On Saturday, Rutgers commit Ace Bailey showed out at famous Rucker Park in New York City. He scored 40 points in a 160-153 overtime loss in the SLAM Summer Classic Vol. 5. Bailey, the No. 3 recruit in the 2024 class, played on Team Dylan, which was captained by Rutgers priority target and No. 2 recruit Dylan Harper. The game aired on the NBA app and featured elite high school prospects from the 2024 and 2025 classes.
Bailey recently took home MVP honors at the Steph Curry Camp earlier this month. His athleticism paired with his development as a complete player this summer has NBA personnel drooling despite not being draft eligible for almost two more years. He also impressed scouts last week at the UA Elite 24 event in Atlanta.
In front of a packed house at Rucker Park that began filling up three hours prior to tip-off, a Rutgers presence among fans in attendance was noticeable. The prospect of Bailey, who committed in January, coming to Rutgers has the fan base rightfully both ecstatic and in disbelief. He’s a special talent and alone would have the RAC rocking during the 2024-2025 season. The possibility of Bailey also playing with his friend Dylan Harper, who would mean so much to Rutgers in his own right by staying home, could be a seminal moment for the program.
Earlier this week, a national podcast dedicated an entire segment to the possibility of Rutgers being one of the top teams in the country with Bailey and Harper potentially teaming up with Gavin Griffiths, Derek Simpson and possibly Cliff Omoruyi.
While stats for Harper were not reported, multiple recruiting analysts praised his play on Saturday.
Harper’s timeline to announce his college decision has been hotly speculated on but no date has been set.
The bottom line is Bailey continues to have a standout summer and the early signing period is in November. Every day that passes is one day close to having Bailey in Piscataway and under the tutelage of Steve Pikiell.
Watch highlights of Ace Bailey from Saturday on his way to 40 points with this reel produced and tweeted by THE NBA!
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thevinman
August 20, 2023 at 1:35 pm
Bailey is an amazing athlete and the prospect of getting both Bailey and Harper makes my head spin.