$1.6 million NIL-valued Ace Bailey drops 3-word reaction for 5-star recruit Leshawn Lyle’s impressive highlights

Rutgers guard/forward Ace Bailey expressed his admiration for five-star recruit Leshawn Lyle. As a show of appreciation for the prep point guard, Bailey — whose NIL value is pegged at $1.6 million, per On3 — posted a photo of the Tennessee-based player on his Instagram Stories.

He added the caption:

"My lil bro ❤️."

Lyle is also from Chattanooga. In October 2024, the pint-sized point guard participated in B2BN’s annual All-American Camp in Lawrenceville, Georgia, which featured players from the classes of 2028-2036.

Lyle stood out in the class of 2031, and On The Radar Hoops national evaluator Jennifer Brazelton had high praise for the electrifying Tennessee point guard.

"Leshawn Lyle is a confident lead guard that has handles well beyond his years," Brazelton was quoted as saying (per OnTheRadarHoops.com). "Lyle stays locked in to his opponents and uses his quick hand-eye coordination for steals in the open court."

Meanwhile, Ace Bailey posted strong numbers in his first — and possibly only — season with Rutgers, despite falling short of his goal to help the Scarlet Knights reach the 2025 NCAA Tournament. In 30 games, he averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

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NBA draft expert criticizes Rutgers coaching staff for failing to maximize Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper

NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony slammed Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell and his coaching staff for failing to put top freshmen Bailey and Harper in the best position to win, despite their talent.

Givony shared his thoughts on ESPN’s "The Hoop Collective" podcast, noting that he attended multiple games in Piscataway to watch both prospects. He was disappointed by how Pikiell relied heavily on Bailey and Harper, even as they were frequently double- or triple-teamed.

"In this era of college basketball, you have to surround your players with high-major college players. You can’t just grab any mid-major or low-major guy just because they’re born in the state of New Jersey. And that’s where Rutgers really failed those guys," Givony said.

Ace Bailey had an up-and-down season, and his assist numbers were low. However, Givony defended the guard/forward, citing Rutgers' poor shooting as a major weakness. The Scarlet Knights shot just 32.9% from 3-point range and had a mediocre 44.6% field-goal percentage.

"People are knocking the assist numbers and all that — and I totally agree with that — but if you actually were watching the games, Ace Bailey was making four or five great passes every single game that didn’t turn into anything because there was zero shooting on this team," Givony pointed out.

Ace Bailey is expected to declare for the 2025 NBA draft alongside Harper.