There is one goal driving the assembly of Rutgers basketball’s 2020 recruiting class.

Get bigger.

The guard-heavy Scarlet Knights are in a hunt for frontcourt players, and that began Friday with their first commitment of the cycle: 6-foot-9 power forward Dean Reiber of North Carolina. Here are three things to know about Reiber, plus a look at the other 2020 bigs high on Rutgers’ radar as roster balance becomes an imperative for head coach Steve Pikiell.

1. He’s under the radar. At three stars, with Penn State as his only other high-major offer and a No. 247 ranking in his class by 247 Sports, Reiber follows in the mold of Pikiell’s previous recruiting (Myles Johnson, Geo Baker, Eugene Omoruyi and Ron Harper Jr. all had three or fewer stars at the time of their commitment).

Playing public-school ball in the Charlotte area, Reiber averaged 16.8 points, 8.9 rebounds 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 56 percent from the field at Northwest Guilford High, which finished 18-8 and won its conference last winter. He was named second-team All-Area by the Charlotte News & Record, which described his game this way: “can face up and hit 3s over bigger post players, as well as post up smaller opponents.”

For AAU powerhouse Team Loaded, which is stocked with Division I recruits, Reiber was a starter and fifth offensive option who was asked to do a lot of the dirtywork underneath (similar to how his role is envisioned at RU). He averaged eight points and five boards this past spring on the Adidas circuit.

2. Steve Pikiell sees him as a potential Pat Sullivan. New Jersey hoop-heads of a certain age will remember Sullivan, a 6-8 forward who dominated Bergen County with Group I public Bogota in the late 1980s and then became a mainstay for North Carolina (Sullivan’s missed free throw at the end of the 1993 national title game was rebounded by Michigan’s Chris Webber, who then infamously called for a timeout when his team had none left). Sullivan now is an assistant coach with New York Knicks.

Why the comparison? Similar frame (Rutgers’ coaches believe Reiber’s weight is closer to the 225 pounds than the 205 he’s listed at), basketball IQ and motor. Sullivan was known for his whatever-it-takes approach to the game.

Another historical side note: Reiber's grandfather attended Rutgers.

RELATED: Pat Sullivan back home with Knicks

3. He fills a dire need. Rutgers has three open scholarships left for 2020-21 with the fall signing period just two months away. Before Reiber’s commitment, seven of the nine projected returnees for the 20-21 season were guards or wings. The program’s only underclassmen at the 4/5 are Johnson and Mamadou Doucoure. Of the three openings, the Scarlet Knights will fill at least two with bigs.

Here are four 2020 recruits to watch, listed alphabetically:

Coleman Hawkins: A 6-8 power forward from California (247 Sports: 3 stars, No. 213), he lists offers from a bunch of high majors including Arizona, Illinois, Marquette and USC.

Zed Key: A 6-8 power forward from Long Island Lutheran (247 Sports: 3 stars, No. 223), he lists offers from Florida and Providence. Pikiell has strong ties to his high school staff from the Stony Brook days.

Martice Mitchell: A 6-10 center from Chicago (247 Sports: 3 stars, No. 195), he lists offers from fellow Big Ten programs Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. He’s already taken an official visit to Rutgers.

Cliff Omoruyi: The 6-10 center from Roselle Catholic (247 Sports: 4 stars, No. 48) has been a longtime Rutgers priority. The competition is intense and includes Kentucky and Pittsburgh. He dropped by the new practice facility in Piscataway last week.

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.