Lathan Sommerville is ready to battle fellow Big Ten bigs in 1st season with Rutgers men's basketball
Rutgers men's basketball freshman center Lathan Sommerville is looking to make an impact in his first year of collegiate basketball.
Sommerville hails from Peoria, Illinois, and was a Top 100 recruit in the 2023-2024 recruiting class, according to ESPN. The four-star prospect averaged an impressive 26.3 points, 14.4 rebounds, 4.2 blocks and 4.1 assists per game for Richwoods High School.
Sommerville comes from a basketball family. His father, Marcellus, played collegiate basketball at Bradley University before playing professionally overseas. His mother, Brooke, played center for Illinois State. Sommerville himself led Richwood to a third-place finish in Illinois' Class 3A tournament and finished runner-up in the Illinois Mr. Basketball award.
Following wherever his father's professional career took him, Sommerville grew up in France and picked up basketball there. This gave him a bit of a slower start in the recruiting scene in the U.S.
"I kind of went undercover. I came back to the U.S. around when I was 14, so I was already underrated. Nobody really knew who I was, so I had to work my way up in that way," Sommerville said. "I played prep — I had a few good games, few good seasons, but the buzz didn't get out there."
Sommerville spent his freshman season at Peoria Notre Dame and spent his next two seasons at The Skills Factory in Atlanta, Georgia, before deciding to return to Peoria and finish his high school career at Richwoods.
"I decided to go back home and make some noise, and my team ended up going to state," Sommerville said.
The Scarlet Knights were the first program to offer Sommerville a scholarship, back in July 2021. Xavier, Wake Forest, SMU and Georgia Tech also offered the big man. Sommerville verbally committed to Rutgers in March 2023.
Sommerville is a formidable opponent at 6-foot-10, 275 pounds, joining a basketball conference full of strong, statured players. Yet, Sommerville remains unphased and thinks his powerful frame will do just fine.
"I feel like it's gonna fit well," Sommerville said.
His entry test into the conference starts every day in practice, with junior center Emmanuel Ogbole, who measures 6 feet 10 inches, weighs 270 pounds and has just 6 percent body fat.
"Battling (Ogbole) every day in practice, one of the biggest guys in the league, that's definitely gonna help me," Sommerville said. "I'm a very physical guy myself, so I don't feel like that's really gonna be a big adjustment in that part," said Sommerville.
In Sommerville's first opportunity to take the court at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus, he played 7 minutes and scored his lone shot attempt in the Knights' exhibition against St. John's.
"I'm definitely excited to just be able to be with my teammates. I've built great connections and relationships with them," Sommerville said.
In just two days, the real season tips off at home against Wagner.
"Being able to play in front of the fans again. It's gonna be packed, I know it will," Sommerville said. "It's gonna be a great environment. Just to get out there and play basketball with the guys and just have fun — that's the biggest part … I'm looking forward to it."
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