Tag: Ace Bailey

Aggregate 2025 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: International prospects rise

HoopsHype has updated where the top prospects stand for the 2025 NBA Draft by compiling six mock drafts from ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, and USA TODAY. A couple of quick notes on our aggregate mock draft: * Some …

HoopsHype has updated where the top prospects stand for the 2025 NBA Draft by compiling six mock drafts from ESPN, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, SB Nation, and USA TODAY.

A couple of quick notes on our aggregate mock draft:

* Some freshmen are missing because they weren’t listed on all the mocks we compiled, meaning scouts don’t see them as one-and-done prospects yet.

* Additionally, the ages shown for international prospects reflect their draft-day age. These are preliminary scouting reports and are subject to change as we progress through the pre-draft process.

While some see future all-stars in Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper, and VJ Edgecombe, others have doubts. We tend to agree with scouts who don’t see this group as generational. As the season unfolds, they’ll have a chance to prove themselves, but expectations should remain grounded.

NOTE: These rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for the overall consensus, not our own opinion. For example, if a player was the first pick on a publication’s mock draft, he received 60 points. If a player was second, he received 59 points, and so on. We then tabulated the total number of points for each player’s consensus ranking.

The New York Knicks forfeited their 2025 second-round pick due to tampering.

Rutgers basketball recruiting – Deron Rippey Jr. moves up in the national rankings

Deron Rippey Jr. has moved up the national rankings.

Deron Rippey Jr. is seeing his recruitment take off, with the New Jersey class of 2026 prospect shooting up the national rankings. He is one of the top recruitings targets for Rutgers in the 2026 class.

Rippey, who visited Rutgers in February for an 82-52 win over Michigan, is a 6-foot-2 guard from Blair Academy (Blairstown, New Jersey).  A strong summer has translated to a nice rise in the recruiting rankings for one of the top guards in the nation.

The move up the rankings sees Rippey jump from No. 39 in the nation to now being No. 21 in the 247Sports Rankings. He is the top-ranked player in New Jersey

He has an offer list that includes Georgia Tech, Illinois, LSU, Maryland, St. John’s, Providence, Syracuse, TCU, Villanova and West Virginia among others.

In March, Rippey talked with Rutgers Wire about his official visit to the Big Ten program.

“It’s been surprising to see how much coach Pike has been keeping up on my game and my development. I knew that he came to watch some of my games.

“But I didn’t know that he’s been recruiting me for a long time, been watching some of my games and film and that he knew about my development,” Rippey told Rutgers Wire in mid-March.

“And also just the way they play. Coming into the game, I thought it’d be a good rivalry between Rutgers and Michigan.

“Michigan has always been really good, but just seeing how Rutgers – like they took the game seriously and they’re very competitive. It really surprised me. It honestly makes me excited to see how much they’re growing. You know, like Michigan is a major school, just seeing Rutgers be able to overpower (them)…it was just interesting to see how much they’re growing. And even in the next few years like, Dylan (Harper) being committed – just to see the growth is pretty amazing.”

Rutgers currently has a top-10 recruiting class with the five-star duo of freshmen [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag] already on campus.

[lawrence-related id=39169,39164]

ESPN ranks Rippey as the No. 40 player in their ESPN 60 rankings.

What are the details for 4-star Jaylen Harrell and his commitment ceremony?

Jaylen Harrell is set to make his college announcement on Monday.

Jaylen Harrell announced the time and details for his commitment ceremony. With Rutgers basketball in the mix for the four-star forward, this is certainly a ceremony worth monitoring for the Big Ten program.

Harrell is one of the top recruits in the class of 2025. The 6-foot-8 forward from CATS Academy (Boston, Massachusetts) recently announced a top six of   Kansas, Alabama, Providence, Xavier, Rutgers and Virginia Tech.

If is from that top six which Harrell will commit on Monday, July 1.

He is a consensus four-star recruit and the No. 86 overall recruit in the On3 Industry Rankings.

Harrell will air his commitment via the On3 YouTube channel at 7:00 p.m. ET.

He is the top-ranked player in Massachusetts according to 247Sports. He took an official visit to Rutgers in late January.

 

In March, he took official visits to Providence and Xavier.

[lawrence-related id=39164,39139,39137]

Rutgers is coming off a strong class of 2024 that is top-10 in the nation. The incoming class features two recruits who are ranked as five-star players in forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

Rutgers basketball’s top scorer, Jeremiah Williams, set to play in the JSBL

Jeremiah Williams is set to play in the JSBL.

