Inside The Big East: Rutgers

It only took one year for Mike Rice to do the improbable: Get people talking about Rutgers again. (Photo courtesy of New York Daily News)

Yesterday, Mike Brey and Notre Dame were the topics of conversation, and now it's time to shift the attention to another head man named Mike as his Big East team looks to capitalize off one of their better seasons in recent memory.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights (2010-11 Record: 15-17, 5-13 Big East)
Head Coach: Mike Rice (2nd season at RU, 15-17; 88-48 overall)

Returning Starters: F Gilvydas Biruta (6-8 So., 9.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 53% FG, 72% FT)
F Dane Miller (6-6 Jr., 9.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 42% FG, 55% FT, 2.6 APG, 1.6 BPG, 1.0 SPG)

Other Key Returning Players: G Mike Poole (6-5 So., 5.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 42% FG, 71% FT, 1.2 APG, 1.1 SPG)
F Austin Johnson (6-8 Jr., 4.5 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 53% FG, 50% FT)
G Austin Carroll (6-4 So., 2.7 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 38% FG, 37% 3pt, 64% FT)

Key Losses: F Jonathan Mitchell (14.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 45% FG, 39% 3pt, 79% FT)

G James Beatty (8.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 40% FG, 37% 3pt, 72% FT, 3.1 APG, 1.7 SPG)
G Mike Coburn (8.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 43% FG, 36% 3pt, 64% FT, 4.0 APG, 1.4 SPG)
F Robert Lumpkins (3.5 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 38% FG, 86% FT)

Just seventeen months ago, Rutgers University basketball was a ship without a captain after former coach Fred Hill resigned amid an incident involving an umpire in a game coached by Hill's father Fred Sr., the Scarlet Knights' baseball coach. Athletic director Tim Pernetti moved quickly to hire a replacement, luring Mike Rice away from Robert Morris following a three-year tenure in which Rice guided the Colonials to three consecutive Northeast Conference regular season championships and two postseason championships; as well as a near-upset of Villanova in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. During the season, Rice and the Scarlet Knights surprised everyone along the way by not just competing, but contending as well. When the dust settled on the year, Rutgers finished a much better than expected 15-17, with five Big East wins that included a thrilling upset of Villanova at the RAC on a last-second four point play by Jonathan Mitchell. The Scarlet Knights nearly defeated St. John's in the Big East tournament; but a controversial missed call involving Red Storm forward Justin Brownlee stepping out of bounds and traveling cost Rutgers the game, yet showed a side of Rice in the coach's postgame press conference that won the coach more respect in a situation where hardly anyone expected him to take the high road.

This time around, Rice will attempt to lead Rutgers further up the Big East ladder without three of his key players. Guards James Beatty and Mike Coburn have graduated; as has aforementioned Mr. Everything Jonathan Mitchell, who is now playing in Spain. Forwards Gilvydas Biruta and Dane Miller are the only incumbents from last year's starting lineup that are back on the banks of the old Raritan, and each will be expected to carry a bigger share of the offense this season. Biruta had a very impressive rookie campaign, nearly averaging ten points per game while also pulling down five rebounds on average and shooting 53 percent from the field. Miller, who now enters his junior year as the swingman for Rutgers, managed to accumulate nine points and six rebounds per contest during an inconsistent season; but Rice and those close to the Rutgers program insist he is on the precipice of a breakout year.

Rice will once again have a blend of youth and experience on the hardwood in Piscataway, as a highly regarded seven-man recruiting class comes into the Garden State for their freshman year at Rutgers and introduction to Mike Rice basketball. These kids will undoubtedly be thrown into the fire early, but the exposure to in-game situations early in the season will better prepare them for the battles to come once Big East play opens at the end of December. Homegrown talent Myles Mack is the centerpiece of Rice's group of incoming rookies. A 5-9 dynamo from Bob Hurley's national powerhouse of St. Anthony's in Jersey City, Mack is expected to push fellow first-year guard Jerome Seagears for the starting spot at point guard; and is the second St. Anthony's guard in the last four years to pass up other schools for a chance to play the hero in his home state, joining Mike Rosario, who has since transferred to Florida.

