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PISCATAWAY - After three lean years that have yielded 32 wins, Rutgers coach Fred Hill thinks change is finally on the way.

Heading into the Scarlet Knights season opener on Saturday against Marist, Hill feels the upward trend will begin this season and culminate the next.

"I just think we're deeper and more athletic," said Hill, whose team comes off an 11-21 season, 2-16 in the Big East. "We're going to be able to score the ball much better. We've got some young players and some inexperienced older guys, but I like the chemistry, camaraderie and work ethic."

Known as a master recruiter as an assistant, Hill begins his first year with all players he recruited.

"We've got the right group of guys to move forward," he said. "We have to let them play together, get that game experience. They'll get better as the year goes on, and we'll only lose one guy. So I'm looking at it as a two-year type thing."

One reason optimism is that last year's co-MVP winners - sophomore guard Mike Rosario and sophomore forward Gregory Echenique - won't have to log as many minutes.

Echenique averaged 8.4 points and led all Big East rookies in rebounds (8.4 per game) and blocks (78). Rosario was an All-Big East Rookie selection after leading the team with a 16.2 scoring average. He sat out Rutgers' scrimmages with a "tweaked ankle," but Hill says it's nothing serious.

"In year's past, I've had to keep guys like that on the floor for 37 minutes," Hill said. "Rosario and Gregory will benefit greatly from our new players. I think 28 to 32 minutes is ideal. You can maximize those minutes on the court and I've still got guys who can come in and play."

Also returning is senior shot blocker Hamady Ndiaye, along with junior guard Mike Coburn.

Key newcomers include junior-college transfer James Beatty, who gives Hill his first true point guard, and Florida transfer Jonathan Mitchell, a 6-foot-7 athletic forward.

Hill said Coburn and Beatty will both see time at the point to start the season. Mitchell, who played limited minutes on the Gators 2007 championship team, must shake off some rust after sitting out a year.

"He's been very solid, he can make a shot, make a pass," Hill said. "He needs to get more comfortable, more active and more aggressive. That will come the more he plays."

Hill has also been impressed by freshman guard Muhamed Hasani, but is concerned that 7-foot freshman center Brian Okam has fallen behind due to an ankle problem that kept him sidelined for a while.

Overall, the coach feels all 11 scholarship players can contribute and that he has the personnel to run on offense for the first time. Defensively, the Knights will remain a man-to-man team, mixing in some zone.

Hill does not like to state tangible goals without getting the pulse of his team and a read on the Big East, but he likes where things are going.

"We have a realistic shot at postseason play," he said. "Postseason means a lot of things to a lot of people. My goal is to be an NCAA participant, which we haven't done here since 1991.

"But if we're able to go to the NIT, it will be a great step forward," he added. "We still want to continue to get better. I see us growing and taking the next step. What that means in wins and losses, who knows? But I feel the right pieces are in place, and we'll grow and move forward together."

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