2018 Recruiting

[Fuddrutgers]

I'm sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I've really gotten into this season and watched almost every game, as opposed to the EJ era. I have not been following recruiting at ALL. I know we landed Doucore and he is highly rated, but there is, to my knowledge, no video of him online.

I'm looking at 247's "2018 Targets" and I see only one player with what looks like real interest, in Montez Mathis, who ironically also has no video online.

I hope things aren't as bad as they seem. If anyone with the knowledge and willingness to make a list of kids that we are recruiting heavily for the class of 2018 that might not truly be "cool" on us, I would really appreciate it.

 

[MV9000]

2018 we have Doucoure who already verbaled. He was a 5star at one point per 247 and then is a solid 4 start top 150. Listed as a center but is about 6'9".

Mathis played for team USA and is apparently a talented guard.

Definitely need to secure some more interest. Not an awful start however if we can secure both and a solid juco perhaps.

 

[knights1212]

I know we are recruiting Naz Reid of Roselle Catholic and the Carey kid from Montclair Immaculate. What our chances are I have no idea. There is a thread above for who we are recruiting I think for 2017 & 2018. It is in the sticky threads.

 

[MV9000]

^^

Naz is waiting on a pending Kentucky offer from all reports. Carey i have no insight on or inclination to say hes interested.

Would love for us to go after Tavon Jones from Linden and look into a JUCO center if Naz is waiting on the best available.

 

[knights1212]

I have seen Tavon play over 30 times including 13 already this season and will see him again tonight vs. Columbia in round #2 of the state tournament. He is really good on defense and taking it to the basket. I think he needs to work a bit on his three although at times he does light it up from deep. He will definitely play D-1 but I have a feeling coach is looking more at a couple other guys. Being a LHS grad I would love to see a Linden guy at RU but they never offered Desmond Wade or Otis Livingston who were both first team All State. Tavon was second team last year on All Groups All; State so he was rated between 6-10 in the state as a soph. He just might make first team this year. He is very good. He steals the ball a lot as well. I know we really need outside shooters very bad.

 

[higgins3]

I'm sorry if this has been discussed ad nauseam, but I've really gotten into this season and watched almost every game, as opposed to the EJ era. I have not been following recruiting at ALL. I know we landed Doucore and he is highly rated, but there is, to my knowledge, no video of him online.

I'm looking at 247's "2018 Targets" and I see only one player with what looks like real interest, in Montez Mathis, who ironically also has no video online.

I hope things aren't as bad as they seem. If anyone with the knowledge and willingness to make a list of kids that we are recruiting heavily for the class of 2018 that might not truly be "cool" on us, I would really appreciate it.

There is tons of game video on both players.

Doucoure is the exact player Jay Young wants. Rebounds, plays defense, has a developing offensive game.Very mobile at 6 9, but do not think ball handler. By the time he gets here, there is a good chance he will play 20-25 minutes his freshman year.

 

[Bdodger2]

^^

Naz is waiting on a pending Kentucky offer from all reports. Carey i have no insight on or inclination to say hes interested.

Would love for us to go after Tavon Jones from Linden and look into a JUCO center if Naz is waiting on the best available.

A few thoughts. Doucore should be a very good college player. Over four years he will potentially develop very nicely. Still raw on the offensive end, but he has skills and is a true basketball player as contrasted with an athlete who happens to play basketball. A very good recruit.

Jalen Carey does not have serious interest in RU.

Although Naz Reid likes the staff a great deal, what was once a long shot, but legitimate, is now extremely, extremely unlikely for RU. I do not believe he goes to Kentucky, and that is not a reason for his moving on generally from RU. The staff has done an excellent job, but the program still has a bad reputation. He and the folks closest to him see all of his friends likely deciding upon much better programs and this has had an impact. There is only so much
our staff can do. It's not over, but the view of RU has withered over the course of the season. Fans on this board can point to improvement, and that is not inaccurate, but that is of little influence to recruits who can select much better programs who also have staffs they like and respect.

 

[LeapinLou]

There is no upside to a local recruit bad mouthing RU. So guys like Naz Reid will always be complimentary. But he has also said he needs to play for a program that is winning. For him it seems the challenge of being the guy to turn around RU is less appealing than walking into and contributing to a program that has already arrived. That sucks for us but its his life. Hopefully he'll reconsider what's important to his legacy but our expectations should be tempered.

