Category: Rutgers basketball

Rutgers basketball recruiting – Deron Rippey Jr. moves up in the national rankings

Deron Rippey Jr. has moved up the national rankings.

Deron Rippey Jr. is seeing his recruitment take off, with the New Jersey class of 2026 prospect shooting up the national rankings. He is one of the top recruitings targets for Rutgers in the 2026 class.

Rippey, who visited Rutgers in February for an 82-52 win over Michigan, is a 6-foot-2 guard from Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey).  A strong summer has translated to a nice rise in the recruiting rankings for one of the top guards in the nation.

The move up the rankings sees Rippey jump from No. 39 in the nation to now being No. 21 in the 247Sports Rankings. He is the top-ranked player in New Jersey

He has an offer list that includes Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Maryland, St. John’s, Providence, Syracuse, TCU, Villanova and West Virginia among others.

In March, Rippey talked with Rutgers Wire about his official visit to the Big Ten program.

“It’s been surprising to see how much coach Pike has been keeping up on my game and my development. I knew that he came to watch some of my games.

“But I didn’t know that he’s been recruiting me for a long time, been watching some of my games and film and that he knew about my development,” Rippey told Rutgers Wire in mid-March.

“And also just the way they play. Coming into the game, I thought it’d be a good rivalry between Rutgers and Michigan.

“Michigan has always been really good, but just seeing how Rutgers – like they took the game seriously and they’re very competitive. It really surprised me. It honestly makes me excited to see how much they’re growing. You know, like Michigan is a major school, just seeing Rutgers be able to overpower (them)…it was just interesting to see how much they’re growing. And even in the next few years like, Dylan (Harper) being committed – just to see the growth is pretty amazing.”

Rutgers currently has a top-10 recruiting class with the five-star duo of freshmen [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag] already on campus.

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ESPN ranks Rippey as the No. 40 player in their ESPN 60 rankings.

Rutgers Tyson Acuff expected to miss three months following foot injury (report)

The Scarlet Knights announced that Tyson Acuff fractured his right foot in practice earlier this week.

Rutgers basketball got some worrisome news on Friday as transfer portal addition Tyson Acuff fractured his right foot in practice earlier this week. He is expected to miss three months of basketball activities with Rutgers.

Although Acuff is expected to be ready for the regular season, the injury is less than an ideal start to his Rutgers career.

The former Eastern Michigan Star is coming off the best season of his college career. During the 2023-2024 campaign, he averaged 21.7 points and 2.8 assists per game. Rutgers is hoping that he can build on those numbers.

Over the next few weeks, the focus for Acuff will be putting himself in a position to get back on the court as quickly as possible. This year, Rutgers has higher expectations than ever before due to their freshman class. Their new lineup will include potential stars such as Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, and Lathan Somerville.

Tyson Acuff had a big game today against Cleveland State

31 points
6 rebounds
2 steals
11-17 FG
2-5 3PT

The 6’4 EMU bucket getter has a very solid scoring game… knows how to get to his spots and score at a high level.

He’ll be a pro somewhere pic.twitter.com/fGGP9QCagG

— Arman Jovic (@PDTScouting) November 19, 2023

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When Acuff is back in the mix, that talented trio will have a veteran piece and proven scorer to rely on. If his rehab goes as expected, the Detroit native should be back in action by November.

What are the details for 4-star Jaylen Harrell and his commitment ceremony?

Jaylen Harrell is set to make his college announcement on Monday.

Jaylen Harrell announced the time and details for his commitment ceremony. With Rutgers basketball in the mix for the four-star forward, this is certainly a ceremony worth monitoring for the Big Ten program.

Harrell is one of the top recruits in the class of 2025. The 6-foot-8 forward from CATS Academy (Boston, Massachusetts) recently announced a top six of   Kansas, Alabama, Providence, Xavier, Rutgers and Virginia Tech.

If is from that top six which Harrell will commit on Monday, July 1.

He is a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 86 overall recruit in the On3 Industry Rankings.

Harrell will air his commitment via the On3 YouTube channel at 7:00 p.m. ET.

He is the top-ranked player in Massachusetts according to 247Sports. He took an official visit to Rutgers in late January.

 

In March, he took official visits to Providence and Xavier.

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Rutgers is coming off a strong class of 2024 that is top-10 in the nation. The incoming class features two recruits who are ranked as five-star players in forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

Dorian Jones, a 4-star guard, has Rutgers basketball in his final four

Dorian Jones has a final four that includes Rutgers basketball.

Ahead of a commitment next week, Dorian Jones has a final four that includes Rutgers basketball.

