Rutgers men’s basketball has been recruiting some of the top guards in the 2025 class. They include Darius Adams, Meleek Thomas, Darius Acuff and Nigel James. Per Hitmen Hoops, Rutgers is also very much in the mix for 4-star guard/wing Brandon Stores Jr.
2025 4⭐️ Brandon Stores Jr. tells me Rutgers, Providence, and Penn State are talking to him the most right now.
“I’ve formed great relationships with Steve Pikiell and Kim English.”
— Hitmen Hoops Scouting (@HitmenScouts) July 12, 2023
The 6’4″, 21o pound wing from St. Raymond for Boys is a high 4-star prospect with a grade of 0.9671. Per 247 Sports composite rankings, Stores is ranked No. 4 prospect in New York, No. 17 wing and No. 80 recruit overall. The Bronx, New York native holds offers from Providence, Washington, Penn State, Syracuse, Xavier, Maryland and Rutgers. He also has interest from Memphis, Pitt, Oklahoma State, Seton Hall, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, and Boston College among others.
“Steve Pikiell has done a great job of building a relationship with me,” Stores told Hitmen Hoops.
In four games playing for the 16 year old NY Rens team at the Peach Jam last week, the same AAU program as Dylan Harper, Stores showcased his talent. He averaged 16.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.5 steals in 28.3 minutes per game. Stores shot 41.0% from the floor, 46.9% from two-point range (23-49), 16.7% from three (2-12) and 88.2% from the foul line (15-17).
National recruiting analyst Eric Bossi of 247 Sports saw Stores play at the Peach Jam. He wrote, “Even though his Rens team went down in defeat, top 125 rising junior wing Brandon Stores had nothing to hang his head about when it came to his effort. A powerfully built wing, he made a lot of things happen even when his outside jumper wasn’t dropping. He finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and five assists during a strong all-around effort.”
Stores appears to be a really good fit for the type player that Rutgers likes to have on the perimeter. He has good size and versatility, plays hard with an attacking mentality and can score in multiple ways. Stores will be an intriguing prospect to track during the 2025 recruiting cycle for Rutgers. With a strong summer heading into his junior season, his list of suitors is likely to grow. It’s a positive that Rutgers is in relatively early in his recruitment.
You can watch recent highlights of Stores below.
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pj43
July 12, 2023 at 3:16 pm
Looks like a “below the rim player” who plays under control. None of which is bad, in my opinion. It’ll be interesting to see how he develops.