Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Just when you thought basketball in the Soprano State couldn’t get any stranger, here comes this gem.
Just 24 hours before Mike Rice is to be introduced as the new Rutgers coach Thursday at a press conference, former coach Fred Hill met with his old players Wednesday at an off-campus location.
“The players did meet with him off campus,” a relative of one player said.
Asked what Hill said, the relative said, “Sorry things didn’t work out and that he cared for them.'”
Hill reached out over the weekend to forward Jonathan Mitchell and expressed his interest in meeting with the players, but that was before the news broke Monday that Rice would be the new coach.
Still, the players agreed to meet with Hill, who resigned April 19 in the wake of a profanity-laced tirade at a baseball game.
To quote the group OMC, “How bizarre. How bizarre.”
In other Rutgers news:
**Former Rutgers guard Mike Rosario leaves Monday for Florida. He will sit a year and have two years of eligibility remaining.
**Gannett NJ reports that freshman wing Dane Miller recently underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his left (non-shooting) hand and will be out five weeks.
**ZAGSBLOG contribute Alex Kline has been in touch with Rutgers signee Austin Carroll, a 6-3 shooting guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy, who reiterates he’s committed to the new coach.
“As of now, I’m still committed there,” Carroll told Kline.
Carroll and 6-8 St. Benedict’s Prep forward Gilvydas Biruta are the two members of the Rutgers recruiting class of 2010.
**For more on how Rice knows the NJ recruiting scene, read this feature on how he landed Karon Abraham of Paterson Eastside.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Just when you thought basketball in the Soprano State couldn’t get any stranger, here comes this gem.
Just 24 hours before Mike Rice is to be introduced as the new Rutgers coach Thursday at a press conference, former coach Fred Hill met with his old players Wednesday at an off-campus location.
“The players did meet with him off campus,” a relative of one player said.
Asked what Hill said, the relative said, “Sorry things didn’t work out and that he cared for them.'”
Hill reached out over the weekend to forward Jonathan Mitchell and expressed his interest in meeting with the players, but that was before the news broke Monday that Rice would be the new coach.
Still, the players agreed to meet with Hill, who resigned April 19 in the wake of a profanity-laced tirade at a baseball game.
To quote the group OMC, “How bizarre. How bizarre.”
In other Rutgers news:
**Former Rutgers guard Mike Rosario leaves Monday for Florida. He will sit a year and have two years of eligibility remaining.
**Gannett NJ reports that freshman wing Dane Miller recently underwent surgery to repair a ligament in his left (non-shooting) hand and will be out five weeks.
**ZAGSBLOG contribute Alex Kline has been in touch with Rutgers signee Austin Carroll, a 6-3 shooting guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy, who reiterates he’s committed to the new coach.
“As of now, I’m still committed there,” Carroll told Kline.
Carroll and 6-8 St. Benedict’s Prep forward Gilvydas Biruta are the two members of the Rutgers recruiting class of 2010.
**For more on how Rice knows the NJ recruiting scene, read this feature on how he landed Karon Abraham of Paterson Eastside.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.