Rutgers is one of three Big Ten programs to make the cutdown for Jones, who is one of the top players in the nation in the class of 2025. He is a 6-foot-1 guard from Richmond Heights (Cleveland, Ohio).

The final four from Jones included Michigan, Missouri and Ohio State in addition to Rutgers. He also has a commitment date of July 1.

Rivals ranks Jones as the No. 67 recruit in the nation and the No. 15 shooting guard in his class. He is an explosive athlete on the dribble with the ability to pull up and knock down from range.

Jones is a playmaker with the ball in his hands and can create his own shot, get to the rim or knock down an open three. He is a pest defensively with a high work rate.

His final four was broken by Joe Tipton of On3:

 

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The Rutgers 2024 recruiting class is top 10 nationally and includes five-star forward [autotag]Airious ‘Ace’ Bailey[/autotag] and five-star guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

Rutgers basketball makes the cutdown for Jaylen Harrell, commitment date approaches

Jaylen Harrell now has a top six that includes Rutgers basketball.

Jaylen Harrell, one of the top recruits in the class of 2025 and a priority recruit for Rutgers basketball, released his top cutdown on Monday.

And that top six from the 6-foot-8 forward from CATS Academy (Boston, Massachusetts) included Rutgers.

With a commitment date coming next week, Harrell has an impressive top six of Kansas, Alabama, Providence, Xavier and Virginia Tech in addition to Rutgers. ESPN ranks Harrell as a four-star and the second-best recruit in Massachusetts in his class as well as the No. 28 small forward in the nation.

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Harrell is the top player in Massachusetts and the No. 86 overall recruit in the nation.

The announcement of the top six was made by On3 and analyst Joe Tipton:

 

Via Tipton, Harrell will make his college announcement on July 1.

Harrell took an official visit to Rutgers in January.

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He also held offers from Georgetown, UMass, Wake Forest and Washington among others.

Former Rutgers star Drew Conover is turning things around in the Oakland A’s system

As Ryan Lasko has caught fire at the plate, Drew Conover has found his rhythm on the mound and put together the best stretch of his minor league career

June has been a good month for former Rutgers baseball players in the Oakland A’s minor league system. As Ryan Lasko has caught fire at the plate, Drew Conover has also found his rhythm on the mound and put together the best stretch of his minor league career.

In his last three appearances, Conover has posted a 2.45 ERA in 11 innings. During that span, the 22-year-old has struck out 14 batters and held opponents to a .171 batting average. Due to his recent play, Conover’s ERA has dropped from  21.32 to 9.32

Over the last few weeks, Conover has been a productive arm while working out of trouble. The former 11th-round pick is still walking a lot of batters, but he has avoided big innings. That was not the case in May when he allowed 13 runs in 10.2 innings of work.

One reliever who could shoot up draft boards is RHP Drew Conover (@RutgersBaseball). Slingy arm action, Low 3/4 slot and throws a bowling ball sinker that’s been up to 97 and just dives into RHH hands. High spin SL is a sw/miss pitch with spin rate pushing 3,000

Top-8 round pot. pic.twitter.com/JY2Kb2rEPv

— Peter Flaherty III (@PeterGFlaherty) February 7, 2023

Additionally, after splitting time between the rotation and bullpen, Conover’s last three appearances have come as a starter. That is the longest stretch he has gone this year being used out of the rotation. During his time at Rutgers, the former Cape Cod League All-Star only made four appearances as a reliever.

While Conover is far from a finished product, he has shown he can work out of trouble. For Oakland, that is an encouraging sign as during the 2024 campaign, the New Jersey native has split time between Rookie Ball and Single-A. As he has faced adversity, Conover has gotten better.

For Conover the key will be building on his success as the innings pile up. Over the last few weeks he has shown how good he can be.

Five-star Jordan Smith Jr. offered by Rutgers basketball

Jordan Smith Jr. is offered by Rutgers men’s basketball this week.

A big-time offer went out from Rutgers basketball this week to Jordan Smith Jr.

The Rutgers basketball recruiting target is part of the United States national team that will participate in the U17 FIBA World Cup.

A five-star guard from Paul VI Catholic (Fairfax, Virginia), Smith is the No. 8 player in the 247Sports Composite. He is the second-best shooting guard in the class of 2026 in the 247 rankings.

He is a class of 2026 recruit.

On3 ranks him as the top player in Virginia in their Industry Rankings and the seventh-best overall recruit nationally. He has a strong and well-rounded skill set, with the ability to put the ball on the floor and a very fluid shooting machine. He is silky smooth in transition.

