Rutgers Star Duo Receives High Praise Amongst Peers in 2025 NBA Draft

As we quickly approach the 2025 NBA Draft, the hype behind the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' star duo continues to grow heading into the big night.

In his recent NBA Draft "superlatives" article, ESPN analyst Jemery Woo gave high praise to both Rutgers' star guards Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey.

For Harper, Woo listed him as the best shot creator in this year's class due to his ability to make quick decision and spray passes around the court.

"Harper's ability to make quick decisions, play through contact with explosion, split coverages and spray passes all over the floor sets him apart from the rest of this class as a player with the chops to eventually shoulder the load for a successful NBA offense," Woo wrote.

At 6-foot-6, 215 lbs., Harper has the perfect size and strength to play in a heavy pick-and-roll offense in the NBA. Throughout his one season with the Scarlet Knights, the young talented constantly demonstrated his shot-creating skillset when coming off a screen. With his awareness on the court and ability to finish through contact, it's no surprise why the former Rutgers standout is drawing comparisons to Detroit Pistons' guard Cade Cunningham.

In addition to the praise for Harper, Woo claimed that Bailey is the best pull-up shooter in this year's class.

"No player in this draft class is more dangerous in a tight window than Bailey, whose ability to rise and fire over defenders at difficult angles and knock down tough shots off the bounce make him a tantalizing scoring prospect," Woo wrote. "Though he's still relatively unpolished at 18 years old and operated without a ton of help other than Harper at Rutgers, that element of Bailey's skill set shone through this past season; he's far from the most consistent player in this draft class, but there's no pull-up scorer as projectable long term."

As Rutgers' second-highest scorer last year, Bailey has been an intriguing prospect in the 2025 draft. He finished his lone season with the Scarlet Knights averaging 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. With his combination of size and versatility on offense, Bailey has one of the highest ceilings out of all the prospects coming out. As a 6-foot-8 guard that can shoot from all three levels, it makes sense why analysts have compared him to Sacramento Kings' star DeMar DeRozan.

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