Harper Jr. on potentially making NCAA Tourney: 'This is a dream come true'
For the first time in three decades, Rutgers isn’t done playing basketball after a loss in its conference tournament.
Following a quarterfinals exit of the Big Ten Tournament for the Scarlet Knights by Illinois, they now hold their breath and wait for to see where they will play and who they will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next week
Rutgers hasn’t done dancing and been a part of March Madness since 1991.
“We just gotta look forward. I often tell the guys you can’t do anything about the past, coming off of a loss or a win, it doesn’t matter. This is the most important part of the season so we gotta stick with it and stick with each other,” junior Ron Harper Jr. said. “We’re a bunch of hard-nosed, hard workers. Nobody expected us to get here. We just gotta keep pushing forward and today wasn’t our day.
“(But) it’s going to be amazing. Everybody on the roster, when they committed to Rutgers I bet a bunch of people asked why. Nobody ever expected us to get here and we just did it by working with each other and just playing for each other and just got to continue to do that. ....This is definitely a dream come true. Just coming to Rutgers and being a part of this historic team is a dream come true and I'm just going to keep pushing forward.”
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Redshirt junior center Myles Johnson was down about the loss after the game, but is very much looking forward to the Selection Sunday show at 6:00 p.m. on CBS.
“Once Selection Sunday comes and we get to hear our name, that's going to bring a whole bunch more energy for everyone. It's going to be one of the best feelings basketball wise I've had thus far, because last year we didn't get to hear our name get called even though we put in all the work and literally punched our ticket and everything,” Johnson said. “It just didn't end up happening because of the pandemic. To finally be able to hear our name be called will be a great experience.”
Oftentimes when a team’s name appears in the bracket, cameras show the squad watching the show in the locker room or wherever they are located and the players start jumping for joy. Johnson looks forward to doing the same.
Rutgers fans surely will be running around as well with excitement.
“Yeah, you would watch it and they'll cut to like all the teams in the locker room and they hear their name and everybody jumps up and screams and everything,” Johnson said. “We won't be won't be at the RAC or the APC, but we'll be together. I already know everyone is going to be jumping around and screaming and throwing stuff. It'll be great.”
“My teammates have been dreaming of this moment for a long time,” Harper Jr. said. “We’ll play anybody in the country. We're gonna show up and we're going to play Rutgers basketball.”
Rutgers doesn’t obviously know and won’t know it will play next Friday or Saturday until later today. But the Scarlet Knights will be ready to go after going 15-11 (11-11 within the Big Ten Conference) in the most-competitive league in the nation.
“I think playing in the Big Ten in general helps,” Johnson said. “We played a tough schedule and playing in the Big Ten prepares you for the tournament. Having that experience playing each school in the Big Ten, I think it'll help.”
This season, Rutgers has played projected one and two seeds Michigan, Illinois, Ohio State, and Iowa, winning against Illinois back in December. It has also beat a projected four-seed in Purdue, 10th-seeded Maryland, and 11th-seeded Michigan State, while also playing seventh-seeded Wisconsin within the conference.
In non-conference play, Rutgers defeated projected 12th-seeded Syracuse as well.
“We're battle-tested. We played a great team night and night out, it was never a night off in the Big Ten,” Harper Jr. said. “I'm just excited to get a taste of another conference for once.”
When on, Rutgers is a very capable team that can beat and play with anybody in the nation. At one point, it was ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25. But the question is which Rutgers will show up? Some games Rutgers is dominant defensively and can score and other times it struggles in all areas.
“To get some wins in the tournament we're going to have to be the most connected that we've been in the last few years. You got to be the most connected group that I've ever seen in my last three years here and we got to play for each other and we got to be unselfish and we got to always make the next pass,” Harper Jr. said. “When we step between those lines it is not doing it for the name on the back of your jersey it is doing it for the name on the front of your jersey that you share with your brothers, your coaches, and everybody that supports us. If we bring that Rutgers basketball grit to the NCAA tournament I'm confident in facing whoever.”
In the preseason, Geo Baker talked about not just making the tournament, but advancing. Johnson feels the Scarlet Knights can do just that.
“When we play our best basketball, we can make any type of run, Johnson said. “We can be a team that goes deep in a tournament. We don't know who we're playing, but we'll play our best basketball and we'll be ready to play.”
A limited number of family members were able to go to Rutgers’ Senior Night on short notice. Fans were also allowed for the Big Ten Tournament, although those in scarlet were few and far between.
Harper Jr. is pulling for Rutgers fans to make the trip to Indiana to see the team play and to show support. It’s been a long journey.
“I hope Rutgers nation comes out, but once again we’re living in a global pandemic,” Harper Jr. said. “I just hope they show support, but if they can’t it is what it is. At the end of the day my teammates and I are just going to try to go out there and get a win.”
Johnson, who is from California, says his family is making the trip, and it will be a welcomed sight to see them for the first time in months.
“My parents are coming for the tournament so they will be out here,” the Long Beach native said. “My dad's sister lives out here so they'll be with her and out here for the tournament. I haven't seen my family since after summer workouts before the school year. It's going to be great. Being around family is always a good feeling. I know Paul (Mulcahy) was telling you guys how great it was just seeing his mom. I think everyone seeing their family and fans will bring more energy and passion to the game.”
Rutgers is staying in the area of Indianapolis through the week and not going back to New Jersey, hoping to stay clear of COVID-19 before the Scarlet Knights take the court again.
“It's what, day 372 of the pandemic. I'm pretty used to it. I wasn't expecting that we're gonna have freedom to go around, but I'm not complaining,” Johnson said. “I'd rather be safe in our room away from everyone. It's for safety measures, and I'm not going to complain.”
Follow Chris Nalwasky on Twitter @ChrisNalwasky.
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