Mike Rosario

During the summer prior to Rosario's matriculation with Rutgers University, future head coach Fred Hill made the comment, "This honor is further confirmation that Mike Rosario is one of the nation's premier players.” He also said, "Our mission at Rutgers is to build a National Championship-caliber program and Mike is the type of individual who helps further this process."[5]

Rosario debuted for Rutgers on November 14, 2008, with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist against Marist. His performance helped him be the first freshman Scarlet Knight to score 17 or more points in the team's season opener since Mike Jones in 1993.[6] On November 21, 2008, Rosario recorded a season-high 27 points against the Robert Morris Colonials after being given 35 minutes of playing time. Despite his electric scoring display, he finished with just 1 rebound and 0 assists.[7] He had his first 7-rebound game on November 26, 2008, against Lehigh. This would meet his season-high.[8] Rosario would manage to do the same against Bryant on December 20, 2008.[9] He played his first game as the starting small forward on December 3, 2008, against Rider, scoring 25 points total.[10] On March 7, 2009, vs the South Florida Bulls, Rosario scored zero points for the first time in his college career on 0-of-5 shooting from the field.[11] He played his sole postseason game in the Big East tournament first round, against Notre Dame, finishing with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists.[12] At the end of the season, Rosario set the Rutgers freshman scoring record with 517 points. He led all Big East players with his amount of college experience scoring-wise as well. Rosario also ranked 5th in points among all freshman playing basketball in NCAA Division I. His forceful season brought his name to the conference's All-Rookie Team for the 2008–2009 season along with Yancy Gates, Kemba Walker, Greg Monroe, Samardo Samuels, and Devin Ebanks. Rutgers finished the year with an 11–21 record, 2–16 in their conference play.[13] Apart from his Big East honors, Rosario was named Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Rookie of the Year and a CollegeInsider.com Freshmen All-American.[14]

After averaging over 16 points in his first season in college, Rosario made the decision to return to Rutgers for his sophomore year. He was listed as one of the possible factors in the rebuilding of the Big East Conference along with Greg Monroe, Yancy Gates, and many other members of the 2008-09 All-Rookie Team.[15]

Rosario made his first appearance as a sophomore on November 14, 2009, against Marist, recording 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal. He also saw 35 minutes of action.[16] He finally broke the 20 point barrier against Vermont on November 22, 2009. This was his second Legends Classic appearance, the first one in which he scored 13 points against the Drexel Dragons at the Louis Brown Athletic Center (RAC). Due to his strong performance through the tournament, Rosario was named to the All-Tournament Team with Anthony Gurley, Erving Walker, Vernon Macklin, and Kalin Lucas.[17][18][19] On December 22, 2009, he broke his personal scoring record against Saint Peter's with 28 points total. Rosario also added four rebounds and five assists, shooting 10-of-16 on field goals.[20] He, again, scored a career-high 33 points against St. John's, recording 5 rebounds and steals as well. This performance helped him make his first appearance above the 30-point barrier with Rutgers.[21] Rosario made his second postseason display on March 9, 2010, against Cincinnati, with 26 points, 3 rebounds, and 0 assists.[22] The team, however, finished the season 15-17 and 5–13 in conference play.[23] Seeing to the fact that the team was not winning at a reasonable rate, Rosario decided to transfer to Florida for his junior year. He said, "The biggest thing that Florida offered me was, 'We're going to win'… that's something I've missed doing."[24] Nevertheless, Rosario became the second sophomore in Rutgers' history to join the 1,000 point club. Throughout the season, he was named to the Big East Conference Honor Roll on two occasions.[25]

Rosario was forced to redshirt his third season with Florida because of NCAA transfer rules. He said, "Oh, man, I wanted to grab a uniform so bad sometimes." However, since the preseason, Rosario endured a disc problem in his lower back that caused numbness in the area, but did not require surgery according to Billy Donovan. As Florida's 2010-11 season came to a close, Rosario, with Erving Walker, became one of just two players on the roster to enter their fourth year.[26]

He debuted with Florida on November 11, 2011, tallying for 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals against Jackson State. This would also become his season-high total due to his lack of influence on the strong basketball team.[27] Rosario posted seven rebounds against Wright State on November 21, 2011, making for a season's high.[28] On December 29, Florida faced off against his former team, Rutgers, losing 85–83.[29] Through the season, he did not start in a single game, generally coming off the bench for Bradley Beal, Erving Walker, and Kenny Boynton. In the SEC men's basketball tournament, Rosario averaged just 1.0 points, 0.5 rebounds, and 6.0 minutes per game.[30] He also most notably scored 12 points in his NCAA tournament appearance against Norfolk State.[31]

Rosario made his first display as a senior after being given a start against Alabama State on November 11, 2012, with 14 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals.[32] Due to the departures of several players from the previous season's roster, including Bradley Beal, Rosario started in all of his games. On December 19, 2012, against Southeastern Louisiana, he posted 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, his career-high on Florida.[33] He, again, broke his personal record with his new team on February 16, 2013, against Auburn, with 22 points.[34] On March 24, 2013, against Minnesota, he recorded a season-high 25 points.[35] By the end of the season, Rosario garnered All-SEC Second Team honors and was named to the South Regional all-tournament team with Mitch McGary, Ben McLemore, and Nik Stauskas.[36][37]