Dylan Harper's early numbers and highlights validate preseason top-three projections for the 2025 NBA draft. Lottery teams will be studying him closely, particularly during a cycle with so many high-quality prospects who'll rank high on boards.

His freshman resume already includes a 37-point game against Alabama and a 36-point game against Notre Dame, a game-winner at the buzzer against Seton Hall and a triple-double against Columbia.

He'd likely rank as a top-five scorer in the country if the flu didn't limit him his energy and minutes against Wisconsin and Purdue. He's still averaging 20.1 points and 4.4 assists on 50.7 percent shooting.

But the microscope will intensify during conference and postseason play with teams focused on assessing the translatability of his signature attacking, streaky shot-making, playmaking flashes and defensive tools.

We graded and broke down each major aspect of his game through two months of the 2024-25 season.

Ball Screen and Isolation Creation

NBA lottery teams will view Harper as a scoring lead guard. With that label comes expectations and responsibilities of creating and executing off that self-creation at a high level.

Harper has excelled so far in ball-screen situations. It's become apparent that his game is built to be optimized for a high-usage, pick-and-roll ball-handler role in the NBA.

After receiving a screen, Harper just waits for a small window of room to get downhill and use his size and body control to create easy finishing angles. But some of his most eye-catching highlights show him split screens with violent change-of-direction or rejecting screens to find more space.

He's also shooting best from three in ball-screen situations. Defenders having to backpedal and watch out for a pick gives Harper extra room to generate rhythm into his pull-ups with hesitation dribbles or step-backs.

He's been far less successful shooting off the bounce in isolations when he's unable to get as much separation or power into his jumper. Harper clearly has confidence that pushes him to fire jumpers one-on-one, but his shooting skill isn't there yet to get consistent results.

Inside the arc, he tends to rely on using the strength from his 6'6", 215-pound frame for moving defenders and creating separation. That has led to off-balance mid-range shots and contact that won't earn foul calls because Harper is initiating it while defenders are still in legal position.

Right now, he's at his best attacking all the way to the rim and using his footwork to find open space off the dribble. Improvisation has been key for him. He can process quickly on drives, and he makes unteachable adjustments on finishes.

It's worth noting that off-ball defenders have been willing to leave Rutgers' shooters to help on Harper. The spacing hasn't been great, as there is often little room for Harper to counter left or right with help defenders shading toward him.

Ball-screen scoring: A

Isolation scoring: B

Off-the-Dribble Shot-Making

Harper has flashed obvious ability to shoot and float shots off the dribble. At 18 years old, that ability feels more important than the percentages.

However, his shooting percentages indicate room for improvement, as he has struggled in that department. The scouting report moving from conference play to the NBA will call for defenders to take away his drive and bait him into pull-ups.

So far on dribble jumpers, Harper is 11-of-41 from three and 6-of-24 inside the arc. He's having trouble with the process and timing of gathering and loading up into pull-ups, step-backs or fallaways off the bounce. He seems to sometimes rush into them or rise up before locking his eyes on the target.

Surprisingly, he's also struggled with one-handers and runners, though it doesn't seem to be a touch issue. Harper prefers to get all the way to the basket, where he can use his body more. But he's also rushed into floaters early, with some coming from too far outside the paint. He's also gone off the wrong foot on multiple occasions.

Better NBA spacing should help, but Harper will have to improve his recognition and shot selection when he doesn't have a clear a path to the basket.

Off-the-dribble shotmaking: B-

Off-Ball Scoring

Harper spots up for 15.2 percent of Rutgers' possessions, which reflects how heavily he's used on the ball to create. However, he's been very efficient scoring off the ball when he has the chance to do so. He's been lethal shooting off the catch, effective finishing cuts and a threat to crash the glass for a putback.

While he's shot poorly on dribble jumpers, Harper has made 12-of-19 spot-up threes. The common theme with all the makes is better shot preparation. He times his hop into the shot nicely, giving him both rhythm and balance rising up. Continuing to shoot well off the catch will make him more versatile and allow him to fit easier if he's drafted by a team that already has a ball-handler.

Harper has also done a good job of identifying cutting opportunities when his man is focused on the ball. He shows a sense of fearlessness on cuts because of how confident he is around the basket.

Rutgers' lead guard also has 22 points off offensive rebounds. He uses a frame that can mirror a wing's, and he's comfortable with the contact and physicality to convert going back up among the trees.

Off-ball scoring: A-

Driving and Rim Finishing

Harper looks like an elite-level driving prospect due to his size, handle to change direction, off-hand and unteachable instincts/body adjustments around the basket.

He's currently made 68 shots at the rim at a 70.1 percent clip. That's in 14 games at 18 years old. The only drafted freshmen or sophomore guards to make more than 68 in a full season and shoot 70-plus percent were Lonzo Ball, Jalen Brunson and Marcus Smart, per Bart Torvic.

Beating defenders off the bounce, Harper has nifty ball-handling moves and spins to separate. Once in the lane, he surprises rim protectors by elevating a step early and still exploding toward the cylinder. He uses his extension and hand coordination (right and left) effectively to convert. He uses touch well high off the glass, too.

Harper will eventually need to become more consistent from outside to prevent defenses from dropping back or collapsing. But it's difficult to think of many better prospects his age with Harper's combination of tools, skill and instincts for attacking and finishing.

Driving and rim finishing: A+

Playmaking

Aside from Harper and projected top-five pick Ace Bailey, no other Rutgers player is averaging more than eight points per game. The Scarlet Knights are shooting 32.7 percent from deep as a team. Harper is forced to create for himself and hunt for shots in this particular offense, which further brings out his score-first mentality.

Against superior teams that take early leads, it's clear that Harper has to become more aggressive creating for himself.

Still, he hasn't come off as selfish. He's doing an admirable job quarterbacking plays and letting them develop, with teammates flashing to the middle or cutting backdoor.

In pick-and-rolls, he's shown he can make all the different passing reads to diving bigs or rotating shooters. He uses his size as an advantage to dish over the top when the defensive big blitzes or hedges. Harper's 10.8 turnover percentage is also impressive for a ball-handler with a 28.5 percent usage rate.

Historically, a 29.8 assist percentage indicates enough playmaking ability for an NBA lead/point guard. But there is still no mistaking Harper's scoring-guard archetype. He's so tough attacking the lane that he's more likely to think drive-and-kick than some other ball-handlers.

Playmaking: B+

Defense

Defensively, Harper's positives have outweighed the lowlights, which include common freshman mistakes like the occasional off-ball lapse or reckless closeout.

Harper has done an admirable job fighting through screens and contesting guards downhill without fouling. His size and length for a guard allow him to do less or recover to challenge shots.

For a guard with Harper's expected offensive workload and impact, coaches will realistically just be hoping that he'll avoid becoming a weak link whom opponents target. Nothing we've seen so far indicates that he's near the liability level.

Harper's 1.8 steal percentage is historically low for a projected top pick, and it may signal a lack of quick-twitch athletic ability. But with his physical tools and presumed coachability, Harper has been and can continue to be an average-level defender at the least.

Defense: B+

Impact

Rutgers' offense doesn't go without Harper. The team totaled only seven assists when he missed last week's game. Ace Bailey had to take 29 shots in the loss. Harper has shouldered a huge workload of creation and shot-making, and he's managed to consistently produce while scoring efficiently and taking care of the ball.

His box plus-minus is significantly higher than anyone else's on the team. He carried Rutgers with 36 points to a win over Notre Dame when Bailey shot 4-of-12. He help the team alive with 37 points in an overtime loss to Alabama. He buried Seton Hall with a buzzer-beating three to win.

Teammates are shooting an outstanding 54.7 percent off Harper's pick-and-roll passes, which the tape suggests isn't just luck.

Rutgers' 8-8 record feels disappointing, but no scout would put that on the freshman. His numbers clearly aren't empty, and despite the lack of support around him, Harper gives the team a fighting chance against ranked opponents no matter how poorly the rest of the rotation shoots.

Impact: A