harper is at the Nike academy this week in LA. Pretty big deal for a kid that doesn't play on a Nike AAU sponsored program. He's there with some top kids including King.
Harper is at the Nike Academy
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Huge development for the Harper status and added confidence going into the Fall and Winter...he's going to be a big time scorer down the road for RU....Just needs some more refinement and strength to reshape the body like we've seen in the last year from players already in the program....
November can't get here fast enough so we can get this class locked up. When you've been fans as long as we both have, we'd have to be crazy not to fear the worst.
Adidas has held all there camp events for the summer and the nike basketball academy is currently the biggest and best out there camp wise. it used to be broken up in 3 smaller camps (guards, wings, bigs) and then the top players from there went to the final academy which nba players hosted. so to be at the academy with some of the top 29 high school basketball players is a feat, stop worrying about which brand he will have on and realize people are recognizing the kid
well is it better if i said its good he was invited since his team played did not play in EYBL.
Apprehensive - maybe a bit - but the current enthusiasm / momentum is very positive - and all indications are that this coaching staff will leave no stones un-turned in terms of sustaining & enhancing the bonds with these recruits. Between now& November there will be no real on-court results to sway prospects - it will continue to be the strongly centered around the obvious quality build that is happening.
Really hoping that the hinted at 'one final' addition for 2017-2018 comes to fruition - is as appealing as suggested - and is announced soon .... because every positive step will help to maintain & build the idea that something great is coming together at Rutgers.
for some reason I am much more confident on hanging onto bb commits than in football..... part of that might be that the bb team
will fair a lot better on the court than the football team will, less of a need to explain away poor performances....
the other reason is that Pikell in staff will be very good in keeping in contact with verbals, and the recruits are more likely to believe in him...... the bb staff is very good.
will fair a lot better on the court than the football team will, less of a need to explain away poor performances....
the other reason is that Pikell in staff will be very good in keeping in contact with verbals, and the recruits are more likely to believe in him...... the bb staff is very good.
I don't follow basketball recruiting all that much but I've seen this sentence before. What are some reasons this is the case? Is it because less kids recruited in each class so the staff builds closer relationships easier? Schools don't try and poach as much?
I think we will be fine. Ron seemed thrilled that a NJ school offered him. I think he wants to play near his home so his family & friends can see him play. His playing against outstanding competition will only make him better. I see him as growing a few more inches and becoming a very nice contributor.
For those in the know, I've seen posted several times that Harper needs to get into shape. In terms of what? Stamina? Weight loss/gain? High school kids should be able to run forever.
If you look at the videos he has a "soft" body. Similar to Myles Johnson. If we're getting guys with good work ethics, we've seen the magic our S&C program can do with these guys in just a couple months.
Decommits seem more rare in basketball for a few reasons -
(1.) numbers - teams in top level of football have ability to have 85 scholarships - and offer up to 25 in a given class (and have a few additional options)
Basketball has 13 scholarships to give - allocate as needed - but often a team is looking to bring in 3-4 in a class
So even if the % of decommits was the same - the shear numbers would be greater in football - and it would be in the news more often.
But it is also easier to stay in constant communication & continuously build & solidify relationships with 3-4 players than +/-25
(2.) clarity regarding fit & future - while there are exceptions & it is not always certain - on a comparative basis, a basketball recruit generally has a higher level of confidence about the role that he has been recruited to play - yes it can turn differently (that is why transfers happen) but an incoming recruit thinks they have a pretty crisp vision of what role they will play. - - and even if they don't expect to start right away, a scholarship basketball play can have a reasonable expectation of actually at least occasionally seeing the court & will be practicing right in front of the head coach much of the time - a football play can have questions about getting overlooked / getting stuck behind others.... so it is easier for another team to plant seeds of doubt & woo away a prospect.
It's because in basketball recruiting, when a kid gives a verbal commitment 99.9% of his recruitment comes to a stop.
Unlike football where a verbal commitment doesn't mean dog poo. Kids verbal and then still visit other schools, and schools continue to recruit him and kids sometime even pickup offers after they have already verbally committed to a program. Not to mention the kids who flip the day before signing day. There is an entire culture in football recruiting about flipping kids, what the hell lol
There is zero chance I'll ever cover football recruiting because my reaction to a football commitment is: big whoop. Talk to me when he signs.
You have to realize as Rutgers people we ARE worried about that .01% until the FAX lady sings.
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This is huge...I think we can expect Harper to definitely rise in the rankings big time. Potentially a bump to 4 star as well when all is said and done.
Yes, I see he is on the same team as Jalen Carey. I don't think it can hurt.
So you are not buying what he is selling? :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
I don't have much to offer on Harper.
I've never seen him play. I missed on seeing his team play when they were in Orlando last month. I'm trying to get some game video to watch because we are going to be updating the class of 2018 rankings soon
Oh SNAP! @RU85inFla you brought me some good luck. My contact at Krossover.com found Harper in the database. They have 56 of his high school games from the past two seasons available for me to watch.
I couldn't find him in their database because I was searching for Ron Harper Jr. They have him in their database as Ronald Harper Jr.
You think I was close enough to get a "did you mean Ronald Harper Jr" but nooooo.
I'll try to watch three games tomorrow
I couldn't find him in their database because I was searching for Ron Harper Jr. They have him in their database as Ronald Harper Jr.
You think I was close enough to get a "did you mean Ronald Harper Jr" but nooooo.
I'll try to watch three games tomorrow
zero handlers.
Also I believe he measured with a 7 ft plus wingspan at oladipo.
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