There’s no question about it: Rutgers’ basketball team is going to be a force next season. Seven members of the Scarlet Knights’ nine-man rotation are back after a breakthrough 20-11 campaign. The preseason Top 25 is a possibility.
“With this group coming back, I’m excited,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “If we can stay healthy, this team has a chance to be really good.”
Just how good depends on the offseason. And right now, that’s where the question lies. Pikiell’s calling card is player development, but with the coronavirus shutting down society, no one knows how much access he’ll have to his team over the next few months.
“I don’t even know if we’re having school this summer,” Pikiell said Wednesday. “You hope you recruited kids that are going to be in the gym anyway. It’s really going to be on them. I told them the other day, ‘You’ve got to be working out on your own and getting better.’”
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Of course, there’s a catch to that, too.
“I do trust my guys, but the other part is, all the gyms and (fitness) centers are closed,” Pikiell said. “They really don’t have a place to go to work out. I’m always a big game-plan guy, and there’s no game plan for this.”
Every coaching staffis facing the same obstacles. That extends to the recruiting trail, where Pikiell’s sharp eye for spotting overlooked talent and assessing fit will be tested.
“You can watch stuff online to get the best feel for guys that you can,” he said. “I don’t even know if we’re going to be out (evaluating prospects) this summer.”
Rutgers has one open scholarship for next season and one commitment from the Class of 2021 in four-star guard Jaden Jones.
“A lot of stuff is going to be on hold,” Pikiell said. “You can’t even have kids on campus for visits. You need to have a kid come and visit; that’s how you get to really know them. Right now it looks like we’re going to be doing recruiting by phone and not evaluating (in person). That’s not a good way to do it.”
Coaches typically get three to four weeks of player development and strength-training time with their players in the spring, before the semester ends. That’s wiped out. So Pikiell is setting his sights toward the summer and hoping for the best.
“This biggest thing is, I want to see us back here working,” he said. “Let’s get everyone back here as soon as we can and get to work.”
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Here are Jerry Carino's five offseason priorities for the Scarlet Knights:
1. Land Cliff Omoruyi. The 6-foot-10 center from Roselle Catholic, whose presence at Rutgers has been ubiquitous over the past year, is announcing his college decision March 29. He’s down to the Scarlet Knights, Arizona State and Auburn, and Rutgers is believed to be in great position. Omoruyi is raw offensively but would make an immediate impact on defense and the glass.
2. Assess the graduate transfer market. At the moment Rutgers has just one scholarship open, for Omoruyi, but that almost certainlywill change as the transfer merry-go-round accelerates. Pikiell has plucked two high-impact postgrads over the past four years (C.J. Gettys, Akwasi Yeboah), so that could be an avenue to fill a hole. More than likely, Pikiell will keep the scholarship in his pocket and roll it over to 2021.
3. Keep the core together. Last Junethe program’s leading scorer and rebounder, Eugene Omoruyi, defected to Oregon to the shock of everyone in the program. No one expects a key player to leave this offseason, but every team will be dealing with the same concern: With players heading home and lacking face-to-face contact with the coaching staff for an extended period, it’s prime opportunity for people with agendas to get in guys’ ears.
4. Round out the non-conference schedule. Right now Rutgers is visiting Seton Hall, hosting in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and back in the Gavitt Games against an unknown Big East opponent. The Scarlet Knights also are visiting UMass and hosting a three- or four-team exempt tournament that includes Miami of Ohio. Asked if he would consider entering a neutral-site Feast Week tournament if a spot opened, Pikiell said, “I’m not really thinking that way right now.” The rest of the schedule will be filled out with mid- and low-majors.
5. Improve the shooting. Rutgers shot just 31 percent from 3-point range and 64 percent from the free-throw line last season, and the team’s sharpshooter, Yeboah (.355, .781) is leaving. It’s the one obvious weakness. Incoming freshmen Mawot Mag and Oskar Palmquist have reputations for marksmanship, but ultimately it falls to the returnees to get better. If that happens, look out.
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him atjcarino@gannettnj.com.
