R U Ready to Run it Back: Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. Primed for One Last Dance at Rutgers
Oct 29 | Men's Basketball
A sellout crowd will rock in Piscataway for the first time in a long time as the 2021-22 Rutgers basketball season kicks off at home against Lehigh on Nov. 10.
Head Coach Steve Pikiell is sure to have both point guard Geo Baker and small forward Ron Harper Jr. in his starting lineup on Wednesday night.
Baker enters his senior season having played 117 games, fifth on the Rutgers all-time assists list and seventh in career three-pointers made. The point guard has helped grow Pikiell’s program from the ground- up since a 15-19 record in 2017 during his freshman season.
“To get this last year with Coach Pikiell is just going to be super special,” Baker said. “We kind of started this thing together. We saw this thing turn from a basketball team to a basketball program, which is something a lot of people didn’t really think would happen at Rutgers.”
Harper Jr. enters his senior season, coming off a year where he was a top-5 finalist for the Julius Erving Award, given to the nation’s top small forward. Harper Jr. averaged 14.9 points per game in 2020, showing growth as a leader through his three seasons with the Scarlet Knights. It was announced that the small forward was a member of the Big Ten's Preseason All Conference Team on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
“Geo and I knew that we wanted to play with each other again and we knew we wanted to give it one more shot. It was kind of one of those things where ‘yeah, I want the best for you, but man I’d love to play with you next season’.”Ron Harper Jr.
Both players enter their final season of eligibility as Scarlet Knights with not only Big Ten Championship expectations, but National Championship thoughts for Rutgers.
Before any of this became a possibility, Baker and Harper Jr. each had a difficult and important decision to make this offseason.
To move on and file for the 2021 NBA Draft, or to play together in Scarlet and White for one last dance?
This is the story of Geo Baker and Ron Harper Jr. returning to Rutgers for the 2021-22 season.
March 21, 2021
Harper Jr. waited over four months before he could watch tape of the Scarlet Knight’s final game of the 2020-21 season, a NCAA tournament game on March 21.
Rutgers basketball faithful know all too well what happened on that day.
The Scarlet Knights, a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament had already beaten the No. 7 seeded Clemson Tigers 60-56 in the first round marking RU’s first tournament victory since 1983.
Rutgers was set to take on the No. 2 seed Houston Cougars loaded with NBA talent in the round of 32. Baker and Harper Jr. led the way for the Scarlet Knights (16-12) as the team was playing their best basketball of the season.
Pikiell’s squad played a near perfect “95 percent of the game” in Harper Jr.’s words, tallying up a 58-49 lead with 4:53 remaining on the clock in Indianapolis.
Houston closed the game on a 14-2 run, scoring the game’s final seven points to send the Cougars to the Elite 8 with a 63-60 win.
“In August it finally got a lot easier to watch the tape,” Harper Jr. said. “It was kind of just to move on from the situation. In that game, I kind of felt like we beat ourselves and we taught ourselves a lot of lessons at the same time.”
Houston’s Dejon Jarreau’s free throw following an offensive rebound putback and-one gave Houston a 61-60 lead with 24.1 seconds remaining on the clock.
Baker, who had a team-leading 14 points in the game, uncharacteristically turned the ball over with 10 seconds remaining on the clock leading to an uncontested fastbreak layup for the Cougars making it a 63-60 game.
On the final play, Baker passed to Harper Jr. for a game-tying three-point attempt as time expired. Baker put his hands on his head and fell to the hardwood floor. Harper stared at the rim realizing he was that close to sending the game to an overtime period.
Gallery: Men's Basketball vs. Houston Round of 32
“That’s the most important thing, that you turn losses into lessons. We realized that day how good of a team we can really be.”Geo Baker
The Cougars would go on a run of their own, beating Syracuse and Oregon State in the next two rounds, ultimately losing to Baylor in the Final Four. Harper Jr. and Baker agreed that watching the tape from March 21 was necessary for the process that was upcoming.
