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The return of Ron Harper Jr. and Geo Baker for another year at Rutgers is huge for the men’s basketball program, as evidenced by their recent rankings by the Big Ten Network.
As part of their preseason programming, the Big Ten Network is doing a run down of the premier players in the conference. ‘The Top 20 Big Ten Hoopers in 20 Days’ sees Harper in at seventh on the list and Baker at ninth.
It is a big nod for Rutgers and a sign of the respect for the program to place two players within the top 10 of this list. The return of both players makes Rutgers a likely return team to the NCAA Tournament this year.
The Scarlet Knights snapped their three-decade long stretch without an NCAA Tournament last year. Not only did Rutgers go dancing, but they beat Clemson in the opening round and narrowly lost in the next round to Houston, a team that would end up in the Final Four.
Rutgers is just outside the AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll released during preseason. They were picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten in another preseason poll.