A heavy Rutgers basketball presence in the Jersey Shore Basketball League got a bolt of big news on Thursday. Jeremiah Williams, the top scorer for Rutgers last season, is set to play in the league.

Williams will play for the WCT Warriors. Last season for Rutgers, Williams showed some serious flashes of potential despite being limited to just 12 games.

The 6-foot-4 guard averaged 12.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He is a big returning piece for Rutgers and a veteran presence on a roster that is exploding with talent. Among the projected key pieces for the Scarlet Knights this season are five-star forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and five-star guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

 

In a social media post announcing his commitment to Rutgers, the league said that Williams will be a significant part of a Warriors group that “should be one of the most improved teams” this summer.

[lawrence-related id=38700,38694]

The league began play in the late 1960s and is NCAA-sanctioned.

Andy Katz predicts Rutgers men’s basketball to return to the NCAA Tournament

Andy Katz predicts that Rutgers basketball will return to the NCAA Tournament.

After an up-and-down season, Rutgers men’s basketball has plenty to prove next season. Big Ten Network analyst and college basketball insider Andy Katz expects Rutgers to be headed to March Madness again.

Expectations are also higher due to an influx of talent that will include potential stars in [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag], [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag], [autotag]Lathan Somerville[/autotag] and [autotag]Bryce Dortch[/autotag].  Katz expects the Scarlet Knights to make a March Madness appearance for the first time since 2022.

There certainly is plenty of transition this offseason for Rutgers as only three players from last season are projected to return. That list includes Jeremiah Williams, one of Rutgers’ best scorers. In 12 games last year, Williams averaged 12.2 points while shooting a career-high 44.4 percent from the field.

Will we see @RutgersMBB and @UCLAMBB back in the Dance next season? 🕺 @TheAndyKatz says YES. #B1GMBball pic.twitter.com/rsRBnnwsS5

— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) May 31, 2024

Although Katz is high on Rutgers, that was not the only team in the conference he highlighted. He also picked UCLA as a team to qualify for the NCAA Tournament after not making the cut last year.

[lawrence-related id=38614,38591,38588]

In a social media post on X, Katz highlighted some of the talent UCLA has brought in. That list includes Kode Johnson, who transferred from USC, and a talented freshman, Eric Perry. They will be led by veterans Andy Mara and Dylan Andrews. During their first year in the Big Ten, UCLA will look to make a good first impression.

 

Former NBA player Stephen Bardo highlights upcoming Rutgers vs. Michigan State matchup

Stephen Bardo is anticipating one Rutgers game in particular this year.

When Rutgers basketball takes the court to start this upcoming season, they will look very different than just a few months ago. That is partly due to a star-studded freshman class that includes the five-star pair of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

While the talented duo has created plenty of excitement in and around the Rutgers basketball program, they are also getting national attention.

On Monday, college basketball and NBA analyst Stephen Bardo highlighted Rutgers vs. Michigan State as one game he is looking forward to. While Bardo touched on Rutgers’s talent, he also has high hopes for Michigan State. That is due to a roster that includes Jeremy Fears and Xavier Booker.

I Want To See Michigan State @ Rutgers!https://t.co/JT2DX4iJcd pic.twitter.com/bqmZbCq62K

— Stephen Bardo (@stephenbardo) June 3, 2024

 

“I always love calling games there because I love the energy of that place. I get mad love out there,” Bardo said in his social media post.

For Rutgers, this matchup will be their shot at redemption. During the 2023-2024 campaign, Rutgers went 0-1 against Michigan State. In a 73-55 loss, the Scarlet Knights shot 37 percent from the field and turned the ball over ten times.

Although the college basketball season is months away, fans can already start marking games on the calendar. For Bardo, the Michigan State and Rutgers matchup is one game fans shouldn’t miss.

Watch as Ace Bailey enters autograph signing, daps up Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper meet fans, sign autographs on Saturday.

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper had appearances on Saturday as the teammates held their first public autograph signings since signing with Rutgers basketball.

The five-star duo of Bailey and Harper are the highest-ranked players to ever commit to Rutgers. In fact, Bailey is the No. 1 recruit in the nation according to USA TODAY High School Sports.

