Some players are just meant to do great things. Whether it’s in college basketball or in the NBA, the Harper family has had their fair share of great moments on the basketball court.
Years ago, Ron Harper Jr. once hit a huge half-court shot to upset the then-No. 1 Purdue with a 70-68 win for Rutgers. Now, his younger brother, Dylan, also got a taste of glory by knocking down a buzzer-beating three to lift his team past Seton Hall.
Needless to say, this was the icing on the cake of an already impressive freshman season for Harper, a projected top-three pick in the NBA Draft. However, he would still take his big brother’s shot.
Dylan Harper says he preferred his brother’s butter-beater
“I think my brother’s shot was one of the best in college basketball,” Harper said. “He beat the number one team in the country and had 30 points, 10 rebounds, and hit a half-court shot, so all credit to him. I think his shot was better, but mine was more meaningful in regards to the game and the type of environment we were in.”
Head coach Steve Pikiell of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights speaks with Dylan Harper #2 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of their game against the St. John’s Red Storm at Jersey Mike’s Arena on October 17, 2024 in Piscataway, New Jersey.
Harper then dug a little deeper into his mindset before the game-winning shot. He was trying to get the best shot possible, and knowing that he had taken that same shot countless times in practice, he felt okay pulling up:
“I don’t know what was going through my head, I was just trying to win,” Harper continued. “The main thing on my mind was the Exhibition Game against St. John’s. I turned the ball over for that game and definitely did not want to do that again. I wanted to get the win and that is what we did. My thought process was to get the best shot possible. It was the only spot on the court open so I got there and shot the ball. I worked on this a lot, constant reps in practice, so I was very confident in this shot.”
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Harper, Ace Bailey, and the Scarlet Knights will look to keep the momentum going next season, but they will have to do a much better job from the line after going just 17-for-53 in their past two games.
