Rutgers has granted sophomore guard Mike Rosario a conditional release from his scholarship after meeting with athletic director Tim Pernetti and informing him of his intent to transfer. Rosario leaving is just another chip in the glass that is surely about to bust by weeks end with the turmoil going on in the Scarlet Knights basketball program.It started two weeks ago when head coach Fred Hill Jr. got into a verbal scuffle with Pittsburgh's head baseball coach Joe Jordano at a Rutgers baseball game.
Fast forward to today and now Rutgers is on the verge of a legal battle with Hill after the 51-year-old declined a $600,000 buyout before receiving his letter of termination from the university on Monday. Add to the drama that incoming freshman Gilvydas Biruta, a 6-8 power forward from St. Benedict's Prep, asked Pernetti to get out of his letter of intent two weeks ago.
As for Rosario, the Jersey City native certainly had his ups and downs at Rutgers. Fans need to be honest and realize Rosario was over hyped coming to the Scarlet Knights. He was the first ever McDonald's all-American to come to Piscatway and hopes were high when he arrived in 2008. But two seasons of sub-par shooting percentage and brutal turnover to assist ratio exposed the guard's weaknesses.
It's been rumored that Rosario is interested in transferring to Southern California, Kansas, or North Carolina. Rosario's friend and former teammate at St. Anthony's Jio Fontan is at USC now, but Rutgers plans to sue the school for tampering charges. In his freshman season, Rosario and Rutgers traveled to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels--it was believed that after a strong performance Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams approached the young guard and had a lengthy conversation, it was unknown what they talked about.
Rosario was an outcast in his two years at Rutgers. At times he oddly used third-person narrative to respond to reporters and always seemed distant from his teammates. The school's newspaper, The Daily Targum, even had an article last week citing sources saying that teammate's never liked him and wanted him to leave.
It's very doubtful that Rutgers was hampering Rosario's chances of making the NBA. Rosario is a slim-built, 6-3 guard, who has a weak left hand and has a knack for horrible shot selection. Unlike former Rutgers guard Quincy Douby, Rosario is not a long range shooter. It's surprising enough that Rosario's ego will let him sit out a year before he can return to college basketball.
Rosario had a perfect situation in high school. His coach, Bob Hurley Sr., was able to keep his star guard's ego in check with team style basketball. Not to mention that Rosario had Dominic Cheek, Jio Fontan, Tyshawn Taylor, and A.J. Rodgers on his squad--all went on to play at big-time schools.
Rosario is the last thing Rutgers needs to worry about at this time. They first must settle the dispute with Hill and replace him within the month as spring recruiting heats up. Then the school can worry about who is coming back next season and incoming freshman there are.
Rosario may wind up at a place like UNC, but he is no Dahntay Jones who transferred from Rutgers to Duke in 2000 and now plays for the Pacers. At best, Rosario is a sixth-man on a mid-level ACC team. Could he wind up in the NBA? Yes, but Rosario must reshape his attitude and start from scratch at a new school with only two years left to do so.
Like always, fans will have to get over this departure. It's like a marriage that wasn't solid from the start, and both parties new it and now they're acting on it. Rutgers basketball will move on and Rosario will too, only time will tell which party benefits from the split.
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