Can Hill and Rutgers finally cash in on the home state’s riches?
To say that the state of New Jersey is a basketball hotbed may be one of the biggest understatements that anyone can make. New Jersey is a basketball factory where big-time players are woven and constructed on the playgrounds and in dilapidated gyms. The state is a recruiter’s heaven. Yet, heaven hasn’t been so sweet to Rutgers the State University of New Jersey.
Over the years, New Jersey has produced an excess of talent from its northern tips of Mahwah all the way to the southern tips of Cape May. It just seems that the Scarlet Knights have yet to cash in.
When Rutgers was part of the Atlantic 10 Conference, no one could fault them for losing big-time Jersey recruits like Roderick Rhodes, Bobby Hurley and Terry Dehere to national power houses like Kentucky, Duke and Seton Hall. But after joining the Big East in 1995, it was then clear that the pressure was on.
Since the days of BobWenzel, all the way down to Gary Waters, Rutgers has repeatedly been slapped in the face by local Jersey stars. If your memory is a little bit cloudy, let me help clear it up.
Tim Thomas, a Paterson native, was regarded as the best player in New Jersey and second only to Kobe Bryant in the country in 1996. He chose Villanova, as did his college roommate Malik Allen, from Medford, who was the second-best big man in the state that same year. Thomas and Allen now both play for the Chicago Bulls.
Shaheen Holloway, who starred at St. Patrick’s High School in Elizabeth, was touted by many as the best point guard in America in 1996. He was voted MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game in that same year. He chose Seton Hall.
Al Harrington was the cream of the crop in his class in 1998. He was voted the National Gatorade Player of the Year. The 6’9 forward opted for the NBA instead. At least we can let them off the hook on that one.
Jay Williams, the St. Joseph High star, was another guy who was the best player in the country in 2000. He took his lighting quick dribble and silky smooth jump shot down to Durham with the Duke Blue Devils, where he won a national championship. Rutgers did land Dahntay Jones, the Steinhart High standout, but he eventually left and joined Williams at Duke. Jones now plays for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Dajuan Wagner was another in the long line of high scoring guards from Camden High. He led the state in scoring as a freshman. The electrifying guard was hands down the best player in the country in 2001, scoring 100 points in a South Jersey high school game. Wagner was then stolen away by John Calipari and the boys down at Memphis.
Luol Deng, who starred at Blair Academy, was considered America’s second best player in 2002 only because a guy named Lebron James was first. Deng played one year for Duke and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls where he now teams with older Jersey boys Thomas and Allen.
So now we come to today. And yes, Jersey is still overloaded with talent. And yes, Rutgers is still missing the boat. Derrick Character, depending on who you talk to, is the first or second-best player in the state this year. Character has starred for St. Patrick’s and his hometown Scotch Plains high in the past three years. He has signed with Louisville, as did Earl Clark, a 6’7 point guard out of Rahway High who some say is the best player in New Jersey and in many publications ranked in the top 15 players in the country.
As of today, they still have a chance at Lance Thomas, a 6’8 forward out of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark. Although, the chance at Lance looks slim since they are in competition with Arizona, Duke, Georgia Tech, St. John’s, Villanova and Wake Forest.
If there is an excuse, I just don’t see it. The Rutgers Athletic Center, known to many as “The RAC”, is one of the best college basketball facilities in the Big East, if not the country. The school has a great educational reputation and a multicultural student body. It sits almost halfway between New York City and Philadelphia with a train station in the middle of campus that can take you to both. They are a member of the Big East Conference which means TELEVISION EXPOSURE!!! What more could you want?
Rutgers has to soon find out a way to snag these blue chip recruits. With the arrival of new assistant coach Fred Hill, the Scarlet Knights may have found what they need to get over the hump. Hill is a New Jersey native with strong ties to North Jersey where a majority of the talent is located. Known as a top notch recruiter, Hill comes from a family of coaches as his father, Fred Hill Sr., is currently head coach of the Scarlet Knight baseball team. His uncle, Brian Hill is the head coach of the Orlando Magic.
If Hill is indeed the answer, he and Rutgers have to figure things out soon. With the expansion of the Big East, time is now ticking. Shortly, the new teams of the Big East are going to come knocking on promising Jersey recruits’ doors. They’ll be hoping to get a piece of that sweet pie. Rutgers can only hope that they’re the staff that will be answering those doors, explaining that the pie is already gone.
