Airious Bailey #4 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (Photo by Ed Mulholland/Getty Images)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball has a short history. The Knights reached the Final Four only once (1976) and the Sweet Sixteen just twice (1976, 1979). They have not won a conference regular-season title since 1991, and their last conference tournament title came in 1989.
Rutgers has just one NCAA Tournament victory since 1983. Last season, they finished 13th in the 14-team Big Ten division, going 15-17 (7-13 in the league).
Yet here they are, ranked #25 in the AP preseason poll, with expectations absolutely sky high this year. Why? Because RU has an elite freshmen class ready to take over in Piscataway, New Jersey. It's not a stretch to call this recruiting class the best in the nation, as it includes two five-star prospects/McDonald's All-Americans in Airious "Ace" Bailey and Dylan Harper.
Both are very likely to be selected in the top five when next year's NBA Draft comes around. Bailey is currently favoured to be the #1 overall pick, and Cooper Flagg of Duke is seen as his primary competition for the top slot.
Picking Rutgers For NCAA Route
So why did Bailey choose Rutgers, when he obviously could have played at a more prestigious program with much more brand name cache?
"Loyalty," Bailey answered at Big Ten Basketball Media Days, when he was asked why he choose Rutgers.
"They got loyalty. There's one thing I stand on. They showed that since day one. They sent the whole staff to come watch me play, whether it was an AAU game, or a high school basketball game."
Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell is in his ninth year leading New Jersey's state school. Over that span, he's made two NCAA Tournaments (and was in line for another in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled March Madness that season) and one NIT.
This is obviously the best recruiting class that he's ever landed, and it's headlined by Bailey and Harper.
In the latter's case, you have the son of Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers legend Ron Harper, a combo guard who won five championships rings during his NBA career, now playing in Piscataway. His older brother, Ron Harper Jr. is currently in the G-League after once being a big-time college star at Rutgers himself. So, the family pipeline continues.
RG asked Rutgers redshirt senior guard Jeremiah Williams how Pikiell sells the Rutgers program to recruits.
"He doesn't sell people," Williams responded. "I think coach Pike is one of the most genuine people I've come across. I don't think he's a car salesman or anything like that. He's very genuine. He shows up, talks about the right things, and he's someone I really appreciate."
Pikiell, who led the program to a March Madness victory in 2021, has now raised the bar for the Scarlet Knights. This upcoming campaign will bring a lot of energy and excitement, as the Rutgers faithful can't wait to see if Bailey is truly “The Next Big Thing” in basketball.
Playing at the “RAC” For Rutgers
The Jersey Mike's Arena (also known as "the RAC," for Rutgers Athletic Center) is renowned for being one of the loudest arenas in college basketball whenever its 8,000-seat maximum capacity is reached. The trapezoidal design of the building allows noise from the crowd (which is situated extremely close to the court) to really resonate and thus reach deafening decibels.
Williams praised the atmosphere at his team's home court:
"I think our crowd is very in tune with what's going on in the game. A lot of crowds, a lot of places I've been to or played at, they kind of just clap if the shot goes in. And they're quiet if it doesn't go in. Jersey Mike's a lot of times, if we might go on a scoring drought or anything, they'll stand up, they'll clap, and they'll provide that six-man energy, that spark for us, and they'll let us know it's time to score, time to get a stop, or something like that.
"So, they're very in tune with how the game is going, to help us a lot. You know, Jersey is very rambunctious, and they bring a lot of energy. It's amazing and it causes a lot of issues for different people [on the opposing team]."
Describing the state of New Jersey as "rambunctious" is spot on. There is a reason that MTV's "Jersey Shore" reality series franchise has stayed relevant for over a decade and a half. For Bailey and Harper, it's going to be a challenging task to just try and live within each moment, every single practice, every single game, and not look ahead to the NBA Draft process.
"Right now, I'm in college," said Bailey, who earned the nickname Ace as a little kid, due to his ability to immediately succeed in any of the major team sports he picked up.
"I don't worry about that right now, winning the NCAA, winning the Big 10- that's my main focus right now."
And he has his boundaries set up, for tuning out all the extra noise that comes with life today, in this age of non-stop information overload, fueled by the smartphone and social media.
"My circle knows," he explained, when RG put the question to him. "They know the expectations. So, if they send me something, it's either a picture of me smiling or something else [innocuous]. So, they know not to do that [send media articles hyping him up]. So that's another way to keep me focused and grounded."
Mentored By NBA Stars
Kevin Durant is Bailey's first and foremost player role model, but he articulated how he also takes some elements from Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bailey described some of the specific fundamental things that he's learned from them:
"They get to their spots, no problem, and raise up. They get to the rim, IQ, shot-making ability."
He even spent some time under the direct tutelage of "The Greek Freak" himself, as he's worked out with the Milwaukee Bucks franchise player.
"What Giannis told me – miss it, keep shooting," the Chattanooga, Tennessee native added. "You can't stop nobody from shooting the ball, or passing the ball or making a shot, because you’re gonna miss some, you’re gonna make some. But of course, my thing is to make every shot."
He then articulated some of the other lessons that he learned from Milwaukee's NBA champion:
"Being a great leader, attacking the rim strong, dunks, everything. [He showed me] get into your shots, break down the court, it's like a skill shot- get to your spots. Break it down to where you know where your spots are, and you know you can get yours."
Pikiell knows that he really has something special on his hands with Bailey and Harper this season.
"Age is going to take them to some exciting places," he said. "They're big and they understand how to play. They're all playmakers. They play with energy and an IQ on the court. A lot of people [NBA scouts and personnel specifically] like them, including their coach."
Bailey, Harper, Pikiell, Williams, and the rest of the Rutgers men's basketball team open their season on Nov. 6 at home versus Wagner. Their first real test comes on Nov. 27 against #2 Alabama at MGM Arena in Las Vegas.
Paul M. Banks
