2023-24 roster could look very different for Rutgers Basketball
Rutgers Men’s Basketball’s season is complete following an overtime loss in the NIT to Hofstra and an emotional press conference.
The Scarlet Knights were riding high in January, but faltered in February. Still, they won 19 games overall and went 10-10 during the regular season in Big Ten play. They also topped Michigan to open the Big Ten Tournament and gave Purdue all it could handle a day later.
DON'T HAVE TKR PREMIUM? SIGN UP TODAY FOR JUST $9.95/MONTH!
Caleb McConnell is the only scholarship player who will be without eligibility in 2023-24. Other players who walked on Senior Night include Oskar Palmquist, Paul Mulcahy, and Aundre Hyatt. They could all return, but their statuses are up in the air.
Mulcahy played in 30 games and started 28 at point guard this past season and has been a multi-year starter and main contributor throughout his tenure. Prior to Senior Night, Mulcahy didn’t give any indication what he was thinking at the time, but his words in the post game press conference on Tuesday may have provided that he might have played his last game at Rutgers. Mulcahy already earned his Bachelor’s degree in three years and is working on his Master’s.
That said, McConnell came back to Rutgers for one more year after walking on Senior Night and providing emotion of finality last season. Palmquist played sparingly while with the Scarlet Knights, and he still has two years remaining. Hyatt has a sixth year he could use. Clifford Omoruyi told TKR back in the fall he was expected to graduate this year after three years as well, and he could test professional waters.
“Players nowadays have a ton of choices. June 1 we started this. They need a day off.,” head coach Steve Pikiell said. “They’ll make great decisions,” Pikiell said. “All of them will have plenty of choices of what they want to do. You end up sitting down. We still have a lot of covid years and all that kind of stuff. “Caleb came back. He didn’t have to. Every one of these guys had places they could go and probably people reaching out to them. They all stayed and continued the journey here. They’ll make great choices.”
Nobody has released an official statement about their future plans as of this writing. Other seldom used players like Jalen Miller and Dean Reiber could be out the door without any inside speculation. Next year’s team could look a lot different. The transfer portal opened up on Monday and almost 200 student-athletes entered the same day.
“We start meeting and practicing on June 1,” Pikiell said. “Basketball is a long year and you go through a lot. They brought it every day. They’re in the community and have time for everybody. They treat people the right way. I’ve seen them grow. I’m going to miss these guys. It’s a sad day. Recruiting these guys as young high school players and then they came here and were tremendous. Yeah, I’m emotional. I don’t like when the season ends. They brought toughness. It was still a special year.”
This is where the Scarlet Knights stand for 2023-24 as of right now. Stay tuned for a post on Saturday on offseason needs and questions.
1 year left: Paul Mulcahy (G), Cam Spencer (G), Aundre Hyatt (F)
2 years: Cliff Omoruyi (C), Mawot Mag (F), Oskar Palmquist (F), Dean Reiber (C/F), Jalen Miller (G)
3 years: Derek Simpson (G), Antwone Woolfolk (C), Antonio Chol (F)
4 years: Gavin Griffiths (5-star F), Baye Ndongo (3-star F/C), Jamichael Davis (3-star G)
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel