On Monday night, Rutgers Basketball was able to beat the Maryland Terrapins to start 1-0 in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since joining the conference. However the story of the day was the great performance from forward Ron Harper Jr, who led the Scarlet Knights with 27 points.
"We had four guys in double-figures," head coach Steve Pikiell said in his postgame presser. "Ron was in foul trouble in the first half, he and Paul, so we platooned them a bit. Ron's a tough matchup. He's playing with really good confidence. I like his defense, I like that he's getting some assists too. I like his rebounds in traffic. There's a lot of things he gives us.Tonight, he had it going. We continue to get him the ball in good spots that makes it difficult for guys to defend him."
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Despite leading the team in scoring with 27 points, Harper Jr. only scored eight points in the first half before exploding for another 19 in the second.
Harper went into detail about what coach Pikiell told his leading scorer at the half.
“The first half I was put myself in foul trouble and the guys realized I was down,” Harper said. “The guys just told me to keep pushing and that stuff is going to go my way. Coach just told me to keep being me, keep being aggressive and looking to score. In the second half, it just went my way and I felt good out there and back in the groove.”
This season, Harper Jr. was expected to take a leap in play, but not sure many saw him becoming this good. So far this year he is shooting 60.3% from the field and 45.8% from beyond the arc and he credits a lot of that success to his teammates.
"The key os my teammates and all the people around me,” said Harper Jr. “They keep me confident. When I miss one, they are like shoot a second one, shoot the next one, you are going to make them. They keep me confident, they keep my head up when I’m down. It just shows out there, I’m never afraid to take a shot and those guys are a big part of it.”
Next up for Harper Jr. and the Rutgers Hoops program, they will face their toughest test of the season as they welcome No. 12 Illinois to the RAC for a Sunday afternoon matchup. Tipoff will take place at 1:00 pm and will be televised on ESPN2.
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