Rutgers Basketball: Cam Spencer enters transfer portal

After all of the positive news surround recruiting, Rutgers caught a gut punch on Friday morning.

Cam Spencer is entering the transfer portal, first reported by Brian Fonseca of NJ Advance Media. Spencer led the Scarlet Knights in scoring last season with 13.2 points per game while shooting 43.4% from three-point range.

Spencer spent three years at Loyola-Maryland before transferring to Rutgers last year. The addition of Spencer gave the Scarlet Knights a reliable ball handler and shooter along the perimeter. After leading the team in scoring and being a true two-way player in the Big Ten, Spencer will search for his next destination.

In 31.5 minutes per game last season, Spencer averaged 3.8 rebonds, 3.1 assists, and two steals go to along with his team-leading points per night. He shot 44.4% from the field and 89.4% from the free throw line.

The deadline has passed for undergrads to make a decision on returning to school but Spencer being a grad transfer held the option still with no penalty. He will be eligible to play right away at his new school. In today’s era of college basketball, the transfer portal has become a major cog in the wheel of many teams.

With the loss of Spencer, Rutgers now has six scholarships available for next season. The program still awaits decisions from Cliff Omoruyi and Paul Mulcahy, who opted to test the waters of the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining eligibility. 2023 commit Jamichael Davis has still not signed his letter of intent. If all three follow up on plans, Rutgers will have three scholarships left.

Gavin Griffiths will come in as a highly-touted prospect next season while UMass transfer Noah Fernandes will provide some reinforcement. Of course, the recruiting class in 2024 is one of the best in the nation as of now but will not be in Piscataway next year.

The loss of Spencer means that Rutgers will have to get to work once again in order to compete at a high level next season.