 

[higgins3]

I know the staff offered Chris Efretui, a 2018 center. I like his game. He has offers from Fordham, and a couple of other schools.

 

[shields]

How good is the kid Cotton from St. Benedict's?

 

[RUJMM78]

I'm waiting to see names of small forwards/ power forwards that can shoot 3 pointers.Scholarships are precious and the last thing Rutgers needs is more complementary type players that don't score.Its also rather obvious that 2018 recruits aren't interested in being leaders in committing early to Rutgers based on the poor league record.

 

[knights1212]

Tavon Jones played outstanding tonight in the second round of the state tournament. He scored 30 tonight and I believe he was 4-6 or 4-7 on threes. He was also 8-9 on foul shots and had at least 4 steals and quite a few rebounds. He didn't even play the last 7 minutes. I would guess he only played about 21-22 minutes out of the 32 as he sat for about 3-4 minutes in the first half. He looked like a first team all state player tonight. Linden beat Columbia 67-50 but they led 62-36 before being outscored 14-5 in the last few minutes.

 

[biazza38]

Tavon Jones played outstanding tonight in the second round of the state tournament. He scored 30 tonight and I believe he was 4-6 or 4-7 on threes. He was also 8-9 on foul shots and had at least 4 steals and quite a few rebounds. He didn't even play the last 7 minutes. I would guess he only played about 21-22 minutes out of the 32 as he sat for about 3-4 minutes in the first half. He looked like a first team all state player tonight. Linden beat Columbia 67-50 but they led 62-36 before being outscored 14-5 in the last few minutes.

He's a four star, top 150 player. I would love to land him.

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

There is plenty of YouTube on any of the recruits you want to see, the problem is similar to HUDL, unless it's extended or full game action, it's hard to tell if they are highlights or true ability.

Some of the recruits in the tristate area are woefully overrated in some cases.

Cotton is a decent shooter, kinda like Jonathan Mitchell as a lefty.

Mathis is very good, we are working hard there, but his status is going way up nationally.

The good news is that there are approximately 30-35 legitimate targets that don't have to be 5* or 4* kids that can help us tremendously in 2018.

 

[RU MAN]

There is plenty of YouTube on any of the recruits you want to see, the problem is similar to HUDL, unless it's extended or full game action, it's hard to tell if they are highlights or true ability.

Some of the recruits in the tristate area are woefully overrated in some cases.

Cotton is a decent shooter, kinda like Jonathan Mitchell as a lefty.

Mathis is very good, we are working hard there, but his status is going way up nationally.

The good news is that there are approximately 30-35 legitimate targets that don't have to be 5* or 4* kids that can help us tremendously in 2018.

Hey, I'll take another Jonathan Mitchell type any day of the week.

 

[DECKRU]

Tavon Jones played outstanding tonight in the second round of the state tournament. He scored 30 tonight and I believe he was 4-6 or 4-7 on threes. He was also 8-9 on foul shots and had at least 4 steals and quite a few rebounds. He didn't even play the last 7 minutes. I would guess he only played about 21-22 minutes out of the 32 as he sat for about 3-4 minutes in the first half. He looked like a first team all state player tonight. Linden beat Columbia 67-50 but they led 62-36 before being outscored 14-5 in the last few minutes.

I was the the UC championship on Saturday and I liked what i saw from Tavon Jones, eventhough his shot was off. Looks like he was on tonight. I think he'd be a good pick up for us with his size and athleticism. Hopefully he can improve his shot a little. Wish we could've gotten Richard's from Patrick school he is a monster.
Knights1212 I've been rooting for your Linden Tigers. Good luck in the playoffs. Hope one day Rutgers can have a similarly successful program.

 

[shields]

Was happy my Bridgewater team won but can't get excited. Newark East Side and then linden are waiting.

 

[Big East Beast]

I have seen Tavon play over 30 times including 13 already this season and will see him again tonight vs. Columbia in round #2 of the state tournament. He is really good on defense and taking it to the basket. I think he needs to work a bit on his three although at times he does light it up from deep. He will definitely play D-1 but I have a feeling coach is looking more at a couple other guys. Being a LHS grad I would love to see a Linden guy at RU but they never offered Desmond Wade or Otis Livingston who were both first team All State. Tavon was second team last year on All Groups All; State so he was rated between 6-10 in the state as a soph. He just might make first team this year. He is very good. He steals the ball a lot as well. I know we really need outside shooters very bad.

