"Jazz need Ace Bailey" - College hoops fans make their predictions to insider's latest NBA mock draft

Despite a stellar performance, Rutgers star Ace Bailey could not stop the Scarlet Knights from losing 97-89 to the USC Trojans in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday. Bailey tallied 17 points on 53.8% shooting from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc, 7 rebounds and 2 assists in the game.

During his postgame news conference, Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell mentioned that Bailey and fellow Scarlet Knights star Dylan Harper would depart for the NBA via the draft.

"The year that they had, breaking every freshman scoring record in Rutgers basketball which is unbelievable," Pikiell said. "The work, the hours that those two put into it. I only wish I had another year or two with them.

"Fortunately, their best basketball is ahead of them, too. They learned a lot this year, they grew a lot. They saw every kind of defense you could imagine. The two were fantastic and they're gonna be fantastic pros."

ESPN draft expert Jonathan Givony released his latest mock draft that projected Bailey to be picked No. 3 overall by the Charlotte Hornets while Harper went No. 2 overall to the Utah Jazz.

College basketball fans on Instagram had mixed reactions to Bailey's draft projection.

"Bailey's potential is way too high to pass on him," one fan wrote.

"The Jazz need Ace Bailey," another fan wrote.

"Hornets got Miller, Ace is generational but too similar I think they'd move off this pick," one fan wrote.

"Wild you can have Harper and Ace top three when they can't even win games. 2 top 3 players and can't even go .500 and make March Madness. Don't care how bad of a coach they have or team. 2 top 3 prospects you gotta win more than 15 games," another fan wrote.

"Hornets already have a Ace Bailey...Thy drafted him from Alabama 2 years ago," one fan wrote.

"What's crazy is top 7 would've all arguably been 1st pick last year," another fan wrote.

Fans react on IG

Ace Bailey gets praise from NBA scouts

During interviews held with NBA scouts and executives by ESPN last week, Ace Bailey received glowing praise for his talent and readiness to transition from college basketball to the NBA. One Eastern Conference executive said:

"The best players in the league are the good midrange players because teams will give that up in the playoffs. If he can get to a spot [to shoot], he doesn't see you. He's one of those types of guys who elevate so high, they don't even notice the defender is there."

Another Eastern Conference executive paid Ace Bailey the ultimate compliment, elevating him to the status of the best talent in the class of 2025 that has Duke star Cooper Flagg.

"He might have the highest ceiling in the draft. I know [he's] inconsistent and there are question marks with the playmaking -- the shotmaking and creation could be elite. He checks those boxes if he hits the level he could be capable of."

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey are No. 2 and No. 3 in ESPN's Top 100 rankings and could conceivably become the first teammates to be picked in the top five of a draft since Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett managed the feat in 2019.