NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of New Jersey of last decade

9. Ron Harper Jr. – Rutgers

It’s fitting that the article about New Jersey starts with one of the most important players in recent memory at Rutgers. A 6’6 guard from Franklin Lakes, Harper got into basketball like his father, a former NBA champion from a few decades ago. He spent nearly his entire 4-year career with the Scarlet Knights as a starting guard and certainly had a profound impact on the program.

Harper had some standout performances early in his career, including a 27-point game in a win at Iowa as a freshman. He helped lead Rutgers to their first NCAA Tournament in three decades, with a first round win over Clemson snapping an even longer streak of futility. In his final season, Harper averaged 15.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, helping lead the Scarlet Knights to the Big Dance yet again.

Suffice to say, Harper played a major role in the recent turnaround at Rutgers. He was named All-Big Ten Third Team as a junior and Second Team as a senior. He put up impressive numbers across the board and helped turn the tide for this program. He went undrafted after the season but recently caught on with the Toronto Raptors, hoping to replicate even some of his father’s professional success.