Freshly signed with Rutgers basketball, Airious ‘Ace’ Bailey is showing zero signs of letting up in his final season of high school basketball.
A five-star forward from McEachern (Powder Springs, Georgia, Bailey signed his National Letter of Intent (NLI) last weekend to play for Rutgers. He is the highest ranked player to commit to Rutgers let alone sign with the Scarlet Knights.
According to ESPN, Bailey is the No 3 recruit in the nation. He is a part of a Rutgers class that is a consensus top-10 group.
He has had a very strong start to his senior season, one that has showcased his athleticism and versatility:
Ace Bailey has been going crazy to start his senior season 😈 The Rutgers commit went off for 31 & 14 last night 🚨@AiriousB pic.twitter.com/WqU4tW14OK
— SLAM HS Hoops (@SLAM_HS) November 19, 2023
Last week, Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell was asked about Bailey’s signing with Rutgers. It was the first time that Pikiell was able to talk about Bailey publicly since the commit made it official during the early signing period.
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“Ace is a s special talent. Loyal, great family, great work ethic,” Pikiell told reporters.
“It just shows you where Rutgers is, I think that’s important We’re a great academic school, we play in a great league. We sell out, we have great crowds.
“To be able to get a player like that will be fun. People will really like watching him play.”
@RutgersMBB commit @AiriousB was COOKING last night. HE had 31 and 14 as he led McEachern to a 81-65 W against Kell HS ♠️ ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/MOlTBmogoJ
— The Battle (@TheBattleUS) November 19, 2023
Bailey is one of four players who have signed letters of intent to join Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights are still waiting on five-star guard Dylan Haper, who is the second highest-ranked recruit in the nation, to make his college decision.
Rutgers is very much in the mix for Harper.
Over the weekend, Rutgers improved to 4-1 on the season with a win over Howard.