Rutgers Star Dylan Harper Named National Player of the Week
The Scarlet Knights are attempting to make one final push towards the NCAA Tournament and their star freshman has been the main catalyst.
Dylan Harper has been named the Naismith National Player of the Week after leading Rutgers to two consecutive victories against Washington and USC.
Harper began his week with a 34-point performance during an 89-85 win over Washington in overtime. He went 12-for-14 from the free throw line, which was a new career-high.
Harper followed up this performance with 25 points and nine assists on Sunday night. The Scarlet Knights took down USC, 95-85, at Jersey Mike's Arena. He added a career-high six steals. Harper became the third freshman since 2005 to log at least 25 points, nine assists, and six steals, joining West Virginia's Jordan McCave and Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn.
Rutgers was 8-5 heading following a victory against Columbia on Dec. 30. The Scarlet Knights went onto lose nine of their next 13 games, putting postseason chances in serious jeopardy. But they've rebounded and the team is now on a two-game winning streak where it is averaging 92 points per game.
Harper has reached 485 total points this season. That puts him currently in third place on the Rutgers all-time true freshmen scoring list, trailing only Phil Sellers (506) and Mike Rosario (517). At this rate, Harper will have to average 10.6 points per game to break the record.
Harper is averaging 19.4 points, to go with 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his first season in Piscataway. The 6-foot-6 point guard came into the season as one of the top projected picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. As we prepare to enter March, Harper has made a case to be a top-two pick in the draft and has challenged Duke's Cooper Flagg for the top spot.
Greg Patuto is a sports writer who covers College Football, College Basketball, MLB, and NBA. He previously worked as Managing Editor at SB Nation's On The Banks, covering Rutgers Athletics, and has also been featured on Fox Sports, NJ.com, ClutchPoints, and FanSided. Greg enjoys spending time with his family while rooting for the Washington Commanders and New York Mets.