NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – Dylan Harper’s connection to Rutgers is well established. His older brother, Ron Harper Jr., became an All-American as Scarlett Knight before signing an NBA free agent contract last summer. Dylan Harper could easily follow in his brother’s footsteps, as he and his family trust head coach Steve Pikiell and have established a bond with his staff.

The competition will be fierce, however, as Harper is ranked as the No. 17 player in the class of 2024 and already has a long list of major offers in addition to blue blood programs sniffing around. Rivals recently caught up with Harper to discuss where things stand as they relate to his recruitment.

ON SCHOOLS TALKING TO HIM MOST

“Rutgers, Indiana, Texas Tech – schools like that. They're really watching out for me.”

ON POSSIBLE VISITS

“In August I’m going to Rutgers, but that’s about it for right now.”

ON RUTGERS

“It’s a great program and [Steve Pikiel] is a great coach. He gets people to buy in. He gets everyone in the position they need to be in. He turned that program from zero to 100. He makes stuff happen.”

ON KANSAS INTEREST

“Every time you turn the TV on and watch March Madness, they're either in the Final Four or the national championship, so I like the fact that they are a winning program.”

ON THE DUKE STAFF WATCHING HIS PEACH JAM GAMES

“They always check up on me. They make sure that I’m good. They just call to check in on me and see if everything is good. It’s a good coaching staff.”

ON WHO HE FEELS CLOSEST TO

“Probably Rutgers.”

ON INDIANA

“They are a team you should never sleep on. They have great players and they all play together and for each other.”

ON INDIANA ASSISTANT YASIR ROSEMOND

“He always texts me playing around and stuff. That’s my guy. He texts me, he believes in me and he thinks I can do big things.”

ON KENTUCKY

“Yeah, they have texted me a couple times. I’m just really focused on getting better every day right now.”

RIVALS REACTION: Rutgers will obviously be firmly in the mix until the end here, and it’s difficult to see Harper spurning the Scarlet Knights unless he does so in favor of a blue blood offer. Kentucky, Duke and Kansas are all kicking the tires on the guard’s recruitment, and things will get interesting if they all pull the trigger on offers.