Bailey and Harper both participated in an autograph signing at the Morris County Card Show on Saturday. The event was held at the Police Athletic League facility in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Well over 100 Rutgers fans lined up for both players. Harper signed in the morning and Bailey in the afternoon.

Bailey entered with his usual swagger:

 

And then he dapped up Harper:

 

Bailey and Harper are the focal points of a top-10 national recruiting class for Rutgers.

Rutgers basketball offers A.J. Dybantsa (the top recruit ’25 recruit in the nation)

A.J. Dybantsa is offered by Rutgers basketball.

On Wednesday, Rutgers basketball offered A.J. Dybantsa, the top-ranked player in the nation.

Dybantsa is a consensus five-star recruit and ranked the top player in the class of 2025 by ESPN. Thursday’s offer from Rutgers sees them join a recruitment that includes  Alabama, Baylor, UConn, Duke, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Providence and USC among others.

The talented guard is a potential No. 1 NBA Draft pick in 2026 and holds offers from many of the top programs in the nation. He brings a lot to the table, including the ability to score in bunches.

Last season for Prolific Prep, Dybantsa averaged 21.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. He also added 29 steals and eight blocks to his resume. While he has made headlines due to his offense, Dybantsa also has the ability to be an elite defender at the next level.

He will transfer to play for Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) for his senior season.

 

Getting involved with Dybantsa is certainly intriguing for Rutgers.

The Scarlet Knights welcome a 2024 class that includes two five-stars in [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag] to campus this summer. Dybantsa is certainly of that caliber of player.

[lawrence-related id=38495,38487]

Although the college basketball world will be watching what Dybantsa does closely, a decision is still months away. He is expected to pick several schools this summer and early late fall before making a final commitment.

TBT – Rutgers basketball incoming forward Ace Bailey is an explosive, elite athlete

Rutgers basketball’s Ace Bailey is a special and unique player.

On Throwback Thursday, a simple reminder of how special Ace Bailey is and what a special kind of talent he has the potential to be for Rutgers basketball.

Bailey, a consensus five-star forward, joins five-star guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag] as the foundation of a top-10 recruiting class for Rutgers basketball. The duo of Bailey and Harper mark the highest-ranked commits in the program’s history.

While playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game, Bailey showed off the uniqueness of his skillset. There is the high-flying Bailey who can play above the rim and can posterize opponents.

Then there is the Bailey who has grown his game to include an impressive outside game with considerable range.

These two components of Bailey’s game have been seen consistently from Bailey over the past year.

Here is the elite athleticism as Bailey gets to the rim:

 

And then there is Bailey in this cut-up, showing his athleticism and shot-blocking ability but also his range.

[lawrence-related id=38484,38461]

Over the past year, Bailey has really developed a nice outside game.

 

USA TODAY High School Sports has Bailey as the top-ranked recruit in the nation.

And for the first time in New Jersey, the duo of Bailey and Harper will be together this weekend for an autograph signing in Parsippany as part of the Morris County Card Show:

Photo credit: Morris County Card Show.

This is the first public signing for either Bailey or Harper since they signed their National Letter of Intents with Rutgers.

Watch Rutgers basketball commit Lathan Sommerville hits the gym, shows his growing game

Lathan Sommerville has elevated his game this offseason.

Lathan Sommerville had a recent gym session where the Rutgers basketball commit showed not just his athleticism but the emerging nuances of his game.

Ranked a four-star by ESPN and Rivals (where he is the No. 105 recruit in the nation), Sommerville arrives at Rutgers this summer with the potential to be an impact player and a multi-year starter in the Big Ten. The 6-foot-10 center from Richwoods High School (Peoria, Illinois) showed the ability to run the court and has a growing outside game that is impressive.

Combine that with being strong in the post as well as being a good rebounder and a shot-blocking threat and Sommerville’s skill set projects very well to the next level.

But it is the fluidity of motion that really stands out in Sommerville’s game. Watch the way Sommerville moves in these highlights.

It is clear that he has put in significant time into his footwork and increasing his agility this offseason:

 

And this one:

 

Sommerville comes in as part of a strong Rutgers basketball recruiting class that features five-star forward [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] and five-star guard [autotag]Dylan Harper[/autotag].

[lawrence-related id=38430,38411]

The duo will be together this weekend at an autograph signing in Parsippany as part of the Morris County Card Show:

Photo credit: Morris County Card Show.