Tag: Rutgers Basketball

Why is Rutgers basketball so excited about Zack Martini? The proof is in the highlights (so click and watch them)

Rutgers basketball added an elite perimeter scorer in Zach Martini

With his commitment to Rutgers basketball on Wednesday night, Zach Martini brings some considerable range to a program that very much needs his skillset.

Martini, who played the last three seasons at Princeton, comes to Rutgers with one year of eligibility left. His range and ability to shoot from 3-point range very much fills a need for the Big Ten program.

With the loss of Cam Spencer in the transfer portal over the summer, Rutgers went into this season without an effective and proven perimeter scorer.

The 6-foot-7 forward is still developing his game but this past season he averaged 8.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for Princeton. He was 38.5 percent on the season from 3-point range (a career-high). And he shot 88.3 percent with his free throws.

This ability for Rutgers to potentially stretch the floor through a perimeter marksman like Martini brings some much-needed balance to the roster.

He can quickly spot-up and shoot, something that Rutgers could exploit given the number of players on their roster next year who have the ability to drive and kick the ball out:

 

Last season, Martini started all 29 games for the Tigers. They lost in the opening round of the NIT in a loss to UNLV where Martini scored 17 points.

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He was 5-for-11 from 3-point range in the loss.

Against Rutgers in what was the season opener for both teams, Martini was 2-for-3 from behind the arc as he finished with 10 points. Princeton beat Rutgers 67-61.

Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, future Rutgers basketball teammates, impress in McDonald’s All-American game

Rutgers basketball’s two future stars lived up to the hype at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

On Tuesday night, Rutgers fans got a preview of what the future will hold in the McDonald’s All-American game. Two highly regarded members of the 2024 class, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, took the floor and continued to leave scouts in awe.

While Team West lost a close battle 88-86 to Team East, Harper and Bailey made their presence felt. In 25 minutes of action, Bailey scored six points while dishing out two assists. He also made an impact on the boards, hauling in five rebounds.

congrats to our boys MVPs Dylan Harper and Derik Queen 🏆 pic.twitter.com/4cUVXoRkDz

— McDonald’s All American Games (@McDAAG) April 3, 2024

However, his teammate Harper shined against some of the best high school talent in the country. In 25 minutes of action, the talented 18-year-old scored a team-high 22 points and recorded one steal. He was the only member of Team West to score more than 20 points. Tre Johnson who is committed to Texas also had an impressive night with 17 points.

Due to his play, Harper took home some hardware. He was named the game’s co-MVP, along with Derik Queen, who scored 23 points for Team East in 24 minutes of action. In the first half, Harper led all scorers with 14 points, showing why the future at Rutgers is bright.

While fans in Piscataway still have to wait a few months for Bailey’s and Harper’s collegiate debut, on Tuesday night, the talented duo showed why scouts across the country hold them in high regard.

Rutgers basketball: Providence showing interest in Gavin Griffiths

Former Rutgers forward Gavin Griffiths is beginning to hear from other schools in his recruitment.

Following his freshman season at Rutgers, former top-50 recruit Gavin Griffiths is looking for a new home. One school reportedly showing interest is Providence.

On Monday, Griffiths was on campus at Providence, according to On3sports reporter Joe Tipton.

In 32 games during the 2023-2024 campaign, the Simsbury, Connecticut native averaged 5.8 points per game and shot 32.4 percent from the field. While the Rutgers guard struggled to get consistent playing time, he showed improvement down the stretch.

As the season winded down, Griffiths scored at least 10 points in three of his last four games. Against Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, he added 16 points to his resume, the second-highest total of the season.

Rutgers’ Gavin Griffiths will be entering the transfer portal.

The 6’8 wing was named NEPSAC Class B Player of the Year and a Top-50 recruit in class of 2023. pic.twitter.com/GmkAixHt7g

— Derek Murray (@Derek__Murray) March 28, 2024

After finishing last season with a 21-14 record, the Friars are looking to build on their success. Part of that includes improving the offense, which is where Griffiths comes in. The Friars averaged 72.4 points a game last year while finishing sixth in the Big East. Adding a player with Griffiths’s potential could help their efficiency.

While Griffiths still is far from a finished product, he has been a popular name in the transfer portal. According to NJ Advanced Media’s Adam Zagoria, the list of schools that have shown interest in his services includes Boston College, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Illinois, Xavier, Creighton, and Santa Clara.

Regardless of where Griffiths ends up, he will be highly motivated to make an immediate impact.

Watch as future Rutgers basketball star Dylan Harper dominates at the McDonald’s All-American Game, wins co-MVP

Rutgers basketball guard Dylan Harper wins Co-MVP at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

It was a special night for Rutgers basketball as future guard Dylan Harper put on a show at the McDonald’s All-American Game. Before a national audience on ESPN, Harper was nothing short of dominant on both ends of the court.

