College basketball preview: 10 reasons for New Jerseyans to watch in 2023-24

The banner went up in Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Rothman Center Wednesday.

It reads: “Smallest team, biggest upset.”

Has there ever been a more Jersey thing than FDU basketball knocking top-seeded Purdue out of the NCAA Tournament?

Well, there was Princeton out-toughing Arizona and running rings around Missouri on the same Big Dance weekend.

And then there was Saint Peter’s, one year earlier, shocking Kentucky and Purdue on the way to the Elite Eight.

You get the idea.

The Garden State is the home of the giant slayer – a role that is vital to the survival of March Madness as we know it. As greedy power-conference commissioners and television executives ponder diluting this piece of Americana by expanding the bracket and squeezing out the smaller leagues, every shining moment from FDU, Princeton and Saint Peter’s makes that power play just a bit harder to execute.

“Mid-major basketball is the heart and soul of this thing,” FDU coach Jack Castleberry said. “There is a role for mid-major basketball and a crowd that really appreciates the value that it brings.”

That crowd lives in Jersey, for sure. That’s where, with the 2023-24 season about to get underway, we’ll start our annual 10 reasons for New Jerseyans to watch college basketball this winter.

1. There’s a giant slayer out there

Could it be Rider? The Broncs are favored to win the MAAC after returning three starters, including difference-making forward Mervin James, from the second-place squad in 2022-23.

It could be FDU again. The Knights also return three starters from their historic run, led by St. Joseph High School (Montvale) alum Ansley Almonor.

And Princeton brings back six rotation players, including 2023 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Caden Pierce. The Tigers won’t be sneaking up on anyone, including their opening-night opponent.

2. Jersey rivalries

That Princeton opponent is Rutgers, and how sweet it is. The old Route 1 neighbors, inextricably tied by their participation in the first intercollegiate football game in 1869 and rivals in hoops since 1917, rejoin their hardwood series Nov. 6 in Trenton after a 10-year hiatus.

It's one of many Jersey vs. Jersey contests in the early going, including Saint Peter’s at Seton Hall (Nov. 6), Saint Peter’s at NJIT (Nov. 11), Saint Peter’s at FDU (Nov. 15), Princeton at Monmouth (Nov. 18), FDU at NJIT (Dec. 2) and of course Rutgers at Seton Hall (Dec. 9).

3.  Two big stars

Rutgers center Cliff Omoruyi is the preseason favorite to win the Haggerty Award as the best player in the metropolitan area. Seton Hall point guard Kadary Richmond is in that conversation, too. These are two seniors, with a combined seven years invested at their schools, whose dynamism will be worth the price of admission. NBA scouts will be watching, too.

4. Homegrown coaches

You don’t get any more Jersey than Grant Billmeier, the Pennington native and St. Pat’s and Seton Hall alum who is making his college head-coaching debut with NJIT. Jersey City’s Bashir Mason is entering year two as the skipper at hometown Saint Peter’s, Rider’s Kevin Baggett attended high school close by in Burlington City, and Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway and Princeton’s Mitch Henderson are coaching their alma maters as favorite sons.

5. Homegrown men’s standouts

In addition to Omoruyi (Roselle Catholic) and Almonor there’s Princeton forward Zach Martini (Gill St. Bernard’s), Rutgers guard Derek Simpson (Lenape), Seton Hall guard Al-Amir Dawes (Patrick School) and Monmouth guard Xander Rice (West Long Branch).

Rice is a particularly good story as he takes a postgrad year playing for his father, longtime Hawks skipper King Rice, after a stellar career at Bucknell. If anyone can help coalesce a roster with many new faces, it’s a coach’s son at the point.

6. Homegrown women’s standouts

Second-year Rutgers women’s coach Coquese Washington is building a long-neglected Jersey pipeline with sophomore wing Antonia Bates (Bound Brook/Rutgers Prep) and junior wing Destiny Adams, a former Manchester Township High School star who transferred home from North Carolina.

Seton Hall features Blackwood’s Azana Baines, a postgrad forward who was named preseason All-Big East honorable mention. And Princeton is coming off an NCAA Tournament berth with some help from Madison St. Rose, an Old Bridge native and St. John Vianney High School grad who should have a big impact.

Plus Monmouth’s women, with three Garden Staters on the roster, is coming off a surprise NCAA Tournament appearance.

7. The gyms

College basketball is meant to be played in gyms, not arenas. You’ll find some state-of-the-art ones at NJIT (the 3,500-seat WEC) and Monmouth (4,100-seat OceanFirst Bank Center), plus recently renovated Run Baby Run Arena at Saint Peter’s (3,200) and the Rothman Center at FDU (3,000). Then there are endearing classics at Rutgers (8,000-seat Jersey Mike’s Arena) and Princeton (6,800-seat Jadwin Gym).

These are places where the sightlines are great and the bleachers shake. They’re gyms, and that’s where this sport belongs.

8. The hidden gem

As always, the New Jersey Athletic Conference features some of the best Division 3 hardwood action in the country. A whopping three men’s teams from the NJAC made last March’s NCAA Tournament: Stockton, Rowan and Montclair State. NJAC Co-Player of the Year Ja’Zere Noel is back in the frontcourt for Rowan.

On the women’s side, New Jersey City guard Damaris Rodriguez is back after winning NJAC Player of the Year honors and leading the Gothic Knights to the regular-season conference crown.

9. Jersey alums elsewhere

Florida Atlantic guard Nick Boyd (St. Mary-Rutherford High School) is back after a breakout star turn during the Owls’ run to the Final Four.

Other Jersey boys to track out of state: Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler (Immaculata Conception), Florida State forward Jamir Watkins (Mater Dei Prep/Trenton Catholic), Villanova guard Mark Armstrong (St. Peter’s Prep), Memphis guard Jahvon Quinerly (Hudson Catholic), UC-Santa Barbara guard Josh Pierre-Louis (Roselle Catholic), Drake center Darnell Brodie (Newark East Side), St. Bonaventure guard Daryl Banks (Patrick School), Virginia Tech forward Justyn Mutts (St. Augustine) and Washington guard Paul Mulcahy (Gill St. Bernard’s).

Among freshmen, keep an eye on Kentucky guard D.J. Wagner (Camden) and center Aaron Bradshaw (Camden), Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako (Gill St. Bernard’s/Roselle Catholic) and St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher (Roselle Catholic).

And of course there is Jersey City’s own Dan Hurley, coach of reigning national champion UConn.

10. Living history

Think about Jersey’s contributions to the game: The Princeton offense, the first full-time women’s coach (Theresa Grentz at Rutgers), the behind-the-back dribble (Seton Hall’s Bob Davies), one of the very first Black players (Paul Robeson at Rutgers), the first national women’s player of the year (Carol Blazejowski of Montclair State), the most memorable backdoor layup ever (Princeton over UCLA), the first No. 15 seed to reach the Elite Eight (Saint Peter’s), the biggest upset in Big Dance history (FDU over Purdue).

What historic moment awaits this winter?

It might be brewing right now at a gym near you.

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at  jcarino@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: New Jersey college basketball fans have many reasons to watch