Rutgers University President William F. Tate IV: Video
Rutgers University has chosen William F. Tate IV, the president of Louisiana State University, as its 22nd president.
Steve Pikiell emphasized one quality above all else when putting together the Rutgers basketball roster for 2025-26.
Physicality.
One week into summer workouts, it’s too early for the head coach to talk schemes or assess individual player performance in detail. But it’s clear his goal is to mold this group, which includes six freshmen and nine new players overall, into a bouncier version of the throat-punchers who put opponents in the dentist’s chair earlier in his tenure.
“We’ve got blue-collar, tough, athletic kids,” Pikiell said.
He’s continued to tinker with the program’s summer regimen to best address the roster churn that has roiled the sport. Individual instruction sessions, which is where Pikiell and his assistants instilled their core defensive principles in the past, have returned after last summer’s focus on teamwide instruction. There are still team workouts, of course, but they’re hyper-focused on one end of the court after sessions were “chopped up” last year, as Pikiell put it. So Thursday’s team session was devoted entirely to defense. Another day was all about offense.
Here’s a look at Rutgers’ roster, how it came together, and some early impressions from Pikiell.
On the returnees
Pikiell said 6-foot-10 senior center Emmanuel Ogbole is fully recovered from the knee injury that curtailed him in 2024-25 and has slimmed down from 270 to 258 pounds. Meanwhile, 6-9 sophomore forward Bryce Dortch bulked up from 210 to 224 pounds and junior guard Jamichael Davis went from 180 to 190 pounds.
Sophomore forward Dylan Grant “has done a good job of working on his handle,” Pikiell said, and seems ready to showcase his versatility as a combo forward after flashing high-impact potential as a freshman.
“They were four of our best workers last year, and they’re great kids,” Pikiell said of the returnees. “Happy to have them back.”
On the transfers
Darren Buchanan, a 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward from George Washington, will have a major role.
“Darren is big, strong, can handle the basketball, can physically guard any position and he’s verbal,” Pikiell said. “I haven’t had a defensive stopper (recently) and now I feel like I have two – Chris Nwuli (a freshman forward) can defend any position and Darren can defend any position.”
In team workouts this week, Pikiell had Buchanan and Grant battling head-to-head in every drill to sharpen each other. Down the road, they might see time together on the court.
Tariq Francis, a junior guard from NJIT, “will be able to play the one and the two,” Pikiell said. “He’s in great shape. He and J-Mike are in the best shape of everyone.”
Baye Fall, a 6-foot-11 junior center from Kansas State, is expected to arrive in Piscataway by June 23 after finishing up classwork at his previous school.
On the freshmen
As noted earlier, Pikiell foresees a significant role for Nwuli as a college-ready defender, which is rare among freshmen. For him to bestow the title of “stopper” on Nwuli – high praise in a defense-first coach’s mind – is telling.
Point guard Lino Mark “is faster than Corey Sanders,” Pikiell said. “He’s Jacob Young fast.”
Harun Zrno, a 6-foot-7 guard from Bosnia, is “a big-time shooter,” Pikiell said, and a gym rat who is mature at 21 years old.
The Scarlet Knights’ other European import, 6-7 wing Denis Badalau of Romania, has not arrived yet. Pikiell said he’s finishing up academic commitments in Europe and awaits a student visa (on June 18, the U.S. State Department restarted its suspended visa application process, but all applicants are required to unlock their social media accounts for government review).
Will Rutgers continue to mine Europe for players? Seems likely, assuming visas remain attainable.
“The agents (for college prospects) in Europe have more experience than the agents here, so you cut through a lot of red tape with them,” Pikiell said. “Jay (assistant coach Jay Young) went over and saw these guys play. These two kids have been playing with pros. Denis has been playing and practicing with (former Seton Hall starter) Myles Cale and (former NBA forward) Anthony Lamb. I like that they’ve played against men.”
The Scarlet Knights’ 14th player is returning walk-on Max Fradkin, a sophomore guard. Pikiell said he may add a 15th non-scholarship player.
On the free-agent market
One more thing that’s important to note about how Rutgers’ roster came together: It happened on roughly a $4 million budget during a free-agency environment where proven impact players were fetching $1.5 million and up. The Scarlet Knights will be competing against some $10 million lineups in the coming season. They don’t even have a general manager yet, a sign of how far behind Rutgers remains in the new landscape.
“The market just kept going up while there were no rules,” Pikiell said. “Rutgers hasn’t exactly been on the cutting edge of NIL. Other schools have, and have been creative in ways I never would have thought of – housing, real estate, cars. We weren’t in that kind of world.”
On Rutgers and the NBA Draft
This is a big month for Pikiell for a number of reasons. He’s back in the gym. He’s thrilled that his younger daughter, Olivia, is transferring to Rutgers for a postgraduate season with the Scarlet Knights’ women’s lacrosse team after helping North Carolina win the national title last month. And he’s going to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn June 25 to watch Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper get selected high in the NBA Draft.
“Two lottery picks,” Pikiell said. “We never even had one lottery pick.”
The highest a Scarlet Knight ever got drafted was sixth overall – center James Bailey in 1979, six years before the lottery era began. The highest since then was guard Quincy Douby, 19th overall in 2006.
“The two of them are going to have long and unbelievable NBA careers,” Pikiell said.
He’s vexed by the explosion of negative chatter about Bailey because his representatives declined to let him work out for NBA teams, most recently cancelling a scheduled workout with the 76ers.
“It’s the most amazing thing – some teams saw these kids 30 times between practices and games,” Pikiell said. “They love these kids. I don’t know what’s happening with the 76ers, but he’s not going (to be chosen) beyond four or five.”
ESPN has been having a field day with the situation.
“I’ve had GMs tell me the guy with the most upside in the draft is Ace,” Pikiell said. “I guess this is a boring draft and they’ve got to generate some stuff to talk about.”
Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
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