Harper shared the Co-MVP honors of the game with Derik Queen, a Maryland basketball commit. The East beat the West 88-86 on Tuesday night in Houston.

Harper’s teammate on the West team, Ace Bailey, will join him at Rutgers this summer. The five-star forward finished with six points.

As for Harper, he went off for 22 points, making three-of-five from three-point range. And for Rutgers basketball fans who closely track these things, he made both of his free throws.

At the McDonald’s game, Harper showed his versatility but also flashes of explosiveness while going up against elite competition.

He is the No. 3 recruit in the nation in the ESPN 100.

 

Harper won a championship with Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, New Jersey) this spring. He and Bailey are part of a recruiting class at Rutgers that is ranked among the top 10 players in the nation.

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Bailey is the top-ranked player in the nation according to USA TODAY High School Sports.

ESPN analyst says Rutgers basketball’s Ace Bailey ‘is as good as advertised’

Meghan McKeown Wallace breaks down how Ace Bailey has looked in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

ESPN analyst and reporter Meghan McKeown Wallace has been impressed with Ace Bailey’s performance this week at the McDonald’s All-American Game. The five-star forward has certainly lived up to the hype.

Bailey signed with Rutgers basketball in December. He was electric during the slam dunk competition on Monday night and has earned rave reviews for his performance in practice the past couple of days at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Multiple rankings have Bailey as the second-best recruit in the nation. The only outlier is USA TODAY High School Sports, which has Bailey as the best player in the country.

Meghan McKeown Wallace, who will be part of ESPN’s broadcast team for the game, has watched Bailey the past couple of days and has been impressed.

“Ace Bailey is as good as advertised. His athleticism and raw talent means he has an unlimited ceiling,” Wallace told Rutgers Wire on Tuesday morning.

“He’s been one of, if not the most impressive player throughout the scrimmage and JamFest of the McDonald’s All-American Game.”

 

At a press conference this week for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Cooper Flagg was asked about going up against Bailey. A five-star forward, Flagg is ranked as the top player in the 2025 class by multiple media outlets including ESPN.

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The Duke commit was asked about squaring off against Bailey, who is contending with Flagg to be the nation’s top recruit.

“I mean, I think he’s a great player. Really versatile, really well-rounded,” Flagg said during Monday’s press conference.

“And to be honest, I’m not really looking for specific matchups. I’m just playing to have fun and compete. I’m just always trying to win.”

The boys edition of the McDonald’s All-American game will tip-off at 9 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. The girls game will air on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Watch future Rutgers basketball stars Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey connect on a backboard lob at the McDonald’s All-American Game

Future Rutgers basketball teammates Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper connect at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are already looking like difference-makers for Rutgers basketball. The five-star duo showed flashes of their synergy on Monday at a scrimmage for the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Bailey, the top-ranked player in the nation according to USA TODAY High School Sports, is the highest-ranked recruit in Rutgers basketball history. Harper, ranked third nationally by many recruiting outlets, is the second-highest-ranked commit to ever sign with the program.

(For those not good with math, that is a complicated way to say that Bailey and Harper are the highest-ranked commits/signees in Scarlet Knights history).

Playing for the West team, Harper and Bailey showed the potential of their partnership on Monday during a scrimmage for the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Check out this backboard lob from Harper to Bailey. The point guard drives well to the basket, and he sees Bailey moving in from the wing.

Bailey finishes off the play nicely.

 

The all-star competition takes place on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Cooper Flagg, a five-star commit to Duke, praised Bailey’s play during Monday’s press conference.

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On Monday, Harper talked about the potential for Rutgers basketball to change, as he put it, the program’s history.

What does representing Rutgers in the McDonald’s All-American game mean to five-star forward Ace Bailey?

Airious Bailey talks about representing Rutgers at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

On Tuesday night, Ace Bailey will play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. The five-star forward will partner with future Rutgers teammate Dylan Harper in the game.

The five-star tandem of Bailey and Harper are among the best players in the nation in the 2025 recruiting class. They represent the highest-ranked recruiting class in Rutgers basketball history.

Bailey is the top-ranked player in the nation according to USA TODAY High School Sports. He will face off against Duke commit Cooper Flagg, the nation’s top-ranked player by all the other recruiting outlets.

Going up against Flagg will be a marquee measuring stick for Bailey, but it isn’t one that concerns him.

“I mean, I mean it is what it is, just come to play. Play my heart out. Play my game, just do what I do best,” Bailey said.

“So the end results are going to be the end results.”

Philosophical from Bailey if not level-headed.

Bailey will play on the West team and will count Harper as his teammate on Tuesday night and moving forward. Potentially, it is a preview of things to come for Rutgers fans.

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The duo of Bailey and Harper are the highest-ranked players to ever sign with Rutgers.

