Dylan Harper is Doing Dazzling Things
The Rutgers guard was once the top player in the high school class of 2024, and he's reminding us why.
Dylan Harper has been even better than advertised in his freshman season. He’s solidified himself into the top 2 on most mock drafts and big boards as of late, and even has some lobbying for him to be the top pick. At 6’7” and 215 lbs. with two-way versatility, Harper may be one of the most complete guard prospects of the last few drafts.
Background
Dylan Harper is from Franklin Lakes, NJ and played high school ball at Don Bosco Prep. He’s the son of former NBA Champion Ron Harper and younger brother of recent Rutgers standout Ron Harper Jr.
For those who don’t keep up with high school basketball recruiting, it’s been a surprise to see not one, but two players from Rutgers projected as top-5 picks. Head coach Steve Pikiell and his staff seized their opportunity to persuade Harper and Ace Bailey, two players that had a pre-existing friendship and were both ranked as top-3 players in the class. Bailey’s commitment came first, citing the loyalty and family-like treatment of the Rutgers staff that made him feel wanted. Once they secured that commitment, they were in prime position to land Dylan Harper, who already had ties to the program following his brother’s tenure for the Scarlet Knights.
It’s been an up-and-down season for Rutgers as a whole, but for Dylan Harper in particular it’s been mostly ups. Each game he looks more and more comfortable running the show, and he does a good job at getting the most out of his teammates and elevating their game. Harper recently posted a triple double against Columbia with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. This was the first triple double for the Scarlet Knights since 1983, and it was done by a freshman. That is super impressive stuff. Let’s take a look at the specifics of his game and how he’s able to make such an impact.
Pick & Roll
For starters, Harper is an absolute engine in the pick and roll. He sees the floor at a high level and is able to make quick decisions coming off screens. He doesn’t successfully make every read, as I’ll touch on later, but he generally is able to make the right play in these situations, whether that’s hitting the roll man, finding the open shooter if the defense collapses, or taking it to the hole himself. Harper is currently generating 1.250 points per possession in 148 total pick and roll possessions this season. (credit to @willlumz on X/Twitter for this stat.)
Ball Handling
Harper has been a reliable option with the ball in his hands as the straw that stirs the drink for Rutgers. He has many tricks up his sleeve in terms of creating offense, but arguably his most effective offensive trait is his ability to keep the ball on a string and generate paint touches. He’s crafty with the ball in his hands with his tight handle, can split the defense’s pick and roll like no other in this class, and has a few counter moves in isolation against tough defenders. Harper’s ability to not only get in the paint but score there and draw fouls is an extremely valuable skill, especially for a player as young as he is.
Scoring
Dylan Harper is a potential offensive engine, in part due to his ability to score the ball efficiently. So far, he’s shooting 52% from the field, 37% from three and 45% at the rim with 62% true shooting. He’s averaging 22.8 points per game and 1.12 points per possession (special shoutout to captain calculator.com for helping me figure that out without a Synergy subscription.) Not only is he an efficient scorer, but he has scoring versatility as well.
— At The Rim
As I mentioned, Harper is able to use his handle and strength to get into the paint with ease, and when he attacks the rim, he can put on an impressive display of crafty finishing. He can finish below or above the rim, and he can finish over bigger defenders as well. Harper is able to absorb contact, fight through it and still make the lay. There aren’t any clips of it, but he also has a nice floater/runner game, displaying soft touch.
— Shooting
Harper’s shooting touch and ability to hit a diverse array of shots is part of what makes him a weapon on offense. His release point is a bit low and near his face, but he shoots it with confidence and makes his threes at a respectable clip (37.3%). He’s entirely comfortable shooting both off the dribble and off the catch, and can hit shots contested or on the move with no problem. His numbers off the dribble aren’t amazing, but I think that has more to do with shot selection than touch. As an 18 year old freshman running the show on offense, that can be apart of the growing pains. I’m willing to trust the process over the results, and he’s shown flashes of hitting tough shots. When he takes a jumper on balance, he’s likely making that jumper.
Playmaking
I didn’t realize how good of a passer Dylan Harper was before this season, and it’s been my absolute favorite part about scouting him. For context, I watch minimal high school basketball, aside from some in the offseason to familiarize myself with the incoming freshman. Coming into this season, I knew Harper was a guard with good size and scoring prowess, but the passing ability adds a whole other element to his game. When a guard is confident enough to take any shot but also sees the floor well enough to make most reads, that player would be valuable even if he was shorter than Harper’s listed 6’7”. Aside from his pick and roll playmaking that I touched on earlier, he’s also very good at finding cutters, often times finding Ace Bailey on back door cuts leading to emphatic finishes. Harper is currently averaging almost 5 assists per game.
Defense
Another area of Harper’s game I’ve been impressed with is his defense. He’s not necessarily a world-beater on that end, he struggles against screens and can lose focus off the ball, but I don’t think he’s gotten enough credit for the effort and attentiveness he’s put into guarding on the ball. He competes and rarely takes plays off, and he’s good at getting his hands on the ball to make plays defensively. With the size of a wing, he’s got the physical tools to be impactful on that end, and I think it’s been a good start for him.
Areas of Improvement
So we know what Dylan Harper does well, but no prospect is perfect. Although Harper has shown flashes of shooting off the dribble, he hasn’t been efficient on those types of shots. It’s not unusual for Harper to pass up open reads for contested shots mid-way through the shot clock. He’s a natural scorer, but the quality of his shots needs to improve in order for him to grow in this area. He also has some turnover issues, also not uncommon for young guards. He does miss passing reads at times to drive into the paint, losing the ball to poke-aways or forced drives into help defense.
All in all, Harper has had an encouraging start to his freshman season and he’s on track to becoming one of the premier guard prospects of the last few drafts. If there’s any case for someone to emerge as a competitor to Cooper Flagg for the top overall pick, so far it looks like Dylan Harper.