Fresh faces heighten postseason expectations

It is tough to say a team with only one senior has experience.
But to some extent, the Rutgers men’s basketball team has it.
Sophomores Mike Rosario and Greg Echenique started nearly every game in their campaign as true freshmen and their development is essential to the Scarlet Knights’ success. But junior forward and transfer from Florida Jonathan Mitchell brings the most valuable experience — one no other RU player has — in the form of postseason play.
“There’s not any magic to it,” said head coach Fred Hill Jr. “When you’re talented and you’re experienced, you’re really, really good. When you’re talented and you have some experience and youth, you start to show the signs of becoming a better team and a better program. I think that’s where we are.”
So, in Hill’s fourth year at RU, the process continues.
On a team with six new faces and two sophomores who can carry less of the burden than last season, the expectations are there.
But more importantly, they are within reach.
“You want it overnight, you want it yesterday — so do I,” Hill said. “Now, we’re talking about a team that has realistic expectations. We have the right people in the program … and postseason is a realistic goal for this group.”
And while the personnel are different, the schedule brings just as much promise.
Last season, many called the Big East the best conference in the history of college basketball. Three No. 1 seeds represented the conference in the NCAA Tournament, and two teams reached the Final Four.
This year, things are easier.
“I was expecting it to be tough, I was expecting it to be good,” Rosario said. “But this year the conference is not going to be as tough. You don’t have DeJuan Blair, Paul Harris, Jonny Flynn and those guys. The conference has basically leveled out.”
Not only did the league lose NBA-caliber talent, but RU is also treated to playing DePaul twice. The Blue Demons went 9-24 last season and the Knights earned one of their two conference wins against the Chicago team.
But for the Knights to succeed in their goal of reaching the postseason, they must take advantage of a weak non-conference schedule.
Of the 12 out-of-conference games, nine are at the Louis Brown Athletic Center. The nine teams RU hosts combined for a 111-165 record last season.
“I know some people think if you play harder games then you’ll be more ready,” Echenique said. “In a way, that’s true, but I don’t think it will affect us as much. Sometimes you just need to play and get confident, especially since we have a lot of new guys.”
One of those new guys is Mitchell, who won the 2006-07 National Championship with Florida. When asked what he learned from the title run, his answer was simple: Win the games you are supposed to win.
The message translates to the early-season games in Piscataway.
“You could beat the deaf and the blind — not knocking them — and it builds some confidence,” Mitchell said. “Every game counts, every game matters. We have to instill the winning mentality and take care of business early with our non-conference schedule.”
 

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