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse and will need to add some weight and strength to compete in the rugged Big East.

Rutgers has one more scholarships open at this time and despite their desperate need for size in the frontcourt among their younger players, they are not expected to offer Mike Davis a scholarship, despite the many connections Davis has with the Rutgers staff, specifically Craig Carter. Davis is likely to commit to Seton Hall in the coming days. With two seniors, both frontcourt players (Joynes and Bailey), the Scarlet Knights better get moving on 2008 frontcourt prospects early and often!

BIG EAST GAME PREVIEW: Notre Dame @ Rutgers

2007-03-02T14:40:00.000-05:00

March 3, 2007

Notre Dame looks to put the finishing touches on a surprising season by earning a Big East Tournament bye for round one. The Irish weren't expected to challenge for the league's elite spots this season after barely getting into the conference tournament last year, but this team proved early on that they were going to play better defense, rebound better and share the basketball better than the previous Notre Dame teams that under-achieved.

Rutgers is definitely playing out the strong. The Scarlet Knights have just three conference victories, two over Cincinnati and one over Seton Hall, not much to brag about there. Rutgers will hopefully have better days ahead, but they are still weak in the frontcourt compared to other Big East teams. They have a lot of work ahead of them.

However, something about Rutgers, especially at the RAC, that gets Notre Dame nervous. This is a different Notre Dame team and this is not the same RAC we have been used to. Although, it should have a little extra oomph on Saturday when they bid farewell to Marquis Webb in his last home game.

NBE Blogger Prediction: Notre Dame 66 Rutgers 57