PISCATAWAY – Rick Pitino has coached a lot of talent and competed against some of the best of the best in a Hall of Fame, championship career that’s spanned five decades in both college basketball and the NBA.
So when the St. John’s basketball coach offers his thoughts about players, it carries plenty of weight.
Which means Rutgers basketball fans had to like what Pitino had to say about Scarlet Knights star freshmen Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey after the Red Storm beat Rutgers 91-85 in a scrimmage Thursday night at Jersey Mike’s Arena.
“Dylan, he is for a freshman, so much under control,” Pitino said. “He plays like a senior. So much under control. He’s got a lot of Clyde Frazier in him the way he plays. He was amazing.”
Clyde Frazier. Former New York Knicks point guard, two time champion, seven-time all-star and hall of famer.
That’s high praise for Harper, the Don Bosco Prep product who committed to Steve Pikiell and the Scarlet Knights as a five-star recruit and the third-ranked prospect in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Pitino was correct – Harper lived up to that status Thursday night, even if this was just a scrimmage.
Harper finished with 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting (2-of-6 from the perimeter) with four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Harper started the scoring for Rutgers, driving the basket for a layup 30 seconds into the game for the Scarlet Knights’ first points of the contest.
And Bailey?
He brought the crowd to its feet several times, too. Bailey finished with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting (4-of-9 from three-point range) with five rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
Pitino offered more praise for Bailey, the second-ranked recruit in the nation.
“Ace Bailey just has great talent,” said Pitino, who’s 11-1 against Rutgers in his career. “Both of them are great. I think they’re terrific, obviously. They deserve the ranking that they’re getting. If they just listen to Coach (Steve Pikiell), he’s a tremendous coach. I think he’s got two great ones and I think they’re going to be a hell of a basketball team.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rutgers basketball: Rick Pitino praises Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey
