Zarique Nutter, a 6-7 wing/forward from Newark, New Jersey, announced his commitment to Fordham on May 20th, the likely final addition to the roster for the coming season. He brings three years of Division I experience: one season at Georgia State and two at Northern Illinois, along with two years at the JUCO level at Clarendon College in Northern Texas. In high school, he played at The Patrick School in New Jersey, a part of a loaded roster his senior year featuring current Warriors standout Jonathan Kuminga, former UConn star Adama Sanogo—now with the Chicago Bulls, and UConn center Samson Johnson.

Following a strong second season at NIU, he would enter the transfer portal and test the NBA draft waters before returning to college. Nutter arrives as a proven Division I scorer, averaging 14 points per game on his career across three seasons. Nutter has been a high-usage player throughout his career, playing the three and four spots in the lineup. Following his transfer portal entry this offseason, Nutter would hear from a loaded list of high majors, according to Joe Tipton, including Miami, St. John's, Texas, Georgia, and UCLA, to name a few. After over two months in the portal, he would land at Fordham.

In 13 starts and 29 games for the Panthers last season, his Nutter posted:

14.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 0.6 SPG in 26.6 minutes per game on:

• 49.5% FG

• 51.1% 2PT (143/280)

• 33.3% 3PT (9/27)

• 59.2% FT (100/169)

(vs. Division I competition only)

Nutter excels at driving to the basket and drawing contact, using a variety of moves to beat defenders and create his shot at the rim. Evidenced by his shot map above, a lot of his shots come around the rim—5.9 per game, where he shot 67.4% (60th percentile for forwards). Very few of Nutter’s shots around the rim are assisted—just 16.3%, per BartTorvik. He’s able to get to the basket using ball screens without needing too much help from his teammates thanks to his athleticism and physicality. He’s had a high free throw rate all three years and drew a career-high 6.1 fouls per 40 minutes at Georgia State.

Highlights:

Extended highlights (via YouTube/College Basketball Scouting):

Nutter has steadily improved his shooting splits each year at the Division I level, converting on career-best percentages in fewer minutes this season at Georgia State. While his minutes decreased last season, he posted a career-high usage rate: 28.7%, per KenPom.

Nutter has plus court vision for a forward. While he mostly uses his slashing ability to create shots for himself, he frequently draws multiple defenders and looks to set his teammates up when able. He averaged 2.1 assists per game, his 17.3% assist rate placing him in the 93rd percentile for forwards. He uses the three-point shot sparingly but has steadily improved it year to year, with most of his attempts coming on catch-and-shoot opportunities. He has good anticipation on defense, able to force turnovers on the perimeter and run the floor in transition. I feel redundant writing this, but like many other inbound transfers, Nutter does not commit fouls at a very high rate defensively, just 3.2 personal fouls per 40 minutes. Alongside Cesare Edwards and Nick McMullen in the Georgia State frontcourt, who averaged a combined 16.6 rebounds per game, Nutter wasn’t relied on nearly as much on the glass after posting 5.7 boards per game at NIU.

Nutter possesses all-conference potential, with the tools to be one of the Rams’ top contributors this season. As Magpayo noted in the school’s press release, the roster is loaded with shooters, and Nutter brings a complimentary skillset with his ability to score inside. It will be interesting to see what he’s able to do with elevated talent around him, as this year’s Fordham squad projects to be the best team of Nutter’s college career.

Unless otherwise cited, all statistics referenced in this article are from CBB Analytics.

Previews still to come: Marcus Greene and Abass Bodija.

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