Lowe Lands Another ’10 Prospect (Projected Roster Update)

Basketball Recruiting NCS Basketball82

ACCBasketballRecruiting.com – along with everybody else – is that point guard Ryan Harrow has committed to NC State joining consensus Top 20 high school star, CJ Leslie in the class of 2010. (Link here).

Harrow – a rising junior from Marietta, Georgia – is a little shorter than his listing of 6’0 and weighs only 150 pounds. As ‘seeinred09’ stated on an NC State message board, “Let the record show that Chris Paul was 5’10” and around 150 lbs as a high school sophomore.”

Harrow plays AAU basketball for the Louis Williams Elite 16s and is reportedly close to Lorenzo Brown, a top 20 wing prospect in the class of 2009 who has reportedly narrowed his list to NC State and Memphis.

The University of Florida’s Rivals.com site recently had the following report on Harrow that was shared on Pack Pride’s free message boards:

There may not have been a guard in the entire tournament field that was faster and more slippery than the 5-foot-10 guard from Walton High School in Marietta, Ga. Harrow was a blur with the ball in his hands and because of his size and speed, he was able to sneak into small cracks in the defense.

His frame is tiny but his game was big. Harrow’s ball-handling skills and overall basketball are tremendous for a 2010 prospect. He’ll have to continue to fill out, but his game was one of the best of any point guard in the tournament.

It appears that Harrow couldn’t be more enthusiastic about the recent developments in his recruitment. The Wolfpacker ran this story highlighting Harrow’s spark with NC State on Sunday.

The North Carolina State elite camp experience left such an impression on rising junior point guard Ryan Harrow, he couldn’t wait to come back to Raleigh with his mother.

Harrow, who played three games with Louis Williams Elite 17s on Saturday in Norcross, Ga., is flying to Raleigh today, arriving around 9:30 a.m., where he will meet his mother, Fern Harrow, and his brother-in-law, Erasto Hatchett, who is an assistant coach at the Concord (N.C.) Cannon School, his former school. Harrow transferred back home to Marietta (Ga.) Walton High last January.

NC State coach Sidney Lowe will be meeting today with rising junior point guard Ryan Harrow, and his mother and brother-in-law.
“My mom wanted to meet [NCSU] coach Sidney Lowe about my scholarship and me committing early,” Harrow said.

Harrow attended the elite camp for two days, June 11-12, yet the experience could alter his life.

One question on the minds of many Wolfpackers will be, “How does this impact NC State’s recruitment of John Wall in the class of 2009.”

Personally, I do not think that Harrow would impact Wall in any way. If Wall (were to commit to NC State and) is a one-and-doner as many predict then Harrow simply replaces Wall’s scholarship. The best case scenario would be if Wall stays at least two years; giving Harrow at least a year of growth and development and competion in practice vs Wall (and Javi Gonzalez and Farnold Degand).

Projected 2008-2009 NC State Basketball Roster

Senior Class
(1) Courtney Fells (Wing)
(2) Ben McCauley (F/C)

Junior Class
(3) Brandon Costner (F)
(4) Trevor Ferguson (G)
(5) Dennis Horner (F)
(6) Fernold Degand (PG)
(7) Marques Johnson (PG/SG)

Sophomore Class
(8) Javi Gonzalez (PG)
(9) Tracy Smith (4F)

Freshman Class
(10) Johnny Thomas (Wing)
(11) Julius Mays (PG/SG)
(12) CJ Williams (Wing)

HS Sr Commits
(13) Scott Wood (SG)
(1) Open – [Wing player along the lines of Lorenzo Brown] (Courtney Fells Scholarship)
(2) Open – [Center along the lines of Derrick Favors] (Ben McCauley’s Scholarship)
(3/4/5/6/7) Potential open from potential departure in junior class to be used only on a superstar like John Wall.

HS Junior Commitments
(5) CJ Leslie (F)
(5) Ryan Harrow (PG)
(6) Open
(7) Open

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Basketball Recruiting NCS Basketball

82 Responses to Lowe Lands Another ’10 Prospect (Projected Roster Update)

  1. choppack1 07/01/2008 at 11:50 AM #

    Yep RF – 10 years of one coach totally set in his ways was enough, if those “ways” aren’t resulting in championships.

  2. Wulfpack 07/01/2008 at 2:22 PM #

    “One thing folks are forgetting is that all of these PGs have exactly 1 season of experience. By year 4 they should be better.”

    Javi has one. Johnson and Degand are transfers.

  3. GAWolf 07/01/2008 at 3:02 PM #

    Oh boy… here we go with the overused misconception that Herb left our program in a great position. He left… mainly… because he could see that umpteen years of recruiting position-less players had finally left the team without a scoring threat down low and without a guy to dribble the ball across half-court. He got out while the getting was at least somewhat good and right before… but for a miracle run led by an almost-point-guard playing well above his projected talent level at the point position (Atsur)… the wheels fell off the wagon. Sendek duped us no less and no more than Amato did.

    I have said this a million times, but it’s worth one more: But for the late-season miracle run made by Atsur and Co. in the ACC tournament we as a fan base couldn’t have justified one iota of the preseason hype we placed on a ragtag team of kids playing in a system in which they don’t really fit. The BEST thing that could have ever happend to NC State Basketball (and maybe moreso the fans) would have been us bowing out of the ACC tournament early Sid’s first year. The positive result: Last year wouldn’t have been such the shock that we like to make it out to be.