Defensively, he works hard on and off the ball.

Not surprisingly, he has a strong offer list that includes Georgetown, Houston, Kansas, Kansas State, Louisville, Ohio State, Tennessee, Villanova and Virginia Tech among others.

Smith posted about the offer from Rutgers via his social media on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Rutgers had an impressive class of 2024 that featured two recruits ranked as five-star prospects in forward Ace Bailey and guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

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The class was ranked top-10 nationally.

Jayden Xu on his recent Rutgers basketball visit

Jayden Xu talks about his Rutgers basketball visit.

Jayden Xu took a recent visit over the weekend to Rutgers basketball. The Big Ten program, Xu said, left a strong and positive impression.

Xu is a 6-foot-5 guard from California who is part of the class of 2025. He is an impressive outside shooter who is beginning to see his recruitment generate some serious interest from a number of top programs such as Rice, UCSD and Rice in addition to several Ivy League programs.

Over the weekend, Xu visited Princeton on Saturday and Rutgers on Monday.

Xu went into depth about his visit to Rutgers and how the Scarlet Knights were able to catch his attention.

“Rutgers really impressed me. Their top-tier practice facilities caught my eye and the way the players are taken care of as well,” Xu told Rutgers Wire.

“It isn’t a secret that being a basketball player at a program like Rutgers is an experience many dream about, and after my visit, I can definitely see why. Their program is run tightly and extremely professionally, which I personally admire.”

He is coming off a strong junior season for Santa Monica High School (Santa Monica, California) where he was named All-Bay League.

Xu boasts a 4.55 G.P.A. and the academics side, as well as on the court, drew his attention to Rutgers.

 

“I take a lot of pride in not just basketball, but my academic career as well and Rutgers seems to have pathways for student-athletes like me,” Xu said.

“Their business program was highly praised by coach Larkin (assistant coach Mike Larkin(  during the visit and it drew my attention as well as I could see myself becoming a business major down the line.”

Xu doesn’t have any other visits planned, but he did say that he enjoyed the visit to Princeton as well. The blend of academics and basketball is important to Xu.

 

“The Princeton visit last Saturday was amazing. Their campus is great and Jadwin Gym is a spectacle,” Xu said.

“They’ve been in contact with me for a while and I finally got a chance to meet them and get a feel for the school – which I loved. I’m trying to land a spot at a college with a good blend of both academic and basketball prowess. It’s not only about the next four years for me, it’s also about setting up for the next 40.”

First round matchups for Players Era Festival revealed

On Wednesday,the Player Era Festival match-ups were revealed.

Rutgers basketball has found out their opponent for the first-ever Players Era Festival. The Festival, set for Thanksgiving week, will provide each team with at least $1 million in name, image, and likeness opportunities outside of the competition.

On Wednesday, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, revealed that Rutgers will take on Notre Dame, For Rutgers, this will be a chance to showcase a talented freshman class on the national stage.

(And some revenge for their last NCAA Tournament appearance where Notre Dame won in the play-in game).

Here is the breakdown of the Player Era Festival match-ups:

Matchups for the Players Era Festival where each team gets $1M in NIL money, via @JayBilas

Houston vs. Alabama
Rutgers vs. Notre Dame
San Diego State vs. Texas A&M
Oregon vs. Creightonhttps://t.co/JgTIQ0dga2

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) June 12, 2024

This upcoming season Rutgers lineup will include freshmen such as Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. That duo has raised expectations in Piscataway, with sights on an appearance in the Men’s NCAA Tournament. Against Notre Dame, Rutgers will be tested as the Fighting Irish will have a lot to prove following a disappointing 2023-2024 campaign.

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While the festival is still months away, it is expected to grow next year into an even larger field.

Rutgers basketball’s top scorer, Jeremiah Williams, set to play in the JSBL

Jeremiah Williams is set to play in the JSBL.

A heavy Rutgers basketball presence in the Jersey Shore Basketball League got a bolt of big news on Thursday. Jeremiah Williams, the top scorer for Rutgers last season, is set to play in the league.

Williams will play for the WCT Warriors. Last season for Rutgers, Williams showed some serious flashes of potential despite being limited to just 12 games.

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 12.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He is a big returning piece for Rutgers and a veteran presence on a roster that is exploding with talent. Among the projected key pieces for the Scarlet Knights this season are five-star forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and five-star guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

 

In a social media post announcing his commitment to Rutgers, the league said that Williams will be a significant part of a Warriors group that “should be one of the most improved teams” this summer.

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The league began play in the late 1960s and is NCAA-sanctioned.