ROCK HILL, S.C. — Hello, me again.
Per usual when traveling for recruiting stuff, I have no interest in transcribing at the end of a long day and posting a story at 11 p.m. on a Friday night, so what I'll do is the usual less-formal roundup here, then I'll write a Gicarri Harris story from the airport tomorrow, then hopefully edit video on the plane.
Here goes.
GICARRI HARRIS
This morning, Atlanta Celtics 16U lost a hard-fought game with Indiana Elite, and if you ask me, Gicarri Harris was the best player on the floor. I should frame that with the context that Rivals.com's Nos. 6 and 7 players in the 2024 class, Flory Bidunga and Airious Bailey, also played in that game, as did a variety of other top-100ers like Travis Perry, Cooper Koch, Raleigh Burgess, etc.
That game, Harris drained four threes — often drawing the bigger, slower Koch on defense, he was aggressive in looking for his shot — and was fouled on another. He made a late mid-range jumper plus a foul and came up with a big bucket getting to the hoop late in the game. He did have some chances to make what might have been really pivotal threes in the final few minutes, but might have not quite had his legs after the hot start and a ton of minutes. He didn't come out of the game, and exerted a good amount of energy on defense.
In the evening, I didn't think Harris played great, but still cobbled together 24 points and led a nice little comeback for the Atlanta Celtics and a come-from-behind win over Team Loaded from Virginia.
Here's what stands out to me about Harris, after I only saw him in passing in the spring.
1. Most importantly, he's a competitor. A real competitor. That much was very evident in those games today.
2. He puts a good deal of himself into defense and can be outstanding on the ball. Should Purdue get him — long way to go — he will fit wonderfully into what they ask of the point guard position defensively. He is a combo guard who could play a few different spots, but Purdue is recruiting him to fill point guard, and defensively, he'd be a great add.
You have to like his toughness. Picture the prototypical Florida State player. That big, strong 6-4-to-6-7 kid who just crawls down peoples' throats and empties his tank every time he goes in. It's a compliment here for me to say that I think Harris is that perfect Seminole sort of player. There's not a college team in America that couldn't use those sorts of qualities, and when that guy can shoot ...
3. Really good shooter with an effortless delivery. Bit of a line-drive shot, but he makes them at a very high rate and can shoot on the move or on spot-ups. I don't think he's just a shoot-when-open guy. I think he's a run-stuff-for-him guy.
4. He's not going to blow past many people or changes ends Jaden Ivey-like, but as a penetrator, he's so big and physical and uses his body very well to get to his spots and bury defenders. A guy who can get to the foul line a bunch when he looks to score.
Purdue has to have a point guard in the 2024 class and while there's a long way to go here, this guy can check a lot of boxes and the read I get is he'd be wired to fit very well with the basketball values of the program, because he's got some of those "winning qualities" Painter talks a lot about it, he defends, he shoots and from what I'm told, he's a solid, drama-free young man and a fine student.
This has nothing to do with him being the son of a Purdue legend and everything to do with the fact that Harris, on his own merits, looks like someone who'd fit really well at Purdue.
Purdue's communicating with Harris on a daily basis while SEC coaches, for whatever reason, just kind of offer, then disappear. Not the first time I've heard that kind of thing. Purdue will have him in for an official in the fall.
There is a long way to go here, but I do get the sense Purdue kind of stands out here, and that's largely because they've paid him the most attention and worked the hardest to build a relationship. Gelen Robinson has helped, as well.
TRAVIS PERRY
The Indiana Elite point guard played against Harris in that morning game, but didn't really guard. Harris did guard Perry and really made him work, but Perry got loose enough to be pretty productive. No idea on stats, but Perry made a couple threes, a pull-up jumper or two and some free throws to close out a close game.
Looks like that classic high-level IQ sort of point guard who's crafty, makes good decisions and scraps. He did a lot of the latter against the Celtics, as Indiana Elite did a good job with loose balls and that made a huge difference.
