clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Rutgers Basketball Recruiting: Eddie Jordan Aiming for 2016 Dream Team

Eddie Jordan is building off the momentum of the Kwe Parker signing.

By Aaron Breitman
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

When Rutgers landed 4-star guard Kwe Parker two weeks ago, the logical question was whether Eddie Jordan and his staff could build off his commitment.  They have now focused on three top targets that would potentially lead to one of the best recruiting classes in the country.  It would definitely be the best recruiting class for Rutgers since the glory days of the seventies and early eighties.  There was a lot of talk about a dream team 2016 recruiting class for football.  That didn't happen, but there is a real chance it could happen for our basketball team!

Taurean Thompson

Adam Zagoria reported that 4-star power forward Taurean Thompson took an unofficial visit to Rutgers this past Wednesday.  This is fantastic news as he is the top big man on Rutgers board.  He is a consensus 4-star power forward and he played for legendary high school coach Bob Hurley at St. Anthony's.  Thompson recently transferred to prep powerhouse Brewster Academy to gain more exposure for his senior season.  Despite being hurt most of the summer and missing the July live recruiting period on the AAU circuit, interest is only growing.  He also visited Maryland and Xavier and just this week picked up an offer from Syracuse.  Cutting to the chase, this will be a dogfight to land Thompson as the list of suitors will only grow.  However, if we have learned anything the past few months, Eddie Jordan and staff are quickly becoming a recruiting force to be reckoned with.  Perhaps spending a year away from home will be a good thing and help Thompson realize he can play big time college basketball while staying close to his family.

De'Riante Jenkins

De'Riante Jenkins is a consensus 4-star wing player who has continued to see his stock rise this summer.  Jenkins played with Corey Sanders at West Oaks Academy in Florida last season.  He has transferred to prep powerhouse Hargrave Military Academy for his senior season.  Jenkins has over a dozen offers and recently set his official visits for this fall.  He took an official visit to VCU this past weekend and scheduled additional official visits to Tennessee, Clemson and Rutgers.  Shoes Vetrone is the lead recruiter on De'Riante and securing an official visit from him is tremendous.  He plays with a swagger and athleticism that perfectly fits the way Eddie Jordan wants the team to play.  We currently have no depth at the wing position, with incoming freshman Jonathan Laurent as our natural fit there.  Not only would he fill a huge void but Jenkins is still developing.  He has a soft stroke from 3-point range and the sky is the limit for his potential.

Bashir Ahmed

Bashir Ahmed is one of the most highly sought after JUCO players in the country and a big time scorer.  He played at Hutchinson CC in Kansas alongside incoming transfer Deshawn Freeman.  Shoes Vetrone discovered Ahmed while recruiting Freeman last season.  Ahmed is from New York City and is a top target of St. John's and head coach Chris Mullin as well. Ahmed set his official visits for the fall including both Rutgers and St. John's, as well as Cincinnati and Louisville.  This will be another dog fight, but one that Rutgers is clearly in the thick of.  Ahmed visited back in late May and having played with Freeman last season, he has someone he knows that can tell him the truth about the program. And the truth is Ahmed fits perfectly with Rutgers style of play.

Ahmed is a JUCO All-American.  ESPN has De'Riante Jenkins ranked 61st and Taurean Thompson ranked 89th in the 2016 class. Kwe Parker was ranked 59th in the spring and 90th this summer, only to be taken off their Top 100 list AFTER he committed to Rutgers. He has taken a few months to recover from his foot injury, but by all accounts he is back to his old self. They still have Parker as a 4-star recruit but the timing is curious.  Regardless, it doesn't matter as Parker adds another dimension to Rutgers roster and he will come in with something to prove.

Ahmed, Jenkins, and Thompson along with Parker, would truly be a dream team for Eddie Jordan and staff.  They would comprise a top 15 ranked recruiting class and would alter the future of the program.  I've written about these players before with the hope Rutgers was in the picture to land them through the end.  That is now reality and Eddie has never had the momentum on the recruiting front he has currently built.  Mind you, this is off two losing seasons and a 15 game losing streak.  Since the season ended, he landed Deshawn Freeman and now Kwe Parker.  Rutgers now has a chance to land three more nationally ranked players that would make this team a legitimate contender for the NCAA tournament in the 2016-2017 season.  Dream teams are rare but we are closer to it becoming a reality than ever before!