Rutgers basketball: Ron Harper Jr. poised for a breakout season Is the Don Bosco grad ready to become the homegrown star Rutgers has lacked for decades? The signs are there.

Jerry Carino | Asbury Park Press

PISCATAWAY – Caleb McConnell remembers the moment. It was a midsummer day when he realized what will become crystal clear to the rest of the college basketball world very soon: fellow Rutgers sophomore Ron Harper Jr. has made the leap.

“We were working out, and all of a sudden Ron goes between the legs and dunks it,” McConnell said. “I said, ‘Damn, Ron, where did that come from?’”

Harper’s answer?

“I’ve been in the gym,” he told McConnell.

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If you’re looking for reasons why the Scarlet Knights are primed to contend for a postseason berth after a 14-year drought, start with the improvement of Harper Jr. The 6-foot-6, 245-pound wing has dominated Rutgers’ preseason practices, slashing to the rim at will, flashing a more accurate jumper, making teammates better with his passing. Head coach Steve Pikiell plans to feature him this winter, and by March he could be the program’s first All-Big Ten performer.

“I think I’m ready to take that next step in my game,” Harper Jr. said. “I had a good second half of my freshman year, so I’m looking to build off than and be the player they want me to be.”

His emergence gives Rutgers more than a tough guy to guard. Harper Jr. could be the program piece the Scarlet Knights have lacked for decades---a homegrown star. Rutgers’ last all-league player was Brooklyn guard Quincy Douby in 2006. Its last all-leaguer from New Jersey was St. Patrick grad Herve Lamizana in 2004. Its last first-team all-leaguer from the Garden State was Carteret’s Keith Hughes in 1991.

Harper Jr. hails from Franklin Lakes, in Bergen County, and he helped Don Bosco Prep win two straight NJSIAA Non-Public A titles. As the son of former NBA star Ron Harper, it’s hard to believe that he rated just three stars and a 175 national ranking at the time of his commitment.

His only other high-major scholarship offer came from Nebraska.

Fortunately for Rutgers, assistant coach Brandin Knight knew better than the scouts and made him a priority.

“That’s definitely a chip in my shoulder,” Harper Jr. said. “A lot of schools didn’t recruit me. I found a home. Rutgers was as my dream school. I found that out really late, but I figured it out, and now I’m here and looking to do great things in Piscataway.”

As a freshman, he averaged 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds but came on late. In February he torched 22nd-ranked Iowa with 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. Like most rookies, though, he endured peaks and valleys, in part due to subpar conditioning.

That’s changed.

“He’s trimmed down and gotten more athletic,” Rutgers guard Geo Baker said. “A couple of times (in the preseason) he’s gone down the lane and dunked on guys. He knows he can do that now. His confidence has shot up.”

Added McConnell: “His ability to jump came out of nowhere. Last year Ron was barely able to put the ball in the hoop (dunking). His body has changed a lot.”

Now Harper is more or less positionless. He’ll initiate the offense at times, spot up on the wing or post up, depending on the defense.

“You have to have levels to your game,” he said. “I make a three, they’re playing up. I go the basket, they’re backing off.”

In one preseason scrimmage, Harper exploded off a pick-and-pop with center Myles Johnson.

“He went backdoor, and I passed it to him and he dunked it,” Johnson said. “He has really good court vision.”

Pikiell, who would rather chew on tin foil than single out individual players for praise, acknowledged the presence of a budding star on his roster.

“I don’t think there is a ceiling,” the coach said.

That he hails from Jersey makes it that much better, perhaps paving the way for the next guy to stay local. Asked a few weeks back about Rutgers’ home-court advantage, Harper replied the way only a local could.

“It’s more than protecting the RAC,” he said. “It’s protecting New Jersey because we’re the state university of New Jersey, and I’m protecting that.”

Jerry Carino has covered the New Jersey sports scene since 1996 and the college basketball beat since 2003. He is an Associated Press Top 25 voter. Contact him at jcarino@gannettnj.com.