Dylan Harper has been absolutely Box Office through the first eight games of the Rutgers Men’s Basketball season. Harper and fellow freshman Ace Bailey have begun to mesh and while the team is 5-3 they are only going to get better as the season goes on.
Harper was just awarded the Big Ten Freshman of the week for the 2nd time already as a Scarlet Knight. During a week when Steve Pikiell’s squad faced Nortre Dame, No. 9 Alabama, No. 20 Texas A&M and Kennesaw State, Harper put up a total of 122 points over the span of those four games.
The freshman scored 36 points against Notre Dame and followed that up with 37 against Alabama, becoming the first freshman to score over 35 points two games in a row in 20 years. For Rutgers as a whole, this is the sixth time a freshman has won the award. The last two players to do so were Ron Harper and Geo Baker.
The historic week now has Harper sitting at number three in the nation, averaging 23.8 points per game. The Scarlet Knights won’t take the court again until Saturday, when they travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State in their first Big Ten matchup of the season.
The Scarlet Knights are currently just 0-1 on true road games (4-0 at home and 1-2 at neutral sites) but can make a statement by beating the Buckeyes before they return to Jersey Mike’s arena to take on Penn State.
Time will tell is this will be Harper and Bailey’s only year on the banks, but right now, at this moment they are Scarlet Knights, and boy have they been fun to watch! Live in the here and now, Rutgers fans, because we are witnessing greatness!