Former St. Anthony's standout Eli Carter joins Mack and Seagears among the new blood for Rutgers, and his experience playing alongside Mack before transferring to Brewster Prep in New Hampshire should serve Rice and his staff well when both Mack and Carter are on the floor at the same time. Swingman Malick Kone and burgeoning 6-9 forward Greg Lewis project as bench contributors at the moment, with Brooklyn native Derrick Randall being among the diamonds in the rough for Rice. Kadeem Jack, a 6-9 forward from Rice High School in Manhattan, is the last of the "magnificent seven" to come into the RAC this season; and could see a starter's share of minutes once he returns following ankle surgery that will cost him at least the first three months of the season.

Among the incumbents, guard Mike Poole will enter his sophomore season with a probable starting position at shooting guard. Poole played exceptionally well at times when used off the ball alongside James Beatty and Mike Coburn last season, and the sharp shooting of fellow second-year guard Austin Carroll gives Rice two options in the backcourt to go with whoever ends up running the point. Junior Austin Johnson, one of the last recognizable faces of the Fred Hill regime, will serve as a mentor up front to the new recruits while also having greater opportunities to better his averages of four points and two rebounds per game from last season.

Rutgers opens at home when Dartmouth invades the RAC on November 11th, and a road trip to Miami sandwiches regional games in the Cancun Challenge. The November 15th clash with the Hurricanes and new coach Jim Larranaga serves as the back end of a home-anRd-home series that was started last year when Miami and current Missouri head man Frank Haith came to New Jersey last year to play the Scarlet Knights at the RAC. Prior to heading to Mexico, Rutgers will entertain Sacred Heart and Hampton at home, with Illinois State being the first opponent for Rice and company south of the border. Depending on the outcome of Rutgers' meeting with the Redbirds, they will facee either Illinois or reigning Atlantic 10 champion Richmond in the second of two games in Mexico.

A stretch of four consecutive home games ensues for Rutgers, with UMBC coming into the RAC prior to the SEC/Big East Challenge game on December 3rd against Louisiana State. In-state rivals Princeton and Monmouth are next on the Knights' ledger before a return trip to Madison Square Garden on December 17th, when Rutgers will square off against Stony Brook in the Holiday Festival, which is now a one-day tournament instead of its traditional two-day setup. The Scarlet Knights will compete on the undercard, with St. John's and Fordham immediately following.

A December 22nd meeting with NJIT in Piscataway precedes what could arguably be the most intriguing nonconference game anyone will play this year, as the aforementioned Mike Rosario returns to New Jersey for his long-awaited homecoming on December 29th. Rosario, coach Billy Donovan and the rest of the Florida Gators come into the RAC for a showdown with a Rutgers team that will definitely take Florida to the limit. The Scarlet Knights open conference play on New Year's Day in Tampa against South Florida, with home-and-home series against West Virginia, Notre Dame, and archrival Seton Hall.

Rutgers' next two Big East games following the opener with the Bulls come at home against West Virginia and reigning national champion Connecticut, who will have coach Jim Calhoun back on the bench for this one following his three-game suspension that covers the Huskies' contests against USF, St. John's and Seton Hall. After UConn, Rutgers goes to the Petersen Center for a matchup with Pittsburgh before invading Morgantown on January 14th to complete the home-and-home with West Virginia. A home showdown with Notre Dame and road trip down Interstate 95 into Georgetown await Rutgers before a two-game homestand against DePaul and Cincinnati that will close out the month of January.

The Scarlet Knights open February with road games at Providence and Louisville before their first of two against Seton Hall, which will take place at the RAC on February 8th. After the collision with the Pirates, Rutgers heads to the Joyce Center to battle Notre Dame before returning home to welcome Syracuse into Piscataway on February 19th. Rutgers finishes their road schedule with a trip to Marquette on February 22nd that precedes the conclusion of their in-state rivalry three days later with Seton Hall at the Prudential Center. Villanova comes back to the RAC on March 1st for the first time since the aforementioned four-point play, with Steve Lavin and St. John's serving as Rutgers' final opponent on March 3rd at the RAC.