WATCH: NBA Draft prospect Dylan Harper on potentially landing in San Antonio

WATCH: NBA Draft prospect Dylan Harper on potentially landing in San Antonio

what’s up Boss Man san Antonio man yes sir are you like the rest of us yeah I’m just like the rest of you guys i mean the NBA you never truly know until it happens so I mean ain’t nothing set in stone until tomorrow at 8:00 but there’s been high hopes you know love that organization love every other organization so just going to stay open you work at home twice once in San Antonio and once at your high school how did those workouts go what was the difference maybe why they wanted the second workout at their school i mean they were great i mean great organization great people all around from top to bottom i guess just want to check me out again i mean I love them people love the coaching staff love the manager everything everything about them so I mean they got a really good program they got a really good thing going on over there was that like for you i mean it was great i mean it was definitely like the workout there was definitely one my first was my first NBA workout so I kind of didn’t know what to expect but you know they greeted me with open arms and just they let me make mistakes and just let me be me if it is the Spurs have you already kind of visioned how you might fit i mean definitely if it was that if it was all set in stone I mean they obviously they got two guards but I mean positionless basketball is really a thing in the league now and you got a 74 big one great player going to be a Hall of Famer so you mean they got a lot of depth on that team and just everything around them is just very very well feel like even though they have guards you can still find your way to do what you do yeah definitely i feel like the way the way to be the best is to play with the best and against the best so just for me just playing with the best players all around and just being one of those guys that can fit in just even if you have to sacrifice still sacrifice wants I mean to play with him i mean he covers the paint from arm to arm i mean he’s just he’s really a force out there can’t no one really stop him you can only try to contain him but just from a standpoint of just being a point guard and seeing him like all the lobs you can throw he can bail you out of a lot of spots and just how how much he impacts the game honestly is amazing dylan as a guy that has been projected to be a lottery since you were in high school how difficult was it to keep maintain the main thing during this season i mean I mean the main thing’s always been the main thing for me i I feel like you don’t truly know you’re going to make it until you’re in this spot which we all in the spot right now me and all the other guys but I mean during the season it was never about making it to the NBA it was how can I contribute to the team and help my team win so that’s kind of how I did it what have you learned about yourself as a player during this last year just I mean who I am as a person when times get tough versus when times is always our alltime high so just being the same guy through thick and thin and just always trying to help I can what does it mean you to be able to go through this process with one of your teammates i mean it’s great i mean Ace is a great kid i mean I’ve known him since like sophomore junior year and just our bond is unbreakable so I mean whoever team gets him is going to be very happy and very lucky that they picked him and just you know for me and him it’s just a dream come true when you get drafted Wednesday what’s that moment going to mean to you and your dad crazy i mean it’s definitely going to mean just a lot to him but a lot to everyone else like my mom my brother my grandparents and everyone else who’s there just because they kind of see me through the journey and watch me and watch me go about my days and even when I was high and low they were still stuck with me no matter what coached you harder growing up my mom I mean my mom coached me from first grade to like senior year of high school so definitely her say about your experience at Ruckers prepared you for this and what your relationship with Ruckers is going to be like in the future being a local guy i mean I definitely had a a great time at Ruckers i mean it probably didn’t go as everyone expected but it shaped me to be a better man a better person off the court and on the court obviously a better player with a group of group of coaches staffs just really pouring it all into me for that one year you talked about Ace you talk about Ace being a great person do you feel like he’s getting a fair shake because you know he he didn’t work out for the 76ers and people making a big deal out of that i mean I ain’t going to get too deep in it but it’s like for him I mean I I can only speak off him and what I know he want to play basketball man so like for him he’s just like whatever team going to pick him going to be a great option great fit for him he gonna make his he gonna make his way however he got to get there but for Ace just really him being a competitor I mean he going to step toe-to-toe toe with anyone what’s one celebrity you would want to see courtside on your first NBA game uh it’s a good one probably like Drake or someone that would be very cool so many experiences have gone into getting to this point what would you be thinking about as a Everything I mean the basketball journey from when I was younger up to now and just how much hard work you really got to put to get here but still knowing that there’s still a lot more hard work you got to do oh my god thank you thank you thank you something you preached at the combine was remaining until you are in a position like this talk about what a team is getting an ace what is a team getting in you can you talk about yourself i mean definitely I think someone who wants to win and do whatever to win whether I have to sacrifice sacrifice get the ball get be on the ball play defense guard the best player anything i mean I think what a team’s going to get for me is a winner is someone who’s going to go out there and put it all on the floor for everyone not sure if they’ll trade it with their sign but um any message for them because you’re right behind yeah I mean obviously my mom from there so I mean I I pay great homage to them just everything that my mom kind of preaches and tells us about it has been great so I would definitely love to get out there sometime next year and just really rep the culture for sure for our national team yeah man who who knows what who knows what the world brings i mean I would never say no but I mean if it happens it happens tell me what your perceptions about South Texas living in South Texas boots never i mean I’ve been to city I’ve been to San Antonio once and I’ve had a