Rutgers basketball: Lathan Sommerville breaks out in opening romp of Wagner

Posted by Admin November 7, 2024 Basketball

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PISCATAWAY – Let the record show that the first standing ovation of the 2024-25 Rutgers basketball season was for a freshman – and not who you would have thought.

Lathan Sommerville, whose arrival on the banks has unfolded in the shadow of fellow rookies and McDonald’s All-Americans Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, delivered a scintillating performance off the bench to spark the Scarlet Knights past Wagner 75-52 Wednesday.

Sporting a new hairdo, having let his braids out, the 6-foot-10, 270-pound center from Illinois tallied 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

“Crowd was electric,” Sommerville said. “That motivates me to keep going, keep playing as hard as I can, keep making the plays I know I can make.”

On the offensive end, he made the most of the additional touches presented by the absence of Bailey, who sat out with an undisclosed injury suffered in Monday’s practice (it’s not believed to be long-term, and Bailey was moving around fine in plainclothes on the bench). He showed expert body control in finishing a full-court layup while changing hands in the air − “million-dollar move and a million-dollar finish,” he said − displayed proficiency with a jump hook, rattled in a 3-pointer, and made both of his free throws. All while committing just one turnover in 26 minutes.

The capstone came midway through the second half, when Sommerville backed down two defenders and dished an over-the-shoulder, no-look pass to baseline-cutting teammate Jordan Derkack, who dropped in the open layup. It was a point guard-quality dime coming from an aircraft carrier.

“He’s such a skilled guy for a freshman and someone of his size,” postgrad forward Zach Martini said. “You saw that pass he made under the rim to Jordan – that’s a moment for him. You put him on the elbow and run the offense through him and he’s comfortable – he doesn’t get sped up.”

Harper put it this way: “His footwork is crazy. He might not be the most athletic, but he’s got people stuck in mud when he gets the ball. How he moves, people don’t really think he can move like that.”

On the defensive end, Sommerville was an upgrade over starter Emmanuel Ogbole, who Wagner successfully attacked for three buckets out of the gate and picked up three fouls – including a technical – in just five minutes. Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell is a stickler on that end, and he’ll surely be a tough film-room grader of Sommerville’s performance, but at a glance, the rookie held his own outside of one blow-by and-one.

“A big thing for us is preventing the low catch,” Martini said. “For him to push the catch out as far as possible, he did a pretty good job of that, and it throws off everything.”

Perhaps most notable: Sommerville paced the Scarlet Knights with eight rebounds, filling a dire need for this team.

“I know I can score and I know I can facilitate, but being able to play hard and rebound, it adds more to my game and helps the team a lot,” he said.

Somerville’s development is a crucial story line for the Scarlet Knights this season because the five-spot is perceived as their weakness. He arrived for summer workouts behind in the conditioning department and – like all freshmen – has a steep defensive learning curve. The faster he gets up to speed, the higher this squad’s ceiling becomes.

“Lathan was rock solid from the beginning,” Pikiell said. “He is improving every day. College is not an easy adjustment. He has lost weight, gotten into better shape. He’s learning he can do a lot more things. He can pass, he can rebound, his best days are ahead of him, too. He’s got that new haircut which is going to keep him going, too.”

Wagner is not exactly a bottom-feeder – head coach and former Seton Hall guard Donald Copeland guided the Seahawks to the NCAA Tournament last March, and they are among the favorites to win the Northeast Conference this season – but these are the kind of games where Sommerville can learn and build confidence.

Rutgers fans seemed to get it. There was the standing ovation, which came when he checked out for the first time, midway through the first half. And when he reentered early in the second half, replacing the foul-prone Ogbole, another huge roar went up.

These fans know potential when they see it.

FIVE TAKEAWAYS

1. Nice start for Dylan Harper

If you want to nitpick, the Don Bosco Prep grad shot just 1-for-6 from the free-throw line and committed four turnovers. But 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting, four assists and three steals was a strong premier for a freshman. He scored more than former program standouts Mike Rosario (17 points), Cliff Omoruyi (14), Corey Sanders (15), big brother Ron Harper Jr. (15) and Geo Baker (10) in their debuts. It was the most opening-game points by a Rutgers freshman in at least 31 years (Charles Jones, who later starred at LIU, netted 19 in 1993) and the most by any Scarlet Knight in a season opener since Kadeem Jack exploded for 30 in 2013.

Playing his first collegiate game in his home state was “a dream come true,” he said.

“I remember coming here when I was little, watching my brother and all the other guys play,” Harper said. “Now getting my chance to play in front of this crowd, in front of the Riot Squad, it is crazy and honestly a blessing.”

Copeland, who was an All-Big East point guard at Seton Hall, was impressed.

“He did a good job of getting others involved and picking his spots,” Copeland said. “I watched the St. John’s exhibition and I thought he played aggressive, even a bit too aggressive at times. Today he played the way the game told him to play, with the talent he has, and it was impressive.”

2. Rebounding issue persists

Wagner outrebounded Rutgers 42-39 overall and 12-4 on the offensive glass. This after St. John’s hammered the Scarlet Knights with 21 offensive boards. Missing Bailey doesn’t help, and Pikiell certainly inserted the 6-foot-8 Martini and the 6-foot-6 Derkack into the starting lineup with the issue in mind. The tinkering on this front will continue.

“Everyone’s got to do their job,” he said of team rebounding. “We got to put it all together and make sure teams aren’t getting second looks.”

3. Ace Bailey back soon?

Pikiell made it sound like Bailey is likely to suit up for Monday’s game against Saint Peter’s.

“Precautionary; we want to make sure we take care of our guys,” the coach said. “I’m not anticipating a long journey.”

Harper said the players responded with a “next man up” mentality.

“Obviously we all want him to play with what he brings as a player,” he said. “As a team we were like, ‘Damn,’ but we all came together. It was obviously bad not having him, sad, but we picked it up for him.”

4. More notable subs

Postgrad forward PJ Hayes continued to be a model of efficiency. The San Diego transfer scored 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, including 2-of-4 from deep. He committed no turnovers in 27 minutes. His plus/minus of plus-22 ranked second in the game only behind Harper’s plus-28.

Postgrad guard Tyson Acuff, who is still making his way back after missing three-and-a-half months with a knee injury, finished with 3 points, 3 boards and 2 assists while committing no turnovers in 14 minutes. He shot isn’t there (1-of-5) but he showed some flashes of the player who averaged 21 points at Eastern Michigan last season.

“Tyson Acuff, as he continues to improve his injury, he’s gonna be real viable,” Pikiell said. “So it’s nice to look down the bench and have options, it’s nice to look down the bench and have size, it’s nice to look down the bench and have guys that can get a bucket, and drivers, and the most important thing we got to continue to do is just share the game and get our defense up to snuff, and these guys have a chance to be really good defensively too. I’m excited about the options.”

5. A Jersey celebration

It always means a bit more to win with homegrown players, and having three Jersey boys in the starting lineup – Harper, Martini and Derkack – was a feel-good touch. Derkack, who attended Colonia High School 10 miles away, tallied eight points, seven rebounds and two steals and drew a team-high seven fouls. Martini, who hails from Warren and played high school ball at Gill St. Bernard’s, posted eight points and five boards. He said he tried to listen to the public address announcer say the words “New Jersey” when he was introduced, but the crowd noise drowned it out.

“I was never someone to really celebrate, but it’s almost like it’s involuntary, celebrating here,” he said. “This is such an awesome place to play.”

We’ll leave the last word on this to Harper.

“Hearing that name, ‘New Jersey,’ after your name is something special,” he said.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.