How Peoria’s Lathan Sommerville transformed into an important part of Rutgers basketball

PISCATAWAY, N.J. — It was the kind of dime you’d expect to see from a playmaking guard — a one-handed skip pass from the top of the key that hit cutting wing P.J. Hayes perfectly in stride for an easy layup.

Except the assist came from 6-foot-10, 275-pound center Lathan Sommerville.

While most of the 1,500 or so fans at Rutgers basketball’s intrasquad scrimmage Saturday focused on smooth-as-silk Dylan Harper and human highlight reel Ace Bailey, fellow freshman Sommerville was making a bid to shore up the biggest positional question mark for the Scarlet Knights in 2024-25.

Can the Peorian push presumed starter Emmanuel Ogbole for serious minutes at center?

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When Sommerville arrived on campus in June, that prospect seemed doubtful as he came to a stark realization: He was struggling to keep up.

“It’s not high school anymore,” Sommerville said earlier in the week. “Going at a different pace, I had to adjust to that.”

So the Richwoods grad and 2024 Journal Star Player of the Year lost 20-plus pounds and focused on “improving aspects of my motor,” he said, “knowing I have to go hard every single play, every single possession.”

He had no choice, because Ogbole was doing just that. He lacks Sommerville’s offensive skill, but the 6-foot-10, 270-pound junior does what head coach Steve Pikiell values most: defends and rebounds with a high level of physicality.

“For me, it’s good competition,” Sommerville said. “We’re going at each other every day.”

On Saturday Sommerville sank a runner in the lane and a hook shot, made both of his free-throw attempts, and threw multiple quality passes. Ogbole, who missed two dunks and got stuffed at the rim on a third dunk attempt, was the more consistent defender and usually in the right position. Unlike Sommerville, who handled on the perimeter and missed a couple of long-range jumpers, Ogbole played exclusively inside.

No one is expecting either of these guys to play like Cliff Omoruyi, who will be rattling rims for national title contender Alabama this winter. The question is: Together, as a platoon, can they hold down the post?

“The biggest thing I learned from Cliff was, understand your role,” Ogbole said earlier in the week.

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His role will be interior enforcer, using the strength that has widened the eyes of his teammates in the weight room.

“You think you’re doing a lot of weight and you look over and compare yourself to E and you see he has two more plates, two more 45s on it,” freshman forward Bryce Dortch said. “You don’t even take it as discouraging because that’s how strong he is.”

Ogbole said he’s been working with assistant coach Jay Young, a big-man expert, on the finer points of defending: help positioning, staying on his feet, keeping balanced. He’s relatively new to the sport and has played in just 10 Division 1 games.

“I think I’ve come a long way,” he said.

Just how long, time will tell. But Pikiell’s usage of these guys, one a banger, the other a finisher, will influence how Rutgers fares in a Big Ten that is never short on quality big men.

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: Rutgers basketball: Lathan Sommerville of Peoria, Illinois, part of lineup talks