Rutgers cemented itself as the story of the 2024 recruiting cycle on Wednesday, when it landed the commitment of No. 2 overall prospect Dylan Harper, the younger brother of former RU star Ron Harper Jr. Harper joins fellow five-star and No. 3 overall recruit Airious Bailey as a the headliners of the school’s historic class and will help bring a level of buzz Rutgers hoops has rarely seen in the past. Harper chose Steve Pikiell’s program over offers from most of the county’s heavy hitters, including Duke, Kansas, Indiana and Auburn.
Below, Rivals explores what the Scarlet Knights are getting as well as what the massive commitment means for the big picture of a Big 10 program on the rise.
WHAT RUTGERS IS GETTING
Harper’s feel for the game is unmatched in the 2024 class, as the 6-foot-5 guard has an almost uncanny ability to use a tight handle and his broad-shouldered build to get to his spots. The lefty’s calling card is obviously his versatile and prolific scoring ability, but he’s more than just a prolific scorer. Harper’s court vision is an underrated aspect of his game. So is the fact that his lateral quickness and thick build allow him to guard multiple positions. On the offensive end, there are few more efficient and creative finishers at the rim, but the five-star guard will also hurt you from deep if given the chance. Harper averaged in 21 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 3.3 APG while shooting better than 50% from the floor in six Peach Jam contests last month. He’is a bit streaky as a long-range shooter but is able to completely take over games completely when that aspect of his game is going well. He’s a well above-average positional rebounder that could get even better on that front as he continues to add muscle. Harper loses his way from a shot-selection standpoint on some occasions, but it’s not a common problem by any stretch. The way that he routinely impacted high-level games in multiple ways has kept him in the conversation for the top spot in Rivals150 for the last year and should do so going forward. There’s no more well-rounded guard in the country.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE SCARLET KNIGHTS It’s difficult to overstate how massive Harper’s commitment is for head coach Steve Pikiell and his program. Rutgers – yes, Rutgers– now has both the No. 2 and No. 3 recruits in the country in tow, as the third-ranked Harper joins second-ranked Airious Bailkey on the Scarlet Knights’ commitment list. RU also holds commitments from four-star big man Lathan Sommerville as well as three-star wing Bryce Dortch. The program’s class-of-2024 haul would have been absolutely unfathomable to even the most optimistic fan when Pikiell took the reins of the team back in 2016, as this level of recruiting success was a foreign concept in Piscataway prior to this year. Rutgers remains in the mix for other impact prospects such as Dylan Grant and Naas Cunningham, as it seems to want to add at least one more player to its top-ranked class.
IN HIS WORDS: “They play defense, they play hard, they win big games. Coach Pikiell (and staff) has turned the program around. It is a great environment to play in." – Harper to Rivals earlier this year.
