High School basketball teams met at the RAC (Yes, I know it's called Jersey Mike’s Arena but to a lot of us it will always be the RAC) for “The Battle in New Jersey” tournament. Dylan Harper did not play today but the Scarlet Knights other top commit Ace Bailey played and made headlines.
Bailey and McEachern squared off against Camden and Ace wasted no time showing the Jersey crowd what they can look forward to next year. In just the first minute of the game, the 5-star commit threw down a hard one-handed jam to get things going for the Indians. Bailey made Camden, one of New Jersey’s top teams, shell shocked right off the bat to pave the way to an amazing night.
McEachern defeated Camden 77-52 with Bailey leading the way with 40 points and 21 rebounds. With his team trailing in the 3rd quarter, Bailey scored 10 straight points to propel the Indians into the lead. Ace was on his game tonight from deep and from the paint, Twitter was even chirping about him being the future number one overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. Rutgers
Dylan Harper sat out tonight after seemingly injuring himself a few nights ago. Harper is said to be taking couple of days off to be safe and was also watching his future teammate light up the night. After Bailey drained a big 3-point shot, Harper appeared on the jumbotron as the crowd cheered and chanted “R…U!”
Even though Bailey and Harper won't arrive on the banks of the Raritan until next year, their commitment ushers in a new future for Rutgers. New Jersey has some of the best athletes in the country and Scarlet Nation has struggled to convince all that talent to stay. With Harper and Bailey coming next year, they could very well change the way young athletes view Rutgers. Brace yourselves Jersey, this could be the start of something special.