From a distance to me, Perry looks like he has some leadership and maturity to him, and those things obviously matter at point guard. IMO, he's got decent enough size and is a good enough shooter to play off the ball, too. Coaches these days love having multiple point guards on the floor.
Purdue really wants Perry, but that Kentucky offer was a big deal, I'd have to think.
RALEIGH BURGESS
Burgess looks to me like a stretch 5, but with Flory Bidunga on his team, he doesn't really play center. That affords him a chance to play high-low with Flory and hang around the arc, where he made a pair of threes against the Atlanta Celtics. Burgess is definitely still developing physically and says he was always more of a perimeter when he was younger, and is learning to be more rugged and physical now. So there would seem to be some up-side there in him.
Purdue's offered, as has half the Big Ten now. He did speak highly of his visit to Purdue and said he's coming back for a return visit in the fall or winter for a game. Could be a junior year official if Purdue wants to do that.
YOUNG KIDS
Indiana Elite's 2025 team is stacked.
Kentucky's Malachi Moreno already has a Purdue offer, joining Trent Sisley and Jalen Haralson in that class as those who've been offered. He's a tower, man, with an Anthony Davis sort of body. He'll be a national recruit, I'd have to guess. I'm sure Kentucky and Louisville will have their say in his recruitment.
Indianapolis Crispus Attucks' Dezmon Briscoe is a big bodied 5 man who really rebounds. He was really good at the IBCA Top 100 a few backs. Looks to me like a high-major prospect before long.
Greenfield-Central's Braylon Mullins is a player Purdue's gone to see for open guys. Looks like a real knock-down shooter with some height.
Remember this name: Luke Ertel, who'll be just a freshman at Mount Vernon this year. The kid's an eighth-grader basically and you wouldn't have known it in the game I saw today. He didn't make any shots, but looked good doing it. He did everything with a purpose and did it fast. He handled pressure well and just scrapped. Found the ball a bunch of times, including a last-second miss that got him to the foul line with a chance to force OT, which he couldn't do, but still a great play.
More tomorrow.
Per usual when traveling for recruiting stuff, I have no interest in transcribing at the end of a long day and posting a story at 11 p.m. on a Friday night, so what I'll do is the usual less-formal roundup here, then I'll write a Gicarri Harris story from the airport tomorrow, then hopefully edit video on the plane.
Here goes.
GICARRI HARRIS
This morning, Atlanta Celtics 16U lost a hard-fought game with Indiana Elite, and if you ask me, Gicarri Harris was the best player on the floor. I should frame that with the context that Rivals.com's Nos. 6 and 7 players in the 2024 class, Flory Bidunga and Airious Bailey, also played in that game, as did a variety of other top-100ers like Travis Perry, Cooper Koch, Raleigh Burgess, etc.
That game, Harris drained four threes — often drawing the bigger, slower Koch on defense, he was aggressive in looking for his shot — and was fouled on another. He made a late mid-range jumper plus a foul and came up with a big bucket getting to the hoop late in the game. He did have some chances to make what might have been really pivotal threes in the final few minutes, but might have not quite had his legs after the hot start and a ton of minutes. He didn't come out of the game, and exerted a good amount of energy on defense.
In the evening, I didn't think Harris played great, but still cobbled together 24 points and led a nice little comeback for the Atlanta Celtics and a come-from-behind win over Team Loaded from Virginia.
Here's what stands out to me about Harris, after I only saw him in passing in the spring.
1. Most importantly, he's a competitor. A real competitor. That much was very evident in those games today.
2. He puts a good deal of himself into defense and can be outstanding on the ball. Should Purdue get him — long way to go — he will fit wonderfully into what they ask of the point guard position defensively. He is a combo guard who could play a few different spots, but Purdue is recruiting him to fill point guard, and defensively, he'd be a great add.
You have to like his toughness. Picture the prototypical Florida State player. That big, strong 6-4-to-6-7 kid who just crawls down peoples' throats and empties his tank every time he goes in. It's a compliment here for me to say that I think Harris is that perfect Seminole sort of player. There's not a college team in America that couldn't use those sorts of qualities, and when that guy can shoot ...
