Take Dylan Harper seriously as a threat to Cooper Flagg for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Mike Sykes
Happy Friday, folks! Welcome back to Layup Lines. Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you’ve had a wonderful Thanksgiving week.
There’s been a ton of good basketball this week on all levels, but I’ve been locked in specifically on college hoops. With mid-season tournaments going on and some of the best prospects in the country playing against tougher competition, it’s been a great week to revisit some of the top prospects in the draft and where they’re ranked (especially as a Wizards fan).
CAPTURE THE FLAGG: The Wizards are in first (or maybe last?) in the race for Cooper Flagg.
I say all of that to say I’ve been watching a lot of Rutgers basketball this week to get an eye on Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. And, after Harper’s explosion in the Player’s Era tournament, you shouldn’t overlook him as a potential threat to Cooper Flagg’s supremacy as the No. 1 prospect in this draft class.
Now, look. Flagg is still our No. 1 here. Even after a less-than-perfect start with Duke, he still should be.
The reasons why are simple. He’s 17 years old and still barely scratches the surface of his potential. Yet, still, he’s easily one of the most versatile defenders in the nation. It’d take a lot to supplant him, even if his offense hasn’t yet caught up to his defense and late-game turnovers have been a problem.
But here’s the thing: Dylan Harper has been doing a lot.
- He’s the only freshman in the last 20 years of NCAA men’s hoops to score 35 points in consecutive games after scoring 37 and 36 in the Player’s Era tournament.
- He’s third in the nation in scoring as a freshman.
- He’s also averaging 5.8 assists to only 1.8 turnovers in his last five games.
As a 6-foot-6 guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and an elite creator, he’s the exact sort of player NBA teams are looking to build through.
HE’S THE FULCRUM: Harper is the most exciting offensive prospect in college hoops this year
His game isn’t perfect. He’s still an inconsistent shooter at best and, defensively, while he can shake things up on the ball, the awareness away from it can be concerning. That’s what makes Flagg so special.
But should this trajectory for Harper continue, don’t be surprised if these conversations get louder and louder as the days go by.
The Timberwolves are broken
Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Things ain’t so sweet in Minnesota these days. Anthony Edwards called his teammates out after the Wolves lost a fourth game in a row on Wednesday.
He called the team “frontrunners” and “soft” when it comes to talking to each other. And he did this publicly — not behind close doors. Here’s exactly what he said:
“I think it’s we soft as hell as a team, internally. Not to the other team, but internally, we soft. We can’t talk to each other. Just a bunch of little kids,” Edwards said.
Honestly, you’ve got to respect that he didn’t hide behind an anonymous quote to get this out there. He put his face and name to it. But you have to imagine that will ruffle some feathers in the locker room. That’s probably exactly what he wants, but man. This is not a good sign for a team with NBA championship hopes.
Hm. I guess Karl-Anthony Towns was the glue guy all along.
Shootaround
— Josh Green’s buzzer-beater actually hurt the Hornets’ last-second comeback attempt. I’ve never seen this before.
— Here’s Bryan Kalrbosky on Dylan Harper being the most tantalizing offensive prospect in the draft this year.
— Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies ain’t looking too great. Maybe the Lakers dodged a tough one here? Meg Hall has more.
— Speaking of the Maui Invitational, Bryan Kalbrosky made a list of the 10 best prospects who participated.
That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with us today. Have a great weekend. Peace.
-Sykes