Ahhh, Desmond Wade ; there's a name I haven't heard in a while!

While he was 1st team, his issue was he was 5'8 150. I think we already had Mike Coburn who was small but a lot more physical. Guards that size are big gambles in a conference like the Big East.

Tavon is listed as 6'3 but listed as SG. If that is legit and he is a good ball handler to handle some PG duties, could be a nice option. Seems a little under the radar of majors at this point.

 

[knights1212]

Linden and Newark East Side are the only two public schools rated in the top 13 of the state rankings by the Ledger. If they should both win on Friday it will be a huge game next Tuesday.

 

[Botchie10]

From what I'm reading, Tavon Jones sounds an awful lot like Corey Sanders (Knight 1212 ?) - very athletic, terrific scorer - but not necessarily a great shooter, rebounds, plays D, makes others around him better...sounds like the quintessential point guard, no?

 

[RUJMM78]

There is plenty of YouTube on any of the recruits you want to see, the problem is similar to HUDL, unless it's extended or full game action, it's hard to tell if they are highlights or true ability.

Some of the recruits in the tristate area are woefully overrated in some cases.

Cotton is a decent shooter, kinda like Jonathan Mitchell as a lefty.

Mathis is very good, we are working hard there, but his status is going way up nationally.

The good news is that there are approximately 30-35 legitimate targets that don't have to be 5* or 4* kids that can help us tremendously in 2018.

I'm interested in your comments that 30-35 legitimate targets can help Rutgers tremendously even though they aren't highly rated.Are these players shooters,projects that have potential but need coaching,have height limitations, etc?In other words what are their skill sets that are going to improve Rutgers mens basketball versus what they have right now?Your insights on local recruiting would help fans better understand what is happening on the recruiting front and how that impacts Rutgers.

 

[seels2662]

There is plenty of YouTube on any of the recruits you want to see, the problem is similar to HUDL, unless it's extended or full game action, it's hard to tell if they are highlights or true ability.

Some of the recruits in the tristate area are woefully overrated in some cases.

Cotton is a decent shooter, kinda like Jonathan Mitchell as a lefty.

Mathis is very good, we are working hard there, but his status is going way up nationally.

The good news is that there are approximately 30-35 legitimate targets that don't have to be 5* or 4* kids that can help us tremendously in 2018.

I don't want guys that help. Mike Williams helps. Freeman helps. Gettys helps. Nigel Johnson helps. We need guys that can flat out outplay their opponent. That is either a top 150 type or a kid which was very obvious should have been a top 150 kid.

 

[knights1212]

Botchie, Tavon is somewhat like Corey but he is a little taller. He also drives to his right and his left and at times uses his left hand which I never see Corey do. He anticipates where a pass is going I think better than Corey as well. He also shoots the three better than Corey as he showed last night. I believe he made 5 threes against Roselle Catholic last year at RC. He also is a good foul shooter as last night he was 8-9. I would say he is usually about 75%. I would love to see Tavon at RU but I trust in Steve Pikiell. He knows best what we need. If the 6'4" kid from Baltimore is better or someone else is better and can shoot better than hopefully we can get the best player available.

 

[knights1212]

I just checked. There are several really good videos from last year & this season on Tavon under google. I also checked some stats. Last year he made 42 threes and this season has 25 so far. He also has 79 assists this season in 26 games for 3 a game and is at 151 rebounds this season at just under 6 a game. If he could grow a few more inches he could be an ideal SF as well. He is probably 6'2" now but some sites list him as 6'3".

 

[NewJerseyHawk]

I'm interested in your comments that 30-35 legitimate targets can help Rutgers tremendously even though they aren't highly rated.Are these players shooters,projects that have potential but need coaching,have height limitations, etc?In other words what are their skill sets that are going to improve Rutgers mens basketball versus what they have right now?Your insights on local recruiting would help fans better understand what is happening on the recruiting front and how that impacts Rutgers.

They are all highly rated/ranked, but they are not at the Naz Reid category of a 5* player.....all the offers that are out to 2018-19 kids by my count are around 30-40 kids in the region (I consider DMV and New England as RU's region).

These are not in state kids exclusively, but we have about 5 B1G caliber players on the current roster....all you need is to add 2-3 B1G caliber players each of the next 2 recruiting classes.....

