It’s a dark Thursday afternoon in late September as Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper walk down the steps of the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center—Rutgers’ still-shining facility. The campus, located in Piscataway, NJ, is quiet, but only for a moment. The two freshmen crossed the street and came under the sky bridge that connects the practice area to the (also new) Business School building.
The pair of six-story buildings are wrapped in an invisible silver panel and translucent glass covering the full face of the main wing’s entrance. Ten white beams sit at an angle supporting the L-shaped walkway above. Black adirondack chairs and tables are laid out under the shade provided by the canopy above. It is a sick situation. Flick is definitely worth it.
SLAM 253 featuring Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper is available now.
As we wipe off the rain that fell on the seats just 15 minutes earlier, the doors to the building open. The class is out. Students in pants, backpacks, slides and iPhones in hand exit the automatic double doors.
At first, the kids aren’t worried about the 6-10, 6-6 freshman who will be leading the Scarlet Knights into the 2024-25 season as one of the most talked about teams in the country. Then Dylan started hanging out with his boyfriend.
“Free photos with Ace Bailey! Ace Bailey is here!” Dylan, wearing a black Rick Owens jacket and black PRPS jeans, calls out to a crowd of students trying to get to their next class. Ace doesn’t have it.
“DYLAN Harper. Five dollars for a picture with Dylan Harper!”
The two go back and forth for 30 seconds, until a group of students begin to converge. This was not the intention. They were just trying to fool around. A healthy balance of embarrassment, if you will. But before we know it, a row has formed and the two have created a low routine.
Dylan holds an adidas basketball stamped with the Rutgers R and stands to the right. Ace, wearing a black sweatshirt with red accents for the Lifestyle Sports Agency, founded by Sharif Cooper’s father, Omar, and currently representing the Tennessee native, stands to the left of the room between them. They wave to each other and Dylan asks if they want to catch the ball. They smile while a friend takes a picture. A few dap-ups follow and encourage the season, then it’s off to the classroom, dining hall or dorm. After about five minutes, the line disperses, and Ace and Dylan head back to do the SLAM cover photo.
This has never been the norm for Rutgers basketball. Impromptu meet and greet. Season tickets have been sold out for months. Thirty-plus journalists show up for media day. Everything symbolizes the fun that these newlyweds put into the program.
As the No. 1 players 2 and No. 4 in the Class of 2024 (per ESPN), Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper are the best players to ever suit up for the Scarlet red. And that’s no shade to the likes of Phil Sellers, James Bailey and other Rutgers legends, but the energy around campus this year is different. These kids don’t just walk with the enthusiasm of rock stars, they play like them, too. NBA scouts, head coach Steve Pikiell and freshmen all know that. And to think it all started with a Big Ten win almost two years ago.
It’s January 15, 2023, and Ace Bailey is on his official visit to Rutgers. Along with Jamichael Davis, who has won the second round, he is sitting behind the bench waiting for Ohio State vs. Rutgers tip.
“Then coach Pike came down and talked to me and J-Mike [Jamichael Davis] like, Come on, put on your clothes. Are you ready? That showed us right away that he enjoys going down,” said Ace. “I was still young, I wasn’t even an adult yet. So, when he said that, it meant a lot to let us know that he is ready. He is ready to pour himself out to us and give everything. So we are ready to give everything for him.”
Amid the chaos and excitement in the locker room after watching the team come together for a thrilling overtime win, Ace knew this was where he had to be. He leaned on coach Pikiell and committed himself to the program right away.
“I didn’t know I was going to commit that day, but what I heard in the locker room was something I wanted to be a part of.” I obliged, and we went to eat,” said Ace. “B. Knight [associate head coach Brandin Knight] called Dylan and he was like, Talk to Dylan. And I was like, I just did it, now it’s your turn. He was like, I got it.”
In fact, Ace had no idea who was on the other end of the line when Brandin Knight gave him the phone. It took a second for both of them to realize who they were talking to. But when they did, they returned to the brotherhood that had been fostered since they first met at Sharife Cooper’s camp a few years ago.
