Rutgers-Newark Athletics

By Jim Hague

After two pressure-filled seasons of having to be the true lone go-to scorer on the Rutgers-Newark women’s basketball team, junior guard Jared Tactuk is enjoying life this season with the Scarlet Raiders, simply because she has a much more talented assortment of players surrounding her.

“I’m super excited to have so many good players with us now,” Tactuk said. “I’m very pleased. It’s nice to have competition in practice. There was a lot of pressure on me last year and it was very frustrating. Now, everything is great. We have a great team with great atmosphere. We have players with a lot of ability who want to be out there every day. The attitude is different and the results should be different.”

Tactuk also knows that with a deep and talented roster, she doesn’t have to play every minute of every game.

“We’re able to do more and it means I don’t have to play 40 minutes,” Tactuk said. “I think having a deep team makes me a better player all around.”

Tactuk averaged 10.4 points per game over her first two seasons with the Scarlet Raiders and those numbers should increase this season because there is much more talent around her.

“We appear to have a better team, but we need Jared to be the same player,” Rutgers-Newark head women’s basketball coach Kevin Morris said. “I think she’s going to be better because she’ll get less playing time and we’ll see how well rounded her game is. The diversity of her game is what carries her. She’s a great scorer and shooter, but she runs the floor well and is capable of rebounding. She’s one of our best passers. She does it all.”

Morris said that Tactuk has taken on more of a leadership role, considering there are only three players back from last year’s team that finished 8-17.

“She’s been very helpful in making the newcomers feel comfortable,” Morris said. “She knows how to run plays and can help the others in running the plays. She’s a very smart player. She can stop and show others how the play is supposed to run. She can get others to run the play and understand the play. She’s really been great with the others.”

Morris shared a recent story that showed how dedicated to the team Tactuk is.

“She took a hit in the mouth in practice recently and it loosened her tooth,” Morris said. “She needed to get some dental work done. The dentist told her that she was supposed to be out for at least a week. But she said she wasn’t sitting out at all so close to the start of the season and was back at practice the next day. She wants to play all the time.”

Tactuk doesn’t believe she’s taking on more of a role this season, even if she is.

“I think Sam (teammate Samantha Grippo) was the one who did all the organizing, because I am not good at that,” Tactuk said. “I just think I let everyone know how it was going to be with practices and games. I hope it helped. I know that the rest of the team is supporting each other. They actually want to be there for practice every day. It makes things easier. I think it’s going to take us pretty far this season.”

Tactuk has already made her impact at R-N. In 2009, she was named as the school’s top female athlete, a remarkable achievement for a freshman. She also earned Second Team All-New Jersey Athletic Conference that season.

Tactuk is majoring in social work and psychology at Rutgers-Newark. She would like to eventually work with children in some capacity.
In fact, she’s already volunteering her services for the Newark Area Girl Scouts and the “I Have a Dream” Foundation.

“I’m not exactly a math person, so I have to do something with kids,” Tactuk said. “I always loved kids and dealing with them.”

Tactuk is also a member of the R-N SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), an organization that does a lot of charity work and events.

“We’re currently collecting canned goods for Thanksgiving and we’ll have a toy drive for Christmas,” Tactuk said. “We’re also involved in a walk for hunger, so we do a lot of things.”

For now, Scarlet Raider followers hope that Tactuk continues to do a lot of things on the floor this season.

“I don’t think there’s any question that we expect her to have her best year ever,” Morris said. “She’s better going to the goal and she’s more aggressive. She has better talent around her. I think she’s going to make the most of this season. She needs to have a good year if we’re going to be successful.”

And successful would mean a return trip to the NJAC Tournament, which the Scarlet Raiders missed out on last year. It’s a new season and Tactuk is ready to lead the way.