Kentucky Wildcat Basketball Recruiting: Gary Harris
By Tyler Adkins
Did you hear that? That collective groan and “UH OH” from the other college basketball coaches in the country was because Coach Cal is on the board with his first recruit for 2012: Archie Goodwin. Not a bad start, a 5 star shooting guard who fits perfectly into the dribble drive motion offense.
Now the question is “who’s next?” Well, recently Cal visited another 5 star shooting guard and has not surprisingly landed on his list of 4. That recruit is Gary Harris, the same recruit who Rick Pitino tried to get but then let it backfire on him when he attempted to force him into a quick commitment, by telling him he only had 1 scholarship left. How did that work out for Pitino? Well, Terry Rozier, (a 3 star prospect on Rivals and Scout), committed to UL and Harris promptly dropped UL from his list. Considering Pitino is still recruiting other guys that doesn’t appear to be his best job with the whole recruiting pitch thing now does it?
Anyway that doesn’t matter because UK is now in on him and we all know how UK and UL battles have went since Cal took over at UK, Marquis Teague says hello. Harris list of 4 includes UK, Purdue, Michigan State and Indiana. Let’s take a look at what Harris is all about.
Gary Harris
Hamilton Southeaster HS, Fisher IN
6-4 190 SG
Scout Ranking: ***** #2 SG, #12 Overall
Rivals Ranking: ***** #3 SG, #25 Overall
ESPN Ranking: ***** #1 SG, #10 Overall
Before we take a look at what ESPN says about Harris, I think it is important to point out that Gary Harris Sr, Harris’s dad, stated in a recent interview that Goodwin’s commitment has no effect on his son’s recruitment. And according to Dave Telep of ESPN, he called Goodwin the night Goodwin committed to talk about the possibility of playing together and Goodwin said he was all for it.
Let’s take a look at what ESPN said about Harris, and I have included some videos after:
Strengths:
Great physical strength for a young guard competes and really does a great job using his length and anticipation on the defensive end to come up with steals. Slashes and finishes at the rim with great touch and body control. Can hit the open three when in a groove but inside the arc he can score in a variety of ways with his mid range game. He is constantly in attack mode. He loves to aggressively attack the rim from the wing and go over or through his opponent to score. Gary is a tough defender also that uses his strong body to keep his opponent out of the lane. He is also solid at playing the passing lanes and gleaning steals that lead to his transition game.
Weaknesses:
He is a decent shooter right now with range to 19 feet but must work to continue to improve his consistency and range. Can be streaky bad or good behind the arc, must work to make the three a consistent weapon.
Bottom Line:
Gary is an impressive prospect. When he is in attack mode he is a tremendous force. He is skilled and could project one day to the point guard position. He’s a supreme talent that continues to improve and has a chance to be special if he continues to improve his game.
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