2024-25 ITH Season Preview: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

  • 09/25/2024 7:07 pm in

With the start of college basketball season in early November, we’ll examine the conference as a whole and Indiana’s roster over the coming weeks.

Today, our team previews continue with Rutgers.

Previously: Penn State, Washington, Minnesota, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Oregon, Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Illinois

A new era of Rutgers basketball will tip off in November with big-time expectations. After the Scarlet Knights limped to a 15-17 overall record last winter, Steve Pikiell brought in his most talented recruiting class ever.

Pikiell built Rutgers into a respectable and winning Big Ten program with a defense-first mindset, player development and toughness. When Pikiell arrived in Piscataway, Rutgers was the league’s laughingstock following the forgettable Eddie Jordan era.

Those days are long in the rearview mirror, but a significant roster overhaul means Pikiell doesn’t have the Big Ten experience he’s been accustomed to in seasons past. He does, however, have a roster full of talent.

Two of the top three players in the final Recruiting Service Consensus Index (RSCI) rankings are now on the Rutgers roster: guard Dylan Harper and wing Ace Bailey, two likely lottery picks in next June’s NBA draft.

The 6-foot-6 Harper, the younger brother of program legend Ron Harper Jr., was the McDonald’s All-American Game MVP and is expected to be the primary facilitator offensively. Harper is expected to be the starting point guard, and while there will be bumps in the road during his debut season, he’s arguably the most talented guard in the league.

Bailey, a 6-foot-10 forward, can score from anywhere on the floor and will be one of the best athletes in the Big Ten from day one. He has the tools to be an elite defender, too, but he will have to adjust to the physicality in the college game and become more selective with the shots he takes.

There’s little question that Harper and Bailey will be highly productive immediately, but the complementary pieces will largely determine the ceiling of this Rutgers team.

The Scarlet Knights return a pair of guards who should help take some of the heat off of Harper to dominate every game. Sophomore Jamichael Davis and redshirt senior Jeremiah Williams, who didn’t play until February last season, could start alongside Harper in the revamped backcourt.

A 6-foot-2 guard, Davis will embrace the challenge of guarding the opposition’s best ball handler. He can pressure the ball but will need to become more efficient offensively. In 23.1 minutes per game last season, Davis averaged 5.6 points and shot just 37.1 percent from the field.

Williams played at Temple and Iowa State before arriving in Piscataway. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 12.2 points last season and is a physical guard who can score and create for others.

Eastern Michigan transfer guard Tyson Acuff could compete for a starting spot or serve as instant offense as a reserve. The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 21.7 points last season in 37.9 minutes per game. A career 81.2 percent free throw shooter, Acuff earned All-Mid-American Conference third-team honors last season.

The center position is full of question marks following the transfer of Cliff Omoroyi to Alabama. The Scarlet Knights will try to find reliable production from junior Emmanuel Ogbole and freshman Lathan Sommerville. Ogbole might get the first crack at starting. The 6-foot-10 big man averaged just 2.1 points and two rebounds last season in 8.1 minutes per game behind Omoruyi. Ogbole returned late last season after a knee injury and Rutgers hopes he can be fully healthy this season. Sommerville is 6-foot-10 and listed at 280 pounds, giving Pikiell a big man who will bring legitimate size and some physicality to the paint.

Three other transfers should figure heavily into the forward and wing rotation. Zach Martini, a graduate transfer from Princeton, is 6-foot-8 and brings size and shooting. Last season, Martini shot 38.5 percent on 3s and averaged 8.4 points for the Tigers.

Jordan Derkack was the player of the year in the Northeast Conference and averaged 17 points, six rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.1 steals for Merrimack.

And PJ Hayes IV arrives from San Diego as a 6-foot-6 grad transfer who can shoot it from distance (39.7 percent). Hayes and Martini can help space the floor for Harper and Bailey, while Derkack is a proven scorer who can also defend, which will likely earn him plenty of minutes.

Two other freshmen, 6-foot-7 Dylan Grant and 6-foot-9 Bryce Dortch, are both three-star recruits who will benefit from practicing against Bailey every day for a season, which should pay major dividends in their development.

The projections for Rutgers are all over the map. Bart Torvik’s projections have the Scarlet Knights at No. 18 nationally entering the season. However, the Blue Ribbon college basketball yearbook has Rutgers at 15th in the Big Ten. The Lindy’s Sports college basketball preview magazine is more optimistic, picking the Scarlet Knights to finish ninth in the league.

Bottom line: Rutgers will be must watch most nights because of Harper and Bailey, who are projected to be one-and-done players and the top two freshmen in the league. Losing Omoruyi is a major blow because of the rim protection he provided and the fact that there’s no surefire option to replace him. Rutgers has the talent to return to the NCAA tournament next spring and will need to do just that to deem the season a success.

Quotable: “You know what’s great about those two guys? They’re NBA passers. They’re elite passers. So it’s been a real joy to coach guys who really know how to pass and are big enough to make all kinds of passes and are willing passers. Our size is different. We’re big at every position, and then with the passing ability of those two guys, you can do a lot of thing offensively when you have two elite passers who can shoot the ball. They open up a lot of things for me as a coach and for our team.” – Pikiell on Harper and Bailey in a preseason Q & A with the Asbury Park Press.

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