Rutgers Basketball Hosting Wing Eligible To Play Next Season

The Rutgers men’s basketball coaching staff have not given up on adding a player to the roster for next season. A visit has been confirmed by the site Rivals for this coming week, and it is with an intriguing player in Canadian wing Eugene Omoruyi.

The 6’6” player from the class of 2016 has drawn comparisons to Golden State Warriors star and former Michigan State player Draymond Green. It’s surprising that a quality player is available so late in the recruiting process, but it can happen for a variety of reasons. 4-star center Taurean Thompson committed to Syracuse just a few weeks ago, so every recruit’s process is different.

In reading on Omoruyi, it appears that he has high motor, is a strong finisher at rim, and has a penchant for drawing charges on the defensive end. His size and ability make him the type of versatile player that head coach Steve Pikiell covets. According to the site Verbal Commits, Omoruyi had offers from Marquette and USC, but obviously they moved on from him and are no longer active.

Credit the coaching staff for continuing to work on adding depth for next season, while also being everywhere on the recruiting trail for the class of 2017. It doesn’t appear the staff have made an offer to Omoruyi yet, so his visit will be a chance for Rutgers to determine if they feel he can contribute next season, as they have three open spots on the current roster. If he doesn’t appear ready to play right away, I believe it is better to save the scholarship for the class of 2017. We will see what happens. Pikiell told Jerry Carino he is not going to take players just to fill a spot.

With Geo Baker committing last week, there are two open scholarships as of now. If they add Omoruyi now, that leaves just one spot available. However, if they feel Omoruyi can be a factor for the program next season and beyond, then offering him on his visit is a no brainer. Adding a player this late in the process for the upcoming season is rare, but the relentless work on the recruiting trail by the Rutgers staff could pay off in a big way. Either way, kudos to them for doing their due diligence. Updates to follow this week once Omoruyi visits campus, which is expected to be on August 2nd. Here is a highlight video on the athletic wing from up north.

Recruiting News & Notes:

Christian PoPoola Hearing From Rutgers

Rutgers offered the point guard from the west coast last week and it appears the staff is seriously pursuing him. This is an interesting development, as point guard Jose Alvarado has been considered the top target for the coaching staff. Perhaps they are concerned they may lose Alvarado to a bigger program like Syracuse, who he plans to visit this month. Or maybe they are showing they are not going to wait back for Alvarado to decide and they are keeping their options open. Either way, it will be interesting to track Rutgers involvement with PoPoola and whether he visits campus this month. Multiple sites have declared BYU the leader for the floor general as of now.

Ejike Obinna Cuts Rutgers

Rutgers offered Obinna back in June, but he eliminated them from contention this weekend. The list of frontcourt players that Rutgers is involved with in the class of 2017 seems to be dwindling. Hopefully they can get a couple big men on campus this month, including one of the staff’s top targets in Mahktar Gueye.