Rutgers and the Big Ten was an odd marriage when it happened over a decade ago though Steve Pikiell has been making strides with the program in recent years. After a few NCAA Tournament appearances, the program has hit a struggle again and this past season was a blatant example. The Scarlet Knights boasted two of the best freshmen in the nation but failed to even finish the season at .500 let alone return to the Big Dance.
Ace Bailey Jr. and Dylan Harper are both off to the NBA after brilliant individual work in their freshmen seasons with this program. What hurt last season was that Rutgers didn’t get a lot from everyone else behind them on that roster. Still, major contributors like Jordan Derkack, Lathan Sommerville, and Jeremiah Williams entered the transfer portal instead of assuming larger roles, leaving those assignments to Jamichael Davis and Dylan Grant among others.
This year’s recruiting class doesn’t have a pair of blue chip prospects, with Rutgers adding a couple of 4-stars alongside their transfer haul. Again, it’s not a transfer class that blows you away but they got three interesting names. Baye Fall is a 6-11 forward and former Top 30 recruit who was a backup at Arkansas and Kansas State while Tariq Francis was the America East’s leading scorer at NJIT last season.
However, a major role this upcoming season could also fall on the shoulders of Darren Buchanan Jr. A 6-7 forward originally out of Washington DC, Buchanan stayed right at home at George Washington and did brilliant work as an underclassman with the Revolutionaries. As a freshman, he led the A-10 in field goal percentage while averaging 15.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, though his numbers weren’t as impressive in year two.
Buchanan dealt with a lingering ankle injury last season that really affected him. This athletic wing is now a junior and should be healthy for the Scarlet Knights. Life in the Big Ten is very different from the A-10, but Buchanan will hopefully settle back into a role as a shot maker, rebounder, and trend setter for this program. He’s certainly not the only new faces expected to score and provide relief, but Buchanan has the talent to be special even with this step up in competition.
Absolutely nothing could happen at Rutgers this season to make up for the lost talent in Bailey and Harper, but that doesn’t mean this team can’t be more successful. You could argue that the Scarlet Knights leaned too heavily on those star prospects, whereas new pieces like Buchanan and Francis help bring off weigh some of that lost talent to some degree. There’s a lot of work to be done among faces both old and new for this program, but has Pikiell potentially found a better balance?