NBA scouts react to Ace Bailey’s Rutgers’ debut: ‘He will challenge Cooper for No. 1′

About an hour before Rutgers faced St. John’s in a charity exhibition at Jersey Mike’s Arena Thursday night, Brooklyn Nets GM Sean Marks and assistant GM B.J. Johnson stepped out of a black SUV outside the building. The rebuilding Nets are expected to be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in next summer’s NBA Draft, with Tankathon.com projecting them to have the top pick. Marks and Johnson -- along with 20 other NBA scouts, including Raptors GM Masai Ujiri and Magic GM Anthony Parker -- were in the building to do their homework by watching Rutgers freshmen stars Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper. Both are expected to be in the mix for the No. 1 pick along with Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg -- and both put on a show in their debut at the old RAC despite the Scarlet Knights taking a 91-85 loss. St. John’s coach Rick Pitino compared Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr., to Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier, while the 6-foot-10 Bailey did nothing to dispute the notion that he could be the No. 1 pick next summer. “He’s [among the] top-3 youth players in the world,” one NBA scout who has seen Bailey multiple times told NJ Advance Media. “Everyone has Cooper Fever, [but] he will challenge Cooper for No. 1. Want to bet on College Basketball? See the best NJ Sports Betting sites Indeed, while the 6-foot-9 Flagg is an uber-talented prospect at just 17, even his coach agrees Flagg is no lock to be No. 1. “Of course he has to prove it,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, who was courtside at Thursday’s Rutgers game. “I’ve seen guys who have been projected [No. 1], that have gone there, and then guys that are projected that don’t go because you assume it’s gonna happen. “So I don’t assume anything. I know Cooper doesn’t. His thing is going to be deserved, at the end of the day, based on what he does. I think he’s shown, how he’s talked about, is rightfully so. And I know he’s anxious to even build on that. ... I believe in Cooper at the end of the day. But again, we got a long way to go before we start thinking about that.” Of course, there’s a long way to go. But Bailey, 18, sure made an impression in his debut. He poured in 25 points on 8-of-18 shooting while making 4-of-9 from deep. “Ace Bailey just has great talent,” Pitino said. He flushed a dunk off an inbounds pass from Harper. He took a couple of dribbles and pulled up for a 15-footer. He hit a corner 3 off a pass from Rutgers center Emmanuel Ogbole. He drained a three off the break and then grinned and strutted all the way back down court. One NBA scout said an advantage Bailey has over Flagg is the fact that he’s playing alongside Harper. “He’s playing with another lottery pick, a great guard,” the scout said of Harper. “Cooper doesn’t have that.” Of course, Flagg, Harper and Bailey are all freshmen who will often be playing against much older, stronger players in the NIL and transfer portal era. They won’t dominate every night -- especially when it comes to NCAA Tournament time. “The era of taking these young freshmen and trying to play against older players is over,” said Jay Wright, who won two national titles and reached four Final Fours at Villanova. Still, before the NBA Draft and before guys like Sean Marks have to make decisions on their picks, Bailey and Harper dream of taking Rutgers deep into March Madness and maybe even to the program’s first Final Four since 1976. “Man, it would be a dream come true,” Bailey told NJ Advance Media last year at a USA Basketball mini-camp at the Final Four in House. “Win the whole natty my freshman year? It would be great.” Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Adam Zagoria is a freelance reporter who covers Seton Hall and NJ college basketball for NJ Advance Media. You may follow him on Twitter @AdamZagoria and check out his Website at ZAGSBLOG.com.