Inside Slant
At just about the midway point of the Big East season, Rutgers was being talked about as perhaps the worst team in the history of the conference. It lost its first eight games, six of them by double digits and four by more than 20. And one of its building blocks, Gregory Echenique, transferred unexpectedly at the end of the first semester.
Fred Hill's job was in enough danger that the athletic director had to answer questions about whether he would make it through the season. And yet, just as things were looking hopeless, the Scarlet Knights pulled it together. It won four of its next five Big East games, including victories over NCAA Tournament teams Georgetown and Notre Dame.
The team couldn't sustain that, losing four of its last five regular-season games and dropping a heartbreaker to Cincinnati in the opening round of the Big East tournament. Still, as the team says goodbye to Hamady Ndiaye, who graduates as the school's leader in blocked shots, there are a few bright spots to look forward to if you're a Rutgers fan.
One of the bright spots is expected. Mike Rosario was one of the top freshmen in the country a year ago, and though he did not take the step forward that many were hoping for, he's still among the top scoring guards in the conference, and the former McDonald's All-American has two more years to be the savior that fans were hoping for when he signed his letter of intent.
Another was more of a surprise. Dane Miller emerged to be a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team, and averaged 12 points a game against some of the toughest frontcourt players in the country. He'll need to be even better next year, since he'll lose Ndiaye as his frontcourt companion.
The loss of Ndiaye will be tough to overcome. Rutgers doesn't have a lot of size in the paint to replace him, so Fred Hill has some recruiting to do to help this team take the long-awaited next step to respectability in the Big East. The school announced March 17 that he will be retained.FINAL RECORD: 15-17, 5-13, 14th in the Big East.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: After an 0-8 start to Big East play and the surprising transfer of Gregory Echenique, the Scarlet Knights found their equilibrium and finished the Big East schedule with five wins in its last 10 games.
Part of that was the play of senior center Hamady Ndiaye, who set the school record for blocked shots in a season and in a career. That won't do the team any good next year, since Ndiaye graduates this offseason,
Fortunately, another thing that went right in 2009-10 was the play of Dane Miller. The forward made the All-Rookie Team and probably should have won the Big East Freshman of the Year honors. Assuming both he and Mike Rosario return, the Scarlet Knights have something to work with in 2010-11.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Forget for a second about the losses in the first eight games. It was the transfer of Gregory Echenique that caused many of the remaining diehards to sour on the program.
Echenique was already out for the season with an eye injury, but he and Mike Rosario were considered to be the future of the program. His departure started a flood of invective against the coaching staff that did not totally heal even with the team's strong play over the final month.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "These guys have a great heart. They have great chemistry. They work extremely hard. I told them in the locker room how proud I was of them going through a tough stretch. They never took a day off. They kept coming every day and working extremely hard. They really like each other, and I think it showed." Rutgers coach Fred Hill, on his 2009-10 squad.THE GOOD NEWS: If you liked how this team played towards the end of the season, you'll be happy that everyone besides Hamady Ndiaye is set to come back in 2010-11.
Mike Rosario had an inconsistent sophomore year, but he's still someone that has to be watched wherever he is on the court. Dane Miller, a unanimous selection to the All-Rookie Team, looks like a great find by the coaching staff and someone who could go down as one of the best players in recent program history by the time he's finished at the school.
THE BAD NEWS: It's not safe to assume that everyone will be back next year. The program has had a lot of transfers and departures under Fred Hill, and as a result pretty much everyone on the team has been rumored to have one foot out the door at various times.
The one player who is gone, Hamady Ndiaye, may be the most irreplaceable. He and Gregory Echenique were the team's only legitimate big men, and now the Scarlet Knights have to scramble to find someone who can challenge other Big East centers in the paint.
KEY RETURNEES: Rutgers should be able to generate offense next year, since Mike Rosario is expected to return for his junior year. He ran hot and cold as a sophomore, but still led the team with 16.7 points per game. James Beatty and Mike Coburn are also back in the backcourt, and should be improved.
The frontcourt may be where other teams have the most trouble matching up. Though there is no true center, Dane Miller and Jonathan Mitchell are both top scoring threats, and Patrick Jackson and Austin Johnson have also shown flashes of offensive spark.
ROSTER REPORT:
C Hamady Ndiaye concluded his stellar career at Rutgers by winning the Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors. He set the school record for blocked shots in a season and a career, and blossomed when he was forced to play more minutes after Gregory Echenique's departure.
F Dane Miller was a unanimous choice for the Big East All-Rookie Team, though he lost out on the Rookie of the Year honors to Cincinnati's Lance Stephenson. He was the Big East Rookie of the Week three weeks in a row in February, and averaged 12 points and more than six rebounds per game.
G Mike Rosario led the team at 16.7 points per game, half a point more than he had as a freshman. His shooting percentage from the field and the free throw line went down, however, and though his three-point shooting was improved, it was still just 32.6 percent.