breakfast taco one time but both times the the breakfast taco’s good it’s like It’s not as good as a big egg and cheese but it’s like right under like a bagel yeah like a bagel but it’s not it’s right under but I mean Texas hot it’s real hot out there i mean but it’s definitely like a great environment just to be in and just be very lowkey are you aware some fans there already have a mural of you no I seen it i seen it on Instagram they got the little mural right by the food spa i seen that it was on my tags how does that make you feel man fans is crazy cuz know nothing’s even set in stone yet but I mean that’s what the fans want i mean I can’t I can’t steer them and say no so I mean just it’s just very surreal how do you want to cover it up how do you want to score your first NBA bucket the easiest way I can not trying to over complicate it whether it’s a layup a three a free throw it don’t matter just just get just get a bucket number two made available in San Antonio i mean if they draft me I hope so cuz that’s a number I look I look forward to wearing to so I mean definitely any season i think a little bit of everything i mean just trying to polish my game up because now you get to a level where now everyone is just as good and you got to really find something that separates you so just been working on all aspects of my game have you talked to anybody else like Victor anybody like that uh yeah i mean I talked to uh Steph Stefon Castle a couple times Shan i mean I’ve talked to few people over there met a couple guys but I mean they’re all cool and it just looks like a great and fun fun environment to be a part of dylan with last year obviously you know not all success with the tournament but how do you feel that there it was great i mean obviously what matters most isn’t winning and know it wasn’t a lot of winning but just for me and Ace I think we developed a lot because from the beginning of the season the end of the season if you like watch the little details and stuff you can see how we really developed and just how our game grew and got more mature how much did it matter to play alongside it felt great because Ace that’s like my best friend so like me and him me and him been tight for like four or five years so just being able to play on the same court as him I’m miss it but it was special what’s it going to be like possibly playing against him now oh it’s going to be great i mean I know all his moves he know all my moves so I mean just And we’re both big competitors like we played senior year right before he went to Ruckers and we’re competing the whole game so I mean it’s definitely going to be great nba jersey besides my father’s yeah besides my father’s one that I remember I had a Paul George the uh the blue and green all-star jerseys yeah that’s probably the first one I remember what’s your favorite individual play thus far your entire basketball career one that stands out most play probably my game winner against Senior Hall i mean the gym was packed it was like that was kind of like the the ice on the cake for sure good qu uh behind the back i name it Dylan behind the back i don’t know but something like that i mean that’s probably one of my go-to moves was definitely that what do you think are some of the ways your dad has prepared you for this experience i mean he he just told me stay grounded and just just be honest with yourself and just always going going to going to work every day just being your best self always have a high energy and just don’t let nothing really affect you just always work hard what’s your favorite Filipino food oh chicken adobo chicken adobo yeah all the time all the time man chicken adobo involved i mean they’re definitely they’re definitely a lot i mean he’s just he’s here right now i was just with him legit right before I came down here but me and him the talks are really like just how do you get mentally focused for playing 82 games and how can you be your best self every day have you ever called Ace by his government name aras all the time all the time is Ace Aras Boogie there’s a lot what’s his best trade on the floor i mean I think we all know what it is getting to his spot and scoring i mean for Ace he if he wants to get to a spot he gonna get to that spot and he going to rise right over you and shoot it you’re not going to be able to do nothing about it i learned that very quickly in practice the video kind of circulated up last summer you guys working out but can you imagine you’re 24 hours away from being in the same league i know that was crazy i mean that that workout felt like it was just yesterday and now that we’re like a year we’re we’re a year from that video it’s just honestly surreal and just I just want to play him spurs in general great organization in what ways were you able to pick up on that i mean you could just feel the family atmosphere when you walk in the facility i mean for them is really like like how can we get chemistry up and how can we keep everyone together so I mean my visit there was definitely great and for them it’s just like they’re trying to they’re trying to build on build on build on and win win win i mean if I’m blessed enough to be in a situation like that I mean I think I can add value to that facility like that that facility is nice i think it’s brand new it’s it’s really nice it’s like all wood it’s nice any advice whether it’s from coach teammate team i mean definitely i think my mom always tells me keep the main thing the main thing to basically like go worry about basketball like we can take care of the rest but I mean that’s really stuck with me just because it allows me you know work on my craft and work on the things that really matter which is playing the game I love every day how much of a role did your dad play in your journey this far i mean a lot i mean he was always there like he was kind of the dad that like sit there not say much but you know he gonna pull you to the side after the game stuff like that so we definitely played a big part feeling that family atmosphere you’re talking about is that something you value yeah definitely i mean family loyalty everything everything like that just because like I think the best teams and the greatest teams all their chemistry is through the roof and they all hold value to a team whether you the head coach to the best player to the f man i mean everyone else is connected and and everyone feels equal so yeah definitely dylan how would you picture your first bucket i don’t know uh probably however I get it whether it’s a layup free throw three whatever I can do to get a first bucket I’m going do it would it would it be a choice like if you have to choose if I had to choose probably layup nay two years your brother’s been back when he had definitely I mean that’s like home for me i live 50 minutes from there so