Daniels comfortable with Rutgers commitment

Rutgers basketball has picked up its first commitment for the 2014-15 season in ASA (N.Y.) Junior College guard Bishop Daniels. A transfer from Miami, Daniels has one more year left at ASA before he can enroll at Rutgers in the summer of 2014.

Daniels, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, played his high school ball at Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina, graduating in 2011. After redshirting his freshman season at Miami, Daniels played in the first three contests last year, averaging in 5 points in 16.7 minutes per game before leaving the program.

He officially pledged to RU yesterday, but did not make the news public until this afternoon.

Like all of the recruits Rutgers has added in the beginning of the Eddie Jordan era, Daniels had a prior connection to the Scarlet Knights, specifically assistant coach Van Macon.

"Van Macon has recruited me since I was in high school and right after I got my release from Miami, he was the first person on the phone asking me what was up," Daniels said. "I feel like everybody has my back here at Rutgers. I can't feel more comfortable with another school than I am with Rutgers, because of the relationships I've built over time.

"I know that, basketball-wise, as long as I take care and do what I'm supposed to, they're going to do their part."

While Macon served as the main impetus for Daniels' interest in Rutgers, Jordan played a major role in sealing up the guard's decision.

"Coach Jordan is a real respectable man," Daniels said. "His accomplishments speak for themselves. He played in the NBA; he was an NBA coach. He knows what it takes to get there. That's my ultimate goal at the end of the day. I'm trying to go beyond the collegiate level and I figure why not play for someone who knows that."

A self-described "jack of all trades" who can handle either guard spot, Daniels is open to whatever role Jordan finds for him when he gets to campus.

"Wherever he puts me on the floor, I'm going to do my job at that position," he said.

When Daniels finally arrives at Rutgers in 2014, he'll be a part of the program's first season in the Big Ten, which further enticed him to become a Scarlet Knight.

"Of course. The Big Ten is one of the biggest basketball conferences, if not the biggest, especially with its recent success over the past couple of years," Daniels said. "Of course I want to go in there. That was a part of it too. I want to go in and play against the best night in and night out. I want to go in there and prove myself, just like anybody else.

"That was a big helping hand. Plus Eddie Jordan is going to get this program on track. Going forward, they have a bright future."