The Rivals 150 was released for the Class of 2009 and Rutgers can lay claim to two players in the group: No. 33 Greg Echenique and No. 89 Dane Miller.
Rutgers is trying to get the 6-9 Echenique eligible to play this fall, but we hear they are still working out some details relating to his academics. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming days.
Meantime, Brooklyn Lincoln star Lance Stephenson chimed in at No. 7, St. Anthony standout Dominic Cheek at No. 11 and St. Patrick of Elizabeth guard Dexter Strickland, who committed to North Carolina, at No. 16. All three are headed to Portland, Ore., this weekend for the second adidas Nations camp.
John Wall, Xavier Henry, Derrick Favors, Renardo Sidney and John Henson came in as the top five prospects in the class.
UAB-bound guard Tamir Jackson of St. Benedict’s Prep is No. 100 and Mount Vernon’s Sherrod Wright is No. 101. UAB is getting two top 150 players, including No. 9 DeMarcus Cousins.
Kevin Parrom of St. Raymond’s chimed in at No. 141. We expect Parrom to end up somewhere else next season after being kicked out of St. Ray’s in the wake of punching head coach Oliver Antigua during a disagreement that heated up on Tuesday.