NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of 5-star Dylan Harper’s top 5 teams

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Pros

The Knights don’t have the history or overall benefits that a Duke, Kansas, Indiana, or even Auburn since Coach Pearl arrived. But on the flip side, it allows Harper to get the kind of national attention and storylines that wouldn’t be afforded if he went elsewhere. As long as the team is good next season.

And there’s a chance that can happen. Because Rutgers already has another top-3 class of 2024 commit in Ace Bailey, a five-star wing and elite overall prospect. If the team can keep the other main pieces such as center Cliff Omoruyi and a healthy Mawot Mag inside, there’s a lot to like about Rutgers for the 2024-25 campaign.

Cons

Coach Steve Pikiell gets plenty of credit for turning Rutgers into a good NCAA Basketball program that makes the NCAA Tournament, but he hasn’t done it with great offenses. In fact, they can be some of the uglier systems to watch. There haven’t been a lot of players that develop into surefire pros, so it’s a major risk for these prospects to join him for a year.

There would also be some questions as to how the guard rotation would look. Noah Fernandes would be gone but starting guards Derek Simpson and Gavin Griffiths would be back. Would they be okay with taking smaller roles to allow these freshmen to come in and take most of the shots? Or could they be potential portal targets this offseason, affecting the overall depth for the future?