just just being there and the coaching staff i mean I’m tight with the coaching staff and everyone else and the players so I’ll definitely be returning if I ever have a chance to your dad is across a ton of 90s what are some things about the game in the 90s that are actually similar to the game now there’s always so much talk about how different the game is now than it was back then i mean we just all watched the playoffs i mean the physicality was was kind of there that that’s what they like to call in the 90s that we’re missing the physicality but I mean there’s really no cause in the playoffs so that was definitely a big thing that’s probably the same thing kind of try to emulate that style more or less i mean yeah he tries to like we go in the gym he teach me like certain tricks stuff like that but yeah he definitely does no we can’t you can’t hand check no more i’m going get fouled out if I if I play defense like him i mean definitely i mean big guards like James Harden Kate Cingham Luca Dantis that just get to their spots and know how to run a team you were going to be a lottery everyone saw you as a lottery before your college season started is there anything about having that with you as you go through college season i mean definitely i mean it was definitely it wasn’t hard but like it’s always in the back it’s always like on the back of your mind because like social media is a thing and like even if you try to delete social media someone gonna tell you about it so you gonna know about it regardless so just trying to just keep the main thing the main thing and focus on one thing at a time which was which was the season how important was it for you to have you know brother like your older brother and your father both being professional basketball players to get you to where you are today it was great because I mean I got to see my brother’s journey through the time when he was young to the time it was time for him to go to the league so just seeing that journey really helped me and it really showed like how hard you have to work it just emulated everything for me a skill for you that you think is underrated that you think i mean probably my playmaking i think I think I’m I think I have a very high IQ and I think I can just make the right plays at the right time some people compared you to a left-handed Kate Cunningham but if you had to give yourself I mean probably like him James Harden a little bit of probably those two are probably the biggest ones probably Jaylen Brunson a little bit when you watching who were some players you’re watching when you’re trying to take all three of them what do you like about their game they just except for Jaylen Russ i mean they both they all big guards they get to their spots they know when it’s time to shoot they know when they time to pass and all the above what do you think you play kind of slow fast like this deceptive style how do you go about that be so you know just really just not letting anyone rush me i think that’s probably the big thing I was taught younger just don’t let no one rush you you get to your spots and is always play at your own pace we’ve seen we’ve seen Ace on the court what’s he like in the locker room man Ace is a great He’s the funniest teammate in the locker room like if the energy is down he going to bring the energy up so I mean him in the locker room is going to be probably the best probably the best thing that’s probably going for him like his energy is contagious and you going to feel it regardless if you want to feel it or not as a guy you know clearly Right before you were born John did the same thing do you find it odd at all or funny or whatever i don’t want the words that people are looking at a certain way he wants to play somewhere doesn’t want to play somewhere i mean he’s just a kid that want to play basketball i mean I think for him just the most important part for him is like showcasing who he really is when the time’s right and for whatever team picks him so I mean I I ain’t going to say nothing like that but just for him he just want to play basketball man and that’s probably been the biggest thing for both of us both throughout this process dylan you were part of one of the top freshman classes of the Big 10 that the conference has seen in a while I guess what was that experience like and have you guys kind of stayed in touch throughout this process some of you guys Yeah definitely oh man oh man yeah yeah definitely i mean it’s been great great guys we all got group chat we talking every day i mean I talk I talk to Ace every single day like two or three times a day i talk to all the rest of the freshman from Leon to everyone else so I mean yeah it’s been great said about this process and then playing against each other it’s going to be great i mean it’s going to be great i mean playing with them was was definitely special but playing against them is going to be a different type of competitiveness mr harper I have a question for you yes sir okay first question how are you planning to fit the hat tomorrow uh so I asked if I get the biggest size hat i think Yeah yeah i think I’m just going to lay it on top of my head oh I like that uh and then second question give me who you’re looking forward to playing against the most one big one wing one guard carter Bryant Ace Bailey a whole I already played a whole freshman class but besides me a guard probably Cade a wing Braun a center Rudy Gobbert rudy Goldberg rudy Goldberg yep rudy Goldber rudy Gilbert are you playing 2K in your free time am I i think I I I spent a lot oh 2K man that’s my That’s my bread and butter player or team when you’re playing um the Rockets is nice on 2K amen thompson is nice on 2K and if there was Yeah but that’s only some of the time only some of the time he not He’s not too good on 2K so I’ll be having to sub him out sometime but if there was one rule you can implement into like the real game of basketball to make it more insane or video game like what would it be probably in the NBA take take the defensive three seconds out because if that’s the case people going to get blown by there’s going to be a lot more dunks people getting dunked on stuff like that so yeah last question favorite group 17 diners i used to like man diners i wouldn’t say diners i mean Yeah i mean by there’s always a Waw Wa you get that in the morning and there’s a whole lot of food chains but I mean I wouldn’t say there’s no specific diners but there’s every diner in Jersey good for sure yes sir yes sir by far a lot of no cap uh yeah probably just a lot of no cap to be honest with you dang it i’m not neither i’m not neither i’m not I’m not giving Thank you oh nice

Ex-Rutgers guard and likely NBA Draft lottery pick Dylan Harper discusses him hearing his name called and the possibility of him donning the Spurs’ Silver and Black.