Teams like Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and others have long drawn the attention of college basketball players. But time and time again, top talents sign elsewhere and attract attention.
This year, Rutgers has done it twice, attracting the second and third best young talents in the entire country, according to RSCI.
Forward Ace Bailey and defenseman Dylan Harper, ranked behind only Duke’s Cooper Flagg, will play for the Scarlet Knights next season and will be must-see television for college and draft fans alike.
At this point, Bailey probably has the best chance to dethrone Flagg at No. 1. A 6-foot-1 forward with NBA-level jumping ability, he’s a quality offensive player with room for improvement on defense and passing.
Harper is a huge guard, like many others who went before him in the NBA Draft. He stands at about 6’6″ and has the same intellectual, probing skills with the ball in his hands that make so many stars in the NBA.
In terms of college dominance, Rutgers is far from the rest of the Big 10. But with new weapons in Bailey and Harper, they should be ready to compete. Still, it won’t be easy. The already strong Big 10 added USC, UCLA, Washington and Oregon this season, one of which is a college basketball star, and all of whom will be competing for the NCAA Tournament this year.
NBA decision-makers will be watching closely how the Scarlet Knights duo perform in their respective college seasons.
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