“Outside the court, there was no talk of basketball for us. It was about building friendships and bonding,” Dylan said. “I think from day one, we connected and clicked right away. And it can be small things. [I’d] call him, FaceTime him, Yo, how was class? How was school? We practiced later. Things like that. So it wasn’t about basketball, it was about brotherhood and coming together. “
It took about 11 months, but Dylan pulled through. Surrounded by his close family and grandfather, the No. 1 point guard in the country announced his commitment live at Fanatics HQ in New York City. After going back and forth with his brother, Ron Harper Jr, about their battles growing up and passing the spotlight, Dylan decided to return the favor to Ace.
“I was at school when he called me,” said Ace.
“Yeah, he was sleeping on the couch,” Dylan said while Ace laughed. “I think it was before practice. It was just, like, my brother’s thing. After doing something good, you want to call your family, your people, and tell them what happened. That’s what I did right there.”
Dylan’s connection to Rutgers runs deep. Between middle school and high school, he was running around the RAC (now Jersey Mike’s Arena), getting shots while his older brother led the program back to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.
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“The four years he’s been here, just seeing that the coaching staff is really working with him, I was just like, Why not me? So that was probably the biggest thing. Family lineage, I want to be me again [know] I can come here and be myself,” Dylan said.
When Dylan created the framework for his play, he was steeped in the cultural fabric of the show. He watched Rutgers basketball go from winning less than five games in Big Ten play to flirting with the AP rankings. He saw his brother rise from being a four-star player (by Rivals) to make the League under the guidance of coach Pikiell. Now it was his turn to build on the foundation built by his brother.
Over the past few months, Ace and Dylan have been building chemistry and rapport with their teammates and coaches. Exercise preceded and followed their daily routine from June to August. They have been putting in the work. There is no doubt about it.
“We learned a lot during the summer. This was a time to bond with our colleagues,” said Ace. “We have big officers, big security guards, big security guards who shoot. We’re locked in, we saw how they play, they see how we play, and we just connected and put everything together.”
It’s only been a few months and they’ve already formed some mysterious brain connections. Dylan knows it’s time for Ace to show up. He can feel pockets within the game where Ace can build confidence with buckets, and vice versa. Backdoor cuts and alley-oops are signaled with the bat eye. At the same time, Ace knows when Dylan will find him to cut the base. He takes advantage of opportunities where he can break free from the bag and make three pointers while expanding his style of play.
They adapt to the pace of the college game and “don’t waste your energy making a lot of moves.” Being true to what you want to do, stick to it. Don’t try to play for yourself,” Dylan explained. “These are grown men. Like 23, 24. You’re not going to have time to do everything you did in high school.”
“Go to your places,” Ace chimed in.
“Go to your places,” Dylan repeated reassuringly.
Even though they don’t connect on the basketball genius show, Ace and Dylan are in sync. Target runs are the norm, recently getting a new Ace console. So are late-night stops at Shake Shack or hitting the dining hall after practice. Ever since they arrived on campus in mid-June for summer practice, Ace and Dylan have been piling on the foundation of their brotherhood. When one calls, the other answers. It’s been such a long time before commitments.
“Yes, we go to Target, like every other week. If you want to catch us, catch us at Target. We will be at Target. I always tell you,” said Dylan. But, maybe during the summer it was like, we practiced early, and then the whole day we were together. No class, chilling in the room, playing a game. Doing things for kids, honestly, being us and communicating. “
Inside the third floor of the practice facility, Ace and Dylan are playing in their Scarlet Knights uniforms. Despite standing in front of the same background, the bond between them is clearer than the windows of the business school that will be around 30 minutes later. Jokes are tossed back and forth like a rock on a perimeter. They shouted to their passing colleagues in unison, checking to see what their boys were up to. And when Josh Turner’s “Your Man” blares from the speakers above, an impromptu karaoke session ensues.
Piscataway has become a second home. There is a sense of comfort, family and loyalty that runs through the campus. Their commitment to the success of Rutgers is met with the trust to be themselves, keeping their feet firmly in the moment while they answer each other to what they set out to achieve almost two years ago. Get involved. Rule.
Welcome to the new normal. Rutgers, are you ready?
Photos by Marcus Stevens.
