Five-star forward Ace Bailey had a tremendous summer, with the Rutgers basketball recruit apparently making a pitch to be the nation’s top player.
Bailey, who committed to Rutgers in January, is the second-highest ranked recruit in the nation according to On3. He is only behind Dylan Harper, a New Jersey guard who is also high on Rutgers and may be closing in on his commitment decision.
(In fact, Rutgers might be the leader here for Harper)
In their most recent update, On3 has Harper as the nation’s top player in the 2024 recruiting class. But in their analysis, they raved about Bailey and even said that he made a case to be the nation’s top recruit.
Jamie Shaw, in analyzing Bailey, made it clear the player’s high ceiling:
“Bailey checks all the boxes that you want physically when projecting players toward the highest level. At 6-foot-10, he has great positional size for a wing. He can handle within two and three dribbles and rise up with full extension to knock down shots with range over his defender. He is also an explosive athlete, capable of finishing high above the rim.”
He then added that in terms of his jump from the college to the professional level, that “Ace Bailey looks like an NBA prospect.”
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As for Harper, Shaw said that the race tightened between the two players to be the nation’s top recruit. Harper was praised by the On3 analyst, although he notes that there are questions about his explosiveness.
On Harper, this was written by Shaw:
“Harper is best with the ball in his hands. The 6-foot-6 guard has an excellent change of pace and delivers on target and on time all over the court. He led the USA Basketball U19 team in assists this summer, then followed that up, finishing Peach Jam second in scoring.”
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