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Big Ten Roundup (Aug. 20): Rutgers' Commit Ace Bailey Scores 40, Taphorn Joins Wisconsin Staff

Five-star Rutgers' basketball commit Ace Bailey scored 40 points in the SLAM Summer Classic, playing with five-star Rutgers' recruiting target Dylan Harper, and against 2024 five-star Cooper Flagg. In other news, Wisconsin walk-on basketball player Justin Taphorn is ending his playing career to join Greg Gard's coaching staff in Madison.

Daniel Olinger

Big Ten Roundup (Aug. 20): Rutgers' Commit Ace Bailey Scores 40, Taphorn Joins Wisconsin Staff
Big Ten Roundup (Aug. 20): Rutgers' Commit Ace Bailey Scores 40, Taphorn Joins Wisconsin Staff /
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It's not every year that Rutgers has a basketball commit whose summer highlights are being tweeted out by the official NBA social media account. 

But that's exactly what coach Steve Pikiell and the Scarlet Knights have in Ace Bailey, a five-star Rutgers' commit in the class of 2024, and the No. 3 overall ranked player in the country. Bailey scored 40 points in a 160-153 loss during the SLAM Summer Classic on Saturday. 

In other Big Ten basketball news, Justin Taphorn is no longer a walk-on for coach Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers. Rather, he has joined the coaching staff as an undergraduate assistant. 

Here's everything you need to know in today's Big Ten Roundup:

Bailey Scores 40 in SLAM Summer Classic

Every Rutgers basketball fan has had their eyes and ears permanently locked on the 2024 recruiting class, and for good reason.

The Scarlet Knights have already earned a commitment from Bailey, the 6-foot-8 forward from Powder Springs, Ga., and they've long been the favorite for Dylan Harper. The son of former NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan is one of the only players in all of high school basketball ranked above Bailey. In fact, Harper and Bailey were No. 1 and No. 2 in 247 Sports 2024 rankings, respectively, until generational prospect Cooper Flagg reclassified to '24, and immediately earned the No. 1 spot. 

Indiana men's basketball coaches were spotted court side watching Flagg at Peach Jam, and IU is one of the five teams Harper is still considering, along with Rutgers. 

On Saturday, playing at legendary Rucker Park in New York City, Bailey stole the show. He played on Team Dylan, aptly named for his previously mentioned teammate in the game, Dylan Harper. Bailey dropped 40 points on the night, raining down threes from deep, and slamming home windmill dunks in open space. 

Having already landed Bailey, Pikiell's 2024 recruiting class figures to be the best in the history of Rutgers basketball. 

Landing his running mate from Saturday in Harper would make that claim even more of a certainty. 

Justin Taphorn Joins Wisconsin Staff

In some of the more unique news of the offseason, former Wisconsin walk-on Justin Taphorn joined Gard and the Badgers' coaching staff as a student assistant after three years as a player.

Taphorn played in 16 games over the course of three years in Madison. If his name looks familiar, it's because he's the younger brother of former Northwestern basketball player Nathan Taphorn, who played for Collins and the Wildcats from 2013-17. 

Related Stories

  • COOPER FLAGG FILM STUDY: Indiana coaches were spotted watching Flagg at Nike EYBL Peach Jam, so we broke down what makes Flagg such a desirable, five-star prospect. CLICK HERE
  • LIAM MCNEELEY FILM STUDY: Liam McNeeley, a five-star prospect in the class of 2024, is being recruited by coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers. McNeeley attends Montverde Academy and plays for the Florida Rebels AAU team on the Nike EYBL circuit, and he's teammates with fellow Indiana basketball recruiting targets Derik Queen, Curtis Givens and Asa Newell. CLICK HERE
  • IU MAKES HARPER'S TOP 5: Indiana is in the running for Dylan Harper, one of the nation's top class of 2024 recruits and the younger brother of former Rutgers' All-Big Ten player Ron Harper Jr. CLICK HERE
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Daniel Olinger
DANIEL OLINGER

Daniel Olinger is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation reporter for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Northwestern University with degrees in both journalism and economics. 

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