Breaking down Five-Star Plus+ Dylan Harper's fit at Duke and Rutgers

While Dylan Harper, the No. 1 player in the updated 2024 On3 150, officially has a top five, his recruitment is presumed to be down to two. Even with Kansas, Auburn, and Indiana on the graphic, Duke and Rutgers are the two programs that are thought to be in the running for Harper. 

The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 21.1 points during Nike’s Peach Jam, leading his NY Renaissance team to the Final Four of the famed event. During Nike’s EYBL Circuit regular season, Harper finished top 15 in points (18.9, 8th), rebounds (7.1, 12th), and assists (5.3, 3rd).

Read the latest recruiting intel on Five-Star Plus+ CG Dylan Harper

While the five-star plus+ guard has not yet named a commitment date, Rutgers is currently in the top spot on On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), carrying a 91.9 percent chance of landing Dylan Harper. The RPM is the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. It factors in machine learning, expert prediction, social sentiment, visits, and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

With Harper’s decision possibly on the horizon, let’s go through both options and take a look at the fit of each program.

Rutgers

Rutgers already has three players committed in the 2024 class. This includes On3’s No. 2 player in the 2024 On3 150, Ace Bailey. Bailey is a 6-foot-10 forward with positional size, length/explosion, and ball skills. Bailey has also, very openly, recruited Harper to join him in Piscataway, New Jersey. 

Harper and Bailey have a connection. They know each other from the USA Basketball minicamps, playing with and against one another in those settings. Harper also joined Bailey this summer as a guest player for a tournament with Bailey’s independent-based AOT program. 

Harper’s high school, Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep, is less than 60 miles away from the Rutgers campus. And, while he has not taken an official visit yet, It is also the school he has been to, far and away, the most of any other. Harper’s brother, Ron Harper Jr, was a two-time all-league performer for Rutgers from 2018 to 2022. 

A look at Rutgers‘ roster, and you see they took a point guard in each of their previous classes. Derek Simpson saw a good amount of time (20.1 minutes) in his freshman year, and Jamichael Davis will be a freshman this season. Harper is best with the ball in his hands, but with his size and feel, he could play on the ball as well as some combo. Already, a Gavin Griffiths and Ace Bailey wing combination could be something for fans to get excited about as well. 

Rutgers also has commitments from 6-foot-8 three-star PF Lathan Sommerville (The Skills Factory/GA) and 6-foot-6 three-star SF Bryce Dortch (Brimmer and May/MA).

Duke

Duke offered Dylan Harper in July of 2022, and they received his first official visit. The No. 1 player in the class took the trek to Durham, North Carolina, on October 22. Harper’s other official visit was to Indiana in November.

When many schools seem to have turned toward the transfer portal, it seems that Duke has leaned into recruiting high school players. Already they have four-star wing Isaiah Evans and four-star shooting guard Darren Harris committed in the 2024 class. 

The Blue Devils are also going after five-star plus+ center Flory Bidunga, four-star center Pat Ngongba, and On3 five-star shooting guards VJ Edgecombe and Kon Knueppel. We remain in wait-and-see mode with On3’s No. 1 player in 2025, Cooper Flagg, as rumors swirl about his reclassification into 2024. 

Trying to project the possible roster construction can get a little dicey as there are a handful of players that could stay in school another year or could leave for the NBA Draft. However, Dylan Harper is a 6-foot-6, 205-pound guard who is comfortable on or off the ball. Whether it is Jared McCain and/or Caleb Foster returning or the perimeter players mentioned above, they can all shoot the basketball. Making all intriguing fits alongside Harper.