Dylan Harper has been on Duke basketball’s wishlist for 16 months, but the Blue Devils are unlikely to prevail over the home-state favorite.
Don Bosco Prep (N.J.) senior guard Dylan Harper, son of former five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, received a Duke basketball offer in August 2022. He visited the Blue Devils a few months later, coinciding with Countdown to Craziness in Cameron Indoor Stadium.
In January, Harper included the program among his finalists, along with Kansas, Rutgers, Auburn, and Indiana. And he has not publicly eliminated any of those suitors since then.
Now, he’s preparing to announce a winner in his recruitment on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. ET. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound five-star, No. 2 overall on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, advertised the commitment date and time on Monday night.
Although many insiders considered Duke basket
ball head coach Jon Scheyer and his cohorts the early favorite for Harper, all the momentum now appears to favor Rutgers. It’s been that way for months.
His brother, Ron Harper Jr., played four seasons for the Scarlet Knights and is now in the NBA. Furthermore, Dylan Harper’s friend, McEachern High School (Ga.) five-star forward Ace Bailey, who boasts a No. 3 composite ranking in the 2024 class, is a Rutgers signee
All five 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions point to Harper following in his older brother’s footsteps by remaining in New Jersey to join Bailey at Rutgers.
No matter how it plays out on Wednesday, Duke will still have the nation’s top-ranked 2024 haul. That collection of future Blue Devils (each inked his pledge during November’s early signing period) includes the cycle’s No. 1 prep, Montverde Academy (Fla.) forward Cooper Flagg, and three other five-star talents, plus one four-star.
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