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Rutgers coaching saga leaves Nicholas in limbo


Eastern York junior Andrew Nicholas may soon have to reconsider his college options.

On Wednesday, mycentraljersey.com reported that Rutgers men's basketball head coach Fred Hill will likely be fired by the end of the week, in part because of a profanity-laden outburst during a Scarlet Knights' baseball game last week. (Sound confusing? Read the entire report by the myCJ.com guys here. Mind-blowing stuff.) The report says that the Rutgers athletic department is building a case to fire HIll with cause, thus voiding the $1.8 million buyout he would be owed if he was let go.

Nicholas, who verbally committed to Rutgers last summer, said he would re-open the recruiting process if Hill is let go.

"If Coach Hill gets fired, I'll open it back up," Nicholas said Wednesday.

In that scenario, the 6-foot-6 junior said he would look at three other schools: Penn State, Villanova and St. Joseph's.

"They would be the ones I would consider," Nicholas said.

Nicholas scored a team-high 20.9 points per game this year for the Golden Knights. On Wednesday, he was named to the Associated Press Pennsylvania all-state second team in Class AAA. Scout.com currently lists Nicholas as Rutgers' only verbal commitment for the 2011 class.

We'll see how things play out in Piscataway the next few days. Stay tuned on this one.

UPDATE: Another Web site, newjerseynewsroom.com, is reporting that Hill will be fired.

UPDATE No. 2: Foxsports.com's Jeff Goodman is also reporting the school will likely announce Hill's termination on Thursday. Not looking good for Hill at this point.