“It is just very telling of the team we are and the team we could be if we can stick together for all 40 minutes like we played for the first 95 percent of that game,” Harper Jr. said. “That game showed that we could play with anybody.”
The loss to Houston opened the eyes of not only Baker and Harper Jr., but the NBA scouts in attendance.
Both players were on the radar for many NBA teams, and right after the buzzer sounded many questions loomed if the two players would return for their respective final years of eligibility as Scarlet Knights.
The NBA Draft Process
Immediately after the Scarlet Knights were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, Harper Jr. said that both he and Baker already knew what they were going to do.
“Put our names in the NBA Draft and go through the draft process,” Harper Jr. said.
The pair said that they planned to make their decisions on their own and agreed with each other that it was important for their growth as adults both on and off the court.
Both players had until the July 7 decision deadline to meet and workout with NBA teams to determine if each wanted to maintain their eligibility for one more NCAA season or place their names into the draft pool.
“It was really just about going through the process of learning how NBA teams think and what they think of me,” Baker said. “I was just getting feedback.”
While Baker confirmed that he wanted to see through the NBA process for himself, the two kept each other in the loop throughout the process.
Baker and Harper Jr. exchanged text messages, constantly updating each other and would see one another working out at the Rutgers practice facility throughout the offseason.
“We would always keep each other updated and what not, talking about how everything is going and just how we felt about the whole process,” Harper Jr. said. “To be honest towards the beginning of the process I felt like we both didn’t know what we really wanted to do.”
Harper Jr. and Baker said they appreciated the support they received from Pikiell on making the decision for themselves. The Scarlet Knights head coach would call both players and exchange text messages regularly giving his advice.
Harper Jr. recalled some words that resonated with him from Pikiell, expressing that he would be happy with whatever the outcome was.
“Ron, I’d be happy to put that NBA cap on with you, but I would love to coach you just one more season,” Harper Jr. recited.Steve Pikiell
Harper Jr. appreciated the way that Pikiell handled the situation with so much at stake for the Rutgers program.
“I just always felt the support from Coach Pikiell, and I knew with whatever decision that I made, he was going to be 100 percent on board and not a lot of people can say that about their college coach,” Harper Jr. said. “Coach Pikiell really cares about what you want to do with your life.”
Baker worked out for multiple NBA teams throughout the process including the New York Knicks, the on June 17, Cleveland Cavaliers on June 29 and Toronto Raptors on July 7.
The point guard said that he received a prompt text from Pikiell to “go out there and kill the competition” before each workout.
The same went for the players as their decision started to loom closer and closer leading up to the deadline. Each said that they were on board to support each other 100 percent if they decided to move on to the draft.
The Final Decisions
The day of Baker’s workout with the Raptors was the day to make a final decision.
Baker released a video on his Twitter account, addressing Rutgers Nation:
Dear Rutgers Nation… ?? pic.twitter.com/y4VMJjrBGm
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) July 7, 2021
Baker said that he weighed the way that the season ended against Houston and the possibilities for 2021 when deciding to ultimately finish his career with one more season as a Scarlet Knight. He also just really appreciated the life of a student-athlete on campus and really wanted that experience for one more year.
“I think I had a good idea that I was going to come back to school. Neither of us liked the way the season ended last year, so we used the draft process to get better, to help make Rutgers a better team. At the end of the day, we knew that in the back of our minds that we were both probably going to come back.”Geo Baker
Harper Jr. followed and released an Instagram video with the caption “One Last Dance” addressing the Rutgers fans:
Both players said that while they both officially didn’t tell each other of their decisions until they were made, the pair could feel what the ultimate outcome was going to be.
As the days continued to slim down, both players got closer and closer to deciding to finish what was undone from the way the previous season ended.
“As the days shortened to the deadline and as everything started to happen so quickly, I feel like we were on the same page,” Harper Jr. said.
