A disappointing season for Rutgers men’s basketball comes down to this week’s Big Ten Tournament. And for college basketball analyst Raphael Davis, the dip from Rutgers was expected in many ways.
But, the Big Ten analyst doesn’t expect Rutgers to stay there for long. Davis believes that Rutgers will be one of the top programs in the nation next year.
It has been a down year for Rutgers basketball (15-16, 7-13 Big Ten) ahead of this week’s Big Ten Tournament. Rutgers opens the tournament on Wednesday against Maryland.
Rutgers has a top 10 recruiting class coming in, highlighted by two five-star recruits in forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag]. Also coming in is four-star [autotag]Lathan Sommerville[/autotag], a forward/center.
So despite the dip from Rutgers this year, a campaign that likely snaps a three-year streak of postseason appearances, Davis believes Rutgers will take a big step forward next year.
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And, they will go into next year anything but down, Davis said.
“They’re my favorite, I mean, obviously, you don’t know who’s going to get who in the portal, and I still think Rutgers will be a shooter away, a dead-eye shooter away,” Davis told Rutgers Wire on Monday.
“If, in the portal, they can get that to go along with the haul they got coming in to go along with if Cliff (All-Big Ten center Cliff Omoruyi) comes back…Derek Simpson…Jeremiah Williams. With what they can bring defensively, I think if they can get it right in the portal, Rutgers can definitely come and be in the top 25 and the favorite in the Big Ten.”
This season has been a disappointment for Rutgers but understandably so. The Scarlet Knights lost two key pieces in the transfer portal this summer from last year’s top in guards Paul Mulcahy (Washington) and Cam Spencer (UConn) and were unable to adequately replace either player so late in the cycle.
It is a fall from grace for Rutgers for sure, but one that might have been predictable given these late losses.
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A former standout guard at Purdue, Davis refers to his own college career to provide some perspective on this Rutgers season.
Davis made the connection between what Pikiell has done at Rutgers with the tremendous rebuild undertaken by Matt Painter at Purdue.
The Purdue head coach took over the Boilermakers in 2005. Following a losing first season with the Big Ten program, Painter took Purdue to the NCAA Tournament in six of his next seven seasons.
Then, Purdue underwent two years with a losing record and no NCAA Tournament appearances. They had some big losses due to graduation, including JaJuan Johnson (an All-Big Ten selection and a first round pick), E’Twaun Moore (an All-Big Ten guard) and Robbie Hummel (an All-Big Ten forward). It took two seasons, but Purdue bounced back.
Rutgers is going through a similar time, Davis explained.
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Since that dip, Painter rebuilt Purdue and led them to seven NCAA Tournaments in as many seasons that the tournament was held (due to COVID-19, the NCAA Tournament was not held following the 2019-20 regular season).
“I mean, we were dead last place in my sophomore year in the Big Ten so that was two years after those guys left,” Davis said of his time at Purdue.
“This the second year after (former Rutgers All-Big Ten guard) Geo Baker left. I just got to think you’re going through a transition as a program. And you have those years where you kind of go through your ups and downs. And then with this new transfer portal and stuff like that, it’s a little more detrimental when you lose guys late.
“But I think of coach Painter and going from last place in the Big Ten through losing some guys and now he’s regarded as one of the best coaches in college basketball. So I think we need to think about it that way. You kind of kind of expect the ups and downs of college basketball.”