In the event you spend a major period of time on this web site, you have got possible watched extra Rutgers basketball this previous 12 months than at another level in your life.
Until you’re a Rutgers alumnus, this crew has been an object of fascination all season lengthy as a result of presence of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey – two surefire top-five draft picks and two of essentially the most thrilling particular person basketball gamers below the age of 19 on planet Earth.
When Harper and Bailey introduced they’d be attending Rutgers collectively, recruiting consultants and draft obsessives reacted like this was the second coming of Chris Webber and Jalen Rose assembling the Fab 5. May Rutgers contend for a No. 1 seed? Would anybody be capable to cease this dynamic duo?
I had no opinion on the matter on the time. I learn all of the Bailey/Harper tales and watched the highlights, however I had little thought what sort of program Rutgers had, what sort of recreation coach Steve Pikiell is (clearly a powerful recruiter), or what this crew would really appear like on the court docket.
On the time of this writing, the Scarlett Knights’ report sits at an uninspiring 10-10, with solely three Huge Ten Convention wins and a ghastly 0-4 report in opposition to ranked opponents. This squad has a slim constructive level differential because of some blowout wins in opposition to overmatched opponents, however clearly this squad has no intention of taking part in significant basketball video games in March.
Anytime I tune in to observe Rutgers basketball, I see an AAU squad loosely assembled to focus on two stars. Bailey and Harper do no matter they need – no such factor as a nasty shot or an ill-advised drive right into a triple crew. Each gamers are so proficient that it typically works out for them – every averages practically 20 factors per recreation – however any first rate cohesive crew with cheap athleticism can overcome the person efforts of two stars.
I’m undecided what the purpose of any of that is. Aside from the Nike/NIL deal each secured, why are we going by way of this charade? Why are two potential NBA franchise cornerstones going by way of the motions on a .500 school crew? Why doesn’t their particular person brilliance result in a successful model of basketball? Does this one-year pit-stop in Rutgers have any constructive impression on their growth as basketball gamers, or are they each absorbing dangerous/dropping habits that may comply with them into their rookie contracts?
What’s going on right here?
Every year that passes with the foolish one-and-done rule etched into the NBA’s collective bargaining settlement is one other 12 months the place this pointless charade wastes everybody’s time. Is anybody actually having fun with this Bailey/Harper experiment at Rutgers moreover the social media aggregators?
I actually have no idea the reply right here. I’m genuinely asking. The Additional time Elites of the world aren’t the reply. These unusual, disengaged one-year school stints aren’t both. The NBA is best when elite expertise like Bailey and Harper are put in the very best positions to succeed – which incorporates successful habits, cohesive crew basketball, and significant reps in high-pressure conditions with actual stakes on the road.
5 years from now, this may all possible be forgotten. Harper and Bailey will possible be borderline All-Stars or maybe even borderline All-NBA gamers. The few months at Rutgers will probably be a distant, foggy reminiscence – simply “one thing that occurred” on the best way towards nine-figure assured contracts. However 5 years from now, elite gamers who’re 14 now will probably be drifting by way of their very own forgotten purgatory season, not maximizing their immense potential.
We have to do higher. The sport we love a lot will endure long-term if an answer isn’t proposed quickly.
And 1’s:
• I completed studying “On Basketball and Ascension” final week. Excellent. A masterpiece. No notes. 5 stars.
• Keep in mind when Liam Neeson would present up in some generic motion film each winter after the success of “Taken”? The plots have been all roughly the identical. Every film had a distinct title, however it would possibly as effectively have simply been known as “Liam Neeson on a prepare” or “Liam Neeson on a ship” or “Liam Neeson fights wolves.” That’s the place we’ve gotten to each February with Mac McClung and the Slam Dunk Contest. It unimaginable the primary time, however the novelty wears off with every passing winter. You’ll seize my consideration if that is the 12 months we get “Mac McClung dunks on a wolf.”
• The Washington Wizards gained their sixth recreation of the season on New Yr’s Day, throttling the Chicago Bulls 125-107 behind 30 factors from Jordan Poole and a double-double from Alex Sarr. The Wizards promptly stopped successful in 2025 – 14 consecutive losses, virtually all of them uncompetitive. Washington’s -14.5 level differential is SIX POINTS worse than the next-worse margin. The seemingly untouchable -15.2 mark from the dreadful 1992-1993 Dallas Mavericks is inside attain. Each crew within the NBA would like to have the chance to draft Cooper Flagg, however the Wizards have proven their “appreciation” for Flagg in new, modern methods.