3. Really good shooter with an effortless delivery. Bit of a line-drive shot, but he makes them at a very high rate and can shoot on the move or on spot-ups. I don't think he's just a shoot-when-open guy. I think he's a run-stuff-for-him guy.
4. He's not going to blow past many people or changes ends Jaden Ivey-like, but as a penetrator, he's so big and physical and uses his body very well to get to his spots and bury defenders. A guy who can get to the foul line a bunch when he looks to score.
Purdue has to have a point guard in the 2024 class and while there's a long way to go here, this guy can check a lot of boxes and the read I get is he'd be wired to fit very well with the basketball values of the program, because he's got some of those "winning qualities" Painter talks a lot about it, he defends, he shoots and from what I'm told, he's a solid, drama-free young man and a fine student.
This has nothing to do with him being the son of a Purdue legend and everything to do with the fact that Harris, on his own merits, looks like someone who'd fit really well at Purdue.
Purdue's communicating with Harris on a daily basis while SEC coaches, for whatever reason, just kind of offer, then disappear. Not the first time I've heard that kind of thing. Purdue will have him in for an official in the fall.
There is a long way to go here, but I do get the sense Purdue kind of stands out here, and that's largely because they've paid him the most attention and worked the hardest to build a relationship. Gelen Robinson has helped, as well.
TRAVIS PERRY
The Indiana Elite point guard played against Harris in that morning game, but didn't really guard. Harris did guard Perry and really made him work, but Perry got loose enough to be pretty productive. No idea on stats, but Perry made a couple threes, a pull-up jumper or two and some free throws to close out a close game.
Looks like that classic high-level IQ sort of point guard who's crafty, makes good decisions and scraps. He did a lot of the latter against the Celtics, as Indiana Elite did a good job with loose balls and that made a huge difference.
From a distance to me, Perry looks like he has some leadership and maturity to him, and those things obviously matter at point guard. IMO, he's got decent enough size and is a good enough shooter to play off the ball, too. Coaches these days love having multiple point guards on the floor.
Purdue really wants Perry, but that Kentucky offer was a big deal, I'd have to think.
RALEIGH BURGESS
Burgess looks to me like a stretch 5, but with Flory Bidunga on his team, he doesn't really play center. That affords him a chance to play high-low with Flory and hang around the arc, where he made a pair of threes against the Atlanta Celtics. Burgess is definitely still developing physically and says he was always more of a perimeter when he was younger, and is learning to be more rugged and physical now. So there would seem to be some up-side there in him.
Purdue's offered, as has half the Big Ten now. He did speak highly of his visit to Purdue and said he's coming back for a return visit in the fall or winter for a game. Could be a junior year official if Purdue wants to do that.
YOUNG KIDS
Indiana Elite's 2025 team is stacked.
Kentucky's Malachi Moreno already has a Purdue offer, joining Trent Sisley and Jalen Haralson in that class as those who've been offered. He's a tower, man, with an Anthony Davis sort of body. He'll be a national recruit, I'd have to guess. I'm sure Kentucky and Louisville will have their say in his recruitment.
Indianapolis Crispus Attucks' Dezmon Briscoe is a big bodied 5 man who really rebounds. He was really good at the IBCA Top 100 a few backs. Looks to me like a high-major prospect before long.
Greenfield-Central's Braylon Mullins is a player Purdue's gone to see for open guys. Looks like a real knock-down shooter with some height.
Remember this name: Luke Ertel, who'll be just a freshman at Mount Vernon this year. The kid's an eighth-grader basically and you wouldn't have known it in the game I saw today. He didn't make any shots, but looked good doing it. He did everything with a purpose and did it fast. He handled pressure well and just scrapped. Found the ball a bunch of times, including a last-second miss that got him to the foul line with a chance to force OT, which he couldn't do, but still a great play.
More tomorrow.