I think if we have 6 to 7 available scholarships between potential transfers after this season and the 2018 graduates (Nigel Johnson/Mike Williams/Deshawn Freeman/Candido Sa), there are opportunities to get players that fit what we do.

I believe that Baker and Doucoure are 2 of those potential 6-7 players needed....Can we find 5 additional players at that skill level this spring or with the 2018 class is the question....I know we are involved with a lot of kids, and of the 30-40 offers I believe are legitimate, we are looking at whether we can land 3 of those 40....The people I've spoken to that are not involved with the staff at all, feel like RU will land a couple of those pieces.

There is a lot of overlap with programs recruiting a lot of the same kids, so it's going to be tough, but I don't see any reason why we can get 2-3 of those Top 150 kids to compliment Baker and Doucoure over the next two cycles. I think the staff has a better grasp of talent in New England, where we've never recruited consistently and more access or a grasp of the DMV areas etc....we are all over the tri-state area as well.

 

[dollarbill]

NJH: Who are the five B1G quality kids on the current roster? Thanks. $$$$

 

[biazza38]

They are all highly rated/ranked, but they are not at the Naz Reid category of a 5* player.....all the offers that are out to 2018-19 kids by my count are around 30-40 kids in the region (I consider DMV and New England as RU's region).

These are not in state kids exclusively, but we have about 5 B1G caliber players on the current roster....all you need is to add 2-3 B1G caliber players each of the next 2 recruiting classes.....

I think if we have 6 to 7 available scholarships between potential transfers after this season and the 2018 graduates (Nigel Johnson/Mike Williams/Deshawn Freeman/Candido Sa), there are opportunities to get players that fit what we do.

I believe that Baker and Doucoure are 2 of those potential 6-7 players needed....Can we find 5 additional players at that skill level this spring or with the 2018 class is the question....I know we are involved with a lot of kids, and of the 30-40 offers I believe are legitimate, we are looking at whether we can land 3 of those 40....The people I've spoken to that are not involved with the staff at all, feel like RU will land a couple of those pieces.

There is a lot of overlap with programs recruiting a lot of the same kids, so it's going to be tough, but I don't see any reason why we can get 2-3 of those Top 150 kids to compliment Baker and Doucoure over the next two cycles. I think the staff has a better grasp of talent in New England, where we've never recruited consistently and more access or a grasp of the DMV areas etc....we are all over the tri-state area as well.

Thanks for the information

 

[shields]

How much of a chance do we have with the Mathis kid?

 

[higgins3]

How much of a chance do we have with the Mathis kid?

Unless Knight really made an impression, I think about a 7/10 chance and going down.

The program is listed as Warm on 247. Still, lots of big programs offering him.

 

[shields]

What about Luther Muhammad?

 

[higgins3]

What about Luther Muhammad?

No.

 

[RickB113]

Bottom line is Pike needs to land at least 3 really 4 top 150 players in the 2018 class. And probably has to follow that up in 2019. Less than 3 top 150 recruits in 18 and I put his chances of turning us around at less than 10 percent. He has one. He needs two more studs.

 

[koleszar]

A few thoughts. Doucore should be a very good college player. Over four years he will potentially develop very nicely. Still raw on the offensive end, but he has skills and is a true basketball player as contrasted with an athlete who happens to play basketball. A very good recruit.

Jalen Carey does not have serious interest in RU.

Although Naz Reid likes the staff a great deal, what was once a long shot, but legitimate, is now extremely, extremely unlikely for RU. I do not believe he goes to Kentucky, and that is not a reason for his moving on generally from RU. The staff has done an excellent job, but the program still has a bad reputation. He and the folks closest to him see all of his friends likely deciding upon much better programs and this has had an impact. There is only so much
our staff can do. It's not over, but the view of RU has withered over the course of the season. Fans on this board can point to improvement, and that is not inaccurate, but that is of little influence to recruits who can select much better programs who also have staffs they like and respect.

Oh what joy. So basically we're stuck in this perpetual cycle forever. No one wants to come here until we win and we can't win until they come here. I feel so much more optimistic about our future after reading this. Yeah, go team.

 

[RUJMM78]

Oh what joy. So basically we're stuck in this perpetual cycle forever. No one wants to come here until we win and we can't win until they come here. I feel so much more optimistic about our future after reading this. Yeah, go team.

Consistency is what Rutgers provides .The end result with consecutive losing seasons is the consistency that fans could do without.

 

[biazza38]

Wow! This thread really got dark fast