Just as it does before every game, the Rutgers men’s basketball team lined up at midcourt during Thursday’s shootaround, waiting for the first Scarlet Knight to drill a shot from the halfcourt line to bring an end to pregame practice.
New Jersey native Ron Harper Jr. was second in line on Thursday night, and helped bring a quick end to the drill by knocking down the halfcourt shot.
It would be far from his most important halfcourt heave that night.
Hours later, Harper rushed the ball up the court, with Rutgers trailing No. 1 Purdue by one with 3.5 seconds left on the clock. Harper, shortly after receiving the inbounds pass, took a step over the midcourt stripe and threw up a desperation heave at the buzzer, putting the sold-out Jersey Mike’s Arena into a brief silence before the shot rattled in to give Rutgers its first-ever win over a top-ranked team.
“It was kind of ironic,” head coach Steve Pikiell told Carton and Roberts on Friday. “He was the guy that made it twice that day, the second one being much bigger than the shootaround one.”
Harper, who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 5-for-7 from downtown, etched his place in program history as the owner of one of the biggest shots Rutgers basketball has ever seen, just after Purdue’s go-ahead shot seemingly ended the team’s hopes of an incredible upset.
Instead, Harper weaved through the crowded midcourt and sent home an improbable long-distance shot, just before halfcourt became way more crowded with a flood of Rutgers students and fans.
“They got the ball out quickly, and Ron Harper, who had a great game from start to finish, really had tremendous poise and got as far as he could up the court and got a good look at it,” Pikiell said. “It was slow motion. When it left his hands, it kind of felt good. But I will tell you, our students were the fastest people in America. They were on the floor as soon as the horn blew…it was a sea of red.”
Rutgers, fresh off its first NCAA Tournament victory in nearly four decades, now has another signature victory to add to the Pikiell era, though this one felt a bit more special thanks to the capacity crowd.
“Even a year ago there was really nobody in the stands, a few family and friends, it really was an empty arena,” Pikiell said. “All last year it kind of seemed like an exhibition every game with no fans. To have the place packed…the place was so loud, you guys would have been amazed. You don’t get opportunities to play No. 1 a lot…it was electric last night, just an unbelievable environment.”
Pikiell hopes that Harper’s heroic heave laid the foundation for a run towards another NCAA Tournament berth. But regardless of where this season ends, Thursday night in Piscataway will be remembered as one of the best that Rutgers athletics has ever seen.
“It was just a great night,” Pikiell said. “We’ve lost a few games on those kind of shots too, so it was nice to get one of those back.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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