Rutgers has one commit to its class of 2019, and that is a big one as Gill St. Bernard’s point guard Paul Mulcahy has just been bumped to four-star status by 247Sports. His recruitment was a very busy one that saw him rack up close to 20 offers.

In recent weeks, he received visits from multiple head coaches, including UConn’s Danny Hurley, Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner, and Northwestern’s Chris Collins.

One of the reasons Mulcahy was been so well received is because he is such a multi-dimensional player.

“He’s a two-way player,” Gill St. Bernard’s head coach Mergin Sina said of Mulcahy. “Most of the time, when you’re very good offensively, sometimes you give up a little bit on the defensive end. That’s most players that are good offensive players, but this kid really puts an effort on both ends. He always wants to guard the best players, puts his nose in there, is always rebounding. He was averaging a triple-double for us and that’s not an inflation. That’s against not only the best competition in the state, but we played a national schedule, so those numbers are all real numbers. Those aren’t numbers where they’re inflated by playing easy teams. This kid cares defensively and that’s hard to find these days.”

This marks the second straight year in which Rutgers basketball head coach Steve Pikiell pulled in a four-star recruit. Last year, as part of the 2018 recruiting class, Pikiell landed a commitment from Maryland shooting guard Montez Mathis.

Mathis finished as 247Sports’ No.126-ranked prospect in the 2018 class. Coincidentally, Mulcahy is also slotted as the No.126-ranked prospect in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Mulcahy and Mathis are different kinds of players, but the two should work well together in the Rutgers backcourt.

"Montez Mathis is a very exciting addition to Rutgers Basketball," Pikiell said in a statement following Mathis signing. "I identified him very early in the process and he really embodies what we're trying to do here. He's relentless on the court. He's unselfish and hard working. He's a great young man from a great family, coming to us from a terrific program. We're very excited about his toughness, his rebounding and his ability to produce buckets. He's a scorer that is going to do many tremendous things for us."

In a similar situation, Pikiell also identified Mulcahy early in the recruiting process.

“He offered me early. I think I was his first offer,” Mulcahy told Scarlet Nation. “It was like two days into his job at Rutgers. He built on that and he visited me a lot. He even came to small school tournaments in the summer when no other coaches were there. He came to watch me at things like that.”

Mulcahy committed to Rutgers last week, during which time he was ranked as a three-star recruit.

GET INSIDE: Want the latest inside scoop on Rutgers? Try our 7-DAY FREE TRIAL and become a Scarlet Nation Subscriber!