Fab Five For Rutgers
Most people associate the term "Fab Five" with the University of Michigan recruiting class that included Chris Weber and Jalen Rose, but to hear Jamar Nutter (right) speak at this past weekend's Metro Classic, the idea is not passe.
Nutter, a muscular 6-1, 195 pound shooting/combo guard from Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J., said that he and Paterson Catholic's Marquis Webb are in the process of trying to orchestrate a similar class at Rutgers University come the fall signing period.
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"Rutgers has five scholarships open, so we are trying to do a package deal with me, Marquis, Darryl Watkins, Will Sheridan and Terrence Roberts," Nutter said. "Two or three of us are on it, but me and Marquis are the leaders trying to do it."
All five players compete with Jimmy Salmon's T5T Playaz program, so they all spend much of the basketball off-season traveling to tournaments throughout the country. Four of the five players attend high school in the Garden State, with the lone exception being Sheridan, who hails just south of the New Jersey Turnpike in Wilmington, Del.
Nutter, who is best known for his strong finishing ability and physical defense, told the Insiders Report/Rivalshoops.com that he has been offered scholarships thus far by Rutgers and Seton Hall. He has visited both of those Big East programs unofficially, and is at Villanova today (6/24) on another unofficial trip.
Rounding out his list of six schools are Maryland, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, though none of those three programs has extended a scholarship offer at this time.
"I don't have a leader right now, but I am going to cut my list down soon," Nutter said. "I am not sure yet on when I will make a decision, but it could come before the ABCD Camp and it will definitely be before my high school season starts."
Of course, compiling a mega recruiting class is a tricky and difficult process. Seton Hall's impressive haul three years ago of Eddie Griffin, Andre Barrett and Marcus Toney-El was great on paper, but Griffin bolted after one year and the Pirates have struggled quite a bit in the past two seasons with the recruits assembled by then Seton Hall Head Coach Tommy Amaker (now at Michigan).
Roberts, Watkins, and Sheridan are all blessed with size, and that has made all three players huge priorities for not just the Big East schools, but many of the major college programs and conferences throughout the country.
"Some of us are still looking at our options," Nutter admitted.
So for Rutgers to pull off this Fab Five, Nutter and Webb will have to get everybody on the same page. And they just might have the whole summer to work on that project, depending on when the first shoe drops in this recruiting scenario.