Rutgers Basketball: Corey Sanders departure hampers progress for program

There was some hope that Rutgers basketball could finally get out of the basement of the Big Ten standings next season. Corey Sanders leaving all but ends that.

The 2017-18 season for Rutgers was arguably the best for the program since entering the Big Ten, which tells you how low a bar they had to clear. The Scarlet Knights won the first six games of the season, and in the non-conference defeated a ranked Seton Hall team to give them one of the program’s best wins in the last several years.

That proved to be the last big moment for the team, who then lost back-to-back games at home to Stony Brook and Hartford. And after starting 2-3 in conference play, Rutgers lost 10 of 11 to finish out the regular season.

It looked like another miserable season and finish for the team, until the Big Ten Conference Tournament. From there the Scarlet Knights made history, becoming the first-ever 14 seed to win two games in a conference tournament, beating Minnesota and Indiana in the process.

The star of those games was junior Corey Sanders, who scored 51 combined points in the wins. This was something he’s done all season, leading the team in scoring at 15.2 ppg along with 4.3 rpg and 3.1 apg. At least nine times this season he dropped 20 points, and twice in Big Ten play put 30 points in a game.

He’s not the kind of talent Rutgers usually gets, and unfortunately for them won’t have any longer – as he’s decided to forgo his season and declare for the NBA Draft.

This is just devastating for a program who simply can’t replace this kind of player. Based on the amount of talent leaving the Big Ten Conference, had Sanders came back he could’ve had a shot at a First-Team All-Conference selection. He also could’ve led the team to a respectable place in the standings, rather than finishing at the very bottom.

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With Sanders and graduating forward DeShawn Freeman, Rutgers will lose the team’s top scorers and leaves head coach Steve Pickell without a legit No. 1 option on offense. For the Scarlet Knights, it’s back to the drawing board as they look to become a viable program.