“We both kind of felt the energy that we wanted to go back to school, so I think that if we felt a different type of energy, we may have reacted a little differently saying ‘come on man, we need one more year’,” Baker agreed.
Another one of the main factors in the decision to return for both Baker and Harper Jr. was getting a chance to play in front of Rutgers fans at home, after not getting that opportunity during the pandemic season.
The Scarlet Knights were (18-1) the last time the team had fans in the stands for the 2019-20 season.
Harper Jr. called their home court “the best college home court advantage” in the nation and said it would only be fitting to end his career at Rutgers with fans in the stands.
“Last year even beyond basketball it was kind of rough just being here on campus,” Harper said. “You’re just walking around and seeing the same people we see every day. You see like the same two or three people on all of campus that aren’t on the basketball team.”
Baker agreed he looks forward to a more normal college life experience in his final season that he has grown accustomed to over the last four years.
“Playing a bunch of home games in the empty arena just wasn’t my vision of my senior year,” Baker said. “That was just tough in general during the whole COVID-19 year. To have fans back at the RAC to have that support and that love just gives us a lot of energy. It’s going to be a fun year and we are definitely looking forward to it.”
High Personal and Team Expectations
Whenever you ask Coach Pikiell what his goals are for the Rutgers basketball program, he will tell you that he wants to bring a National Championship to Piscataway.
That expectation is one that he has clearly drilled into his players this offseason.
Baker said that whenever the team breaks a huddle in practice, they yell the words “National Championship!” in unison.
“We have very large goals,” Baker said. “A national championship is on our mind every day. That’s kind of been the constant theme.”
After 101 starts as a Scarlet Knight, Baker said his main objective for himself and the team this season is to not get too high or too low.
He plans to keep a “steady head” as the point guard of the offense and to stick true to his motto to try to go 1-0 every day of the season.
While the expectations have been set high for the team by all involved, Harper Jr. and Baker have big time expectations for one another on the court this season.
So, what does Ron think the team will get out of Geo in his fifth season?
“I expect Geo to be the best guard in the conference.”Ron Harper Jr.
“I have high expectations for all of my teammates, but especially him," Harper Jr. said. "I already know Geo is a great leader, a great athlete and he’s going to have a great year. We just need him to keep a level head and to keep us at a steady pace throughout the season.”
Baker said that he expects Harper Jr. to be the best small forward in the country, citing Harper Jr.’s top-five finalist bid for the Julius Irving Award last season and being listed as a candidate for the award this preseason.
“I think he was one of the finalists last year, so I know that’s something that’s definitely on his mind,” Baker said. “We want to see everyone doing all the little things. When Ron is rebounding and moving without the ball, that’s when he starts scoring a lot more and things start to open for him. That’s something we try to preach. If you do the little things, the big things will come. Ron is ready to do all those things.”
Before the schedule gets going, it’s important to acknowledge how close these two players have become away from the court.
The connection between the two is what propelled each to ultimately decide on their own to come back for one final season of Rutgers basketball.
So, what’s one thing that Ron can share about Geo that many Rutgers fans wouldn’t know after four seasons with the team?
“Dang, Geo is probably one of the best freestylers I have ever heard,” Harper Jr. said. “Geo will freestyle and then after he freestyles his go-to meal is a bowl of Ramen. That’s how he wraps up his night!”
“Of course, and I ate a nice bowl last night, I’m not going to lie,” Baker laughed. “That was my last pack, so I have to go get some more!”
And what we don’t know about Harper Jr. during his decision process was that he took up a new hobby to get him in prime shape for the new season ahead in Scarlet and White.
“Most of the time when people ask me this, I say Ron can sing,” Baker laughed. “But, maybe most people don’t know that Ron does kickboxing. That’s really what he was doing a lot over the Summer. Don’t mess with Ron in the street! On the court, on the street, or anywhere!”