And with this star-studded class comes a lot of attention and buzz. For Bailey, speaking on Monday during a press conference for the McDonald’s All-American Game, the attention is something that leads him to be thankful.

“I mean, it’s a pleasure like I said, just thank God,” Bailey said.

“I mean for me and Dylan to come here – him being a New Jersey kid me being a Tennessee kid – just a blessing to come support and to show where we are going to bring Rutgers. It’s just a blessing.”

What did Cooper Flagg say about Rutgers basketball commit Ace Bailey?

Cooper Flagg talks about Rutgers commit Ace Bailey at the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Count Duke commit and five-star forward Cooper Flagg among those who admire the play of Ace Bailey. Also a five-star forward, Bailey signed with Rutgers in December.

Bailey is the highest-ranked recruit in the history of Rutgers basketball. On Tuesday, he will go up against Flagg in the McDonald’s All-American Game.

Flagg is the top-ranked player in the class of 2025 by most scouting and recruiting outlets, including ESPN. Bailey is the second-highest-ranked recruit in the 2025 class on most boards.

The only exception is USA TODAY High School Sports, which has Bailey as the top-ranked player in the nation.

On Monday during a press conference for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Flagg was asked about going up against Bailey. The Rutgers commit has been talked about for the last two months as potentially becoming the top player in the country by other media outlets.

“I mean, I think he’s a great player. Really versatile, really well-rounded,” Flagg said during Monday’s press conference.

“And to be honest, I’m not really looking for specific matchups. I’m just playing to have fun and compete. I’m just always trying to win.”

The boys edition of the McDonald’s All-American game will tip-off at 9 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN. The girls game will air on ESPN2 at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Dylan Harper says that this Rutgers basketball recruiting class can change the program

Dylan Harper talks about the future of Rutgers basketball and the impact he believes this class can have on the program.

Dylan Harper believes that this class can change the trajectory of Rutgers basketball moving forward. That was the message on Monday from the five-star guard, a Rutgers basketball commit who is set to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game on Tuesday.

Speaking on Monday afternoon at a press conference for the McDonald’s All-American Game, Harper said that this star-studded class can be a program changer for Rutgers. Harper is joined by fellow five-star [autotag]Ace Bailey[/autotag] in the Rutgers 2024 recruiting class.

And Bailey, like Harper, is playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game this week. Harper is the No. 3 player in the nation according to ESPN.

Asked on Monday if Rutgers can become a destination program for top recruits, Harper said that this class can do just that.

“Definitely, I think they’ve had other great players like my brother (Ron Harper, Jr.), Geo Baker, people like that,” Dylan Harper said.

“But I think for me and Ace to come in there and just change the culture, I think it’s going to change a lot of Rutgers history.”

Dylan Harper committed to Rutgers in December at an event in New York City that was hosted at the Fanatics headquarters. It wasn’t an easy decision, he said.

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Long considered a Rutgers lean, he remained uncommitted for much of year, choosing to carefully and pragmatically make his decision.

“I mean first off my decision – it was probably one of the hardest decisions I had to make – probably in my lifetime,” Dylan Harper said.

“Just staying home – doing (it for) your family and just the people that are always there for you since Day 1. So I think that was probably the main thing that went to it.”

Harper’s teammate Bailey is the No. 1 player in the nation according to USA TODAY High School Sports.

Tyson Acuff, a top 10 scorer in the nation, commits to Rutgers basketball!

Rutgers basketball lands talented guard Tyson Acuff in the transfer portal.

Tyson Acuff became the first player this offseason to join Rutgers basketball via the transfer portal. He is coming off a productive 2023-2024 season with the Eastern Michigan Eagles.

In 27 games, the Detroit native averaged a career-high 21.7 points per game and was among the top-10 scorers in the nation. He also shot 43.3 percent from the field while seeing an increase in playing time. Acuff will be a valuable addition to a Rutgers team that struggled to score at times during the 2023-2024 campaign. The talent guard ranked eighth nationally in points per game last year.

Although Rutgers will welcome a highly regarded recruiting class into the fold in just a few months, the roster will look very different. Over the last few weeks, Clifford Omoruyi, Gavin Griffiths, Derek Simpson, and Mawot Mag entered the transfer portal. The addition of Acuff should help make up for some of the veteran leadership that is leaving.

OFFICIAL: Tyson Acuff has committed to Rutgers University. He will enter his Senior year in New Jersey, having ranked 8th nationally in average points scored per game at the D1 level (21.7 PPG). pic.twitter.com/hrDSD1OJE3

— Prestige Management Group (@PrestigeMgmtLLC) April 1, 2024

 

Additionally, Rutgers has a unique connection to Acuff. He is the older cousin of five-star guard Darius Acuff, a target for Rutgers in the 2025 class.

While Acuff’s role is still to be determined, he will be a valuable piece. The former Eagle provides Rutgers with a veteran scoring option as the program enters a season with high expectations.