Roselle Catholic senior Cliff Omoruyi nestled into his court-side seat behind the Rutgers University bench on Wednesday, Jan. 15.

As the Scarlet Knights picked up a win over Indiana for one of their 18 home victories, word got out that the four-star recruit was at the RAC.

“We want Cliff.”

The chants started soft but quickly grew to a roar that filled Rutgers’ Trapezoid of Terror prompting the 6-10 center to stand up and acknowledge the crowd’s pleas.

The student section started a “We Want Cliff” chant for Cluff Omoruyi, and eventually the whole RAC joined him. The 4-star center stood up and got a raucous response: pic.twitter.com/AY8JpdeJ8a — Brian Fonseca (@briannnnf) January 16, 2020

In year’s past, no matter how bad Rutgers wanted a New Jersey star like Omoruyi, chances were low that he was going to end up on the Banks of the Raritan.

That has changed during Steve Pikiell’s four years as head coach.

He has secured three recruits from N.J. in his tenure - including this year’s leading scorer Ron Harper Jr. from Don Bosco Prep and three-time All-State selection Paul Mulcahy, who graduated from Gill St. Bernard’s last summer.

Now, Rutgers wants Cliff and it very well could get him.

On Tuesday, March 3, Rutgers knocked off No. 9 Maryland in a game that appeared to secure the Scarlet Knights’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1991. It was set to represent New Jersey along with Big East co-champion Seton Hall, which would make its fifth straight appearance in the “Big Dance."

That night, Omoruyi, cut his list of colleges down to three. Rutgers made the cut.

Although Rutgers’ national championship dream abruptly ended when the NCAA canceled its 2020 men’s basketball tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic, its dream of Omoruyi is still very much intact, and the second team All-Stater will choose among Rutgers, Arizona State and Auburn on Sunday.

“It was really cool when they were chanting for me,” Omoruyi, the N.J. Gatorade boys basketball Player of the Year, said. “It made me feel special. It made me feel like people wanted me - especially because I just started playing basketball three years ago.”

Rutgers has caught more than just the eye of Omoruyi and has made scholarship offers to 11 players across the Garden State.

Four-star Rutgers Prep junior Trey Patterson is on that list and the excitement surrounding Rutgers basketball was felt down Easton Avenue and onto the steps of Rutgers Prep’s gym - a place where Pikiell, who was just named the 2020 Jim Phelan Award national coach of the year, could be spotted from time-to-time.

“It’s amazing around here,” Patterson said. “We have Rutgers down the street having success and we’re having success at Rutgers Prep. It’s a really good thing. Coach Pikiell is doing a great job with those guys.”

Rutgers isn’t the only school creating a buzz around New Jersey. Seton Hall has won 20 or more games the last five years. This season, it finished ranked No. 15 in the country and won a share of the Big East title for the first time since 1993.

St. Peter’s Prep sophomore guard Mark Armstrong holds offers from both programs and has felt that buzz first hand.

“It’s amazing that both schools are looking at me. It’s a blessing,” he said. “It’s fun watching Myles Powell at Seton Hall (a Trenton native) and Ron Harper Jr. at Rutgers. It’s great knowing that I came from the same state as them and that I can follow in their footsteps.”

Coaching staffs from both Seton Hall, which has offered five N.J. players, and Rutgers were constants in gyms throughout the state this season, making appearances at showcases, regular season games and county finals.

Pikiell and Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, who just finished his 10th season at the Big East school, are known faces throughout the state and their involvement in the N.J. basketball community has given them a real shot at keeping New Jersey’s talent at home.

“You have coaches that have been around their programs for a while and these coaches are going to be here for a long time,” St. Peter’s Prep coach Alex Mirabel said. “That gives the players some transparency and understanding that by the time they get to their school, the coaches are still going to be there. The coaches have built trust with players, high school coaches, AAU coaches and families around the state. It’s going to be really hard for out-of-state schools to recruit here.”

Richard Greco covers boys basketball for NJ.com and may be reached at rgreco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Richard_V_Greco. Find NJ.com on Facebook.