The Rutgers basketball team had two top-five picks on its roster this past season, yet didn’t even come close to making the NCAA Tournament — placing them on the wrong side of history.
“Rutgers is now the first — and, likely for the foreseeable future, the only — program in college basketball history to miss the NCAA Tournament while having two players who were picked in the top five of the subsequent NBA Draft,” NJ.com’s Brian Fonseca wrote.
Ace Bailey had one of the more puzzling draft processes, largely due to questionable advice from his representatives.
“Ace is a great kid. He’s just immature. Doesn’t take a lot of things seriously. The only thing he wants to do is play basketball. That kid genuinely loves basketball more than any person I’ve ever met. He’s just got himself surrounded by some bad characters so I’m not sure how it’s gonna play out for him. There are definitely some things he needs to get better at on the court but I think he will just because he loves the game so much. If the right person is trying to help him and he takes it in, he’ll be fine. But I could definitely see it going the opposite direction too just because of people in his ear. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out,” a source told Jeff Goodman.
Bailey was ultimately drafted by the Utah Jazz — a move that reportedly caught even him off guard. A day later, ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Tim Bontemps reported that Bailey’s reps had actively tried to steer him away from certain teams.
“Leading up to the NBA draft, Ace Bailey's representatives informed a team drafting inside the top five they didn't want that team to select the Rutgers wing, and that he wouldn't report if they did, sources told ESPN,” Givony and Bontemps wrote.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
The situation continues to grow more complicated. If Bailey’s camp maintains its current stance, he may never suit up for Utah, potentially prompting a trade. And while he hasn’t even played an NBA game yet, the early headlines haven’t helped his reputation.