    I’m not saying that Sid is the answer for State basketball, but there is so much misinformation about the state of our program primarily from our inability to control our own hype as fans that it’s unfair to everyone involved.

  4. newt 07/01/2008 at 3:04 PM #

    The transfers didn’t play before coming to State though. Degand redshirted and Johnson would have been redshirted if he had not transferred, so in effect they were both redshirt freshmen last season with no experience – though you’re right, they won’t have 3 more years at State to improve.

  5. Rick 07/01/2008 at 3:10 PM #

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/kevin_armstrong/07/01/wall.0701/index.html?eref=sircrc

    Article on Wall. Is anyoen else concerned when guys that have nothing to do with a kid are running their recruitment?

  6. Daily Update 07/01/2008 at 4:18 PM #

    Rick: Those are the Clifton brothers who were from High Point. Dwon was one of the top players in NC as a senior, but we didn’t offer him acholarship. Initially there was some bad blood over our old staff not offering (Larry Harris the one leftover coach) to work through.

    Seems like they have done a good job with him.

  7. redfred2 07/01/2008 at 5:16 PM #

    Chop, I complimented you earlier, now I’m going to pound on you a little bit.

    First off, I didn’t exactly agree with recruiting three supposed point guards either, but it’s much easier to dispute the decision to do so NOW, since none of them have worked out thus far. But I thought, just like I’m sure Sidney Lowe felt as well, that Courtney Fells had the tools and would become a force to reckoned with at the two spot, or even at the three, when given more time and freedom on the BB court. That has not happened at all. My point is, the two spot was supposedly taken and in good hands, so PG was THE immediate need. And the immediate part of that statement was further compounded by the lack of a true recruiting period for Sidney Lowe. He took what he had to.

    Second, I’m admittedly old school (as hell) and this probably doesn’t even apply by today’s standards, but I kind of lay blame on any former employee/coach who leaves and doesn’t do anything to insure continuity. Not that I wanted much of anything to continue as it was, but what about the incoming players of that first season? And here we are at the end of year two, who else is out there on the recruiting trail had a bug put in their ear or heard a good word about the NC State Basketball program coming from ” “‘s lips?

    I just don’t know, I think it wouldn’t matter whoever took over the reins and was coaching at NCSU right now, Barnes, Calipari, whoever, they’d all have a monumental task on their hands. And they ALL knew it.

  8. Noah 07/01/2008 at 6:12 PM #

    You guys make me laugh. John Wall has a flaw in his game so that means he won’t go pro?

    That’s hilarious. What turnip truck was it that brought you here?

  9. redfred2 07/01/2008 at 6:19 PM #

    ^It’s not mine, I’m just designated driver for the evening.

  10. john of sparta 07/01/2008 at 6:35 PM #

    redfred2:
    so: Mr. Isley is still on the radio?
    my dad says he knew him from Burlington
    way back in the Bronze Age.
    is Mr. James still alive?
    daddy said he was sick a while back.

  11. redfred2 07/01/2008 at 8:00 PM #

    Wow, john of sparta, that’s some amazing stuff as far as highly intelligent, cutting humor goes. I know Mr Isley would agree, and Mr James would too, if he wasn’t so sick.

  12. choppack1 07/01/2008 at 9:09 PM #

    “But I thought, just like I’m sure Sidney Lowe felt as well, that Courtney Fells had the tools and would become a force to reckoned with at the two spot, or even at the three, when given more time and freedom on the BB court. ”

    One player does not a position make. What if Fells got hurt – who were we going to then? Besides the probably wasn’t that Fells couldn’t play the 3 or that Grant couldn’t play the 4, it’s that they were never played there.

    “I kind of lay blame on any former employee/coach who leaves and doesn’t do anything to insure continuity. Not that I wanted much of anything to continue as it was, but what about the incoming players of that first season? And here we are at the end of year two, who else is out there on the recruiting trail had a bug put in their ear or heard a good word about the NC State Basketball program coming from ” “’s lips? ”

    I see your point – and you notice that I brought up the fact that 4 of Sendek’s last 5 verbals never set foot on State’s campus as a student. However, I think the real problem was that a certain AD didn’t make a hire for several weeks which allowed 2 of our 3 recruits, and a verbal from a future McDer, to leave for other schools (and in 2 cases, greener pastures.)

    What I’m saying is that yes, Sendek didn’t do a good enough job of selling the school itself and leaving a better foundation, but if the 2 other kids, and especially that 3rd had come here, we might not be talking about a coach whose 2010 recruiting class is his last gasp.

    But, at the end of the day -for most of the ACC regular season games I’ve seen thus far the last 2 years – I am po’d about our preparation, execution and effort. And I don’t want to make it seem like it can’t be salvaged – it can.

    As for turning this ship around so quick – I think there are lot of coaches who could have done it. Obviously, Sid didn’t do it in 2 years, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do it in 3 or 4.

  13. redfred2 07/01/2008 at 10:01 PM #

    Chop, once again, good stuff! And I did think about back ups for Fells before I made that last comment. They’re there, but sadly they don’t even produce enough to compete with a player who only plays on occassion. But I’ll also throw the “one player does not a position make” back at you, with not 1, not 2, but 3, attempts to fill the void at the most important PG position. Like I said before, it hasn’t worked out just yet, so it looks bad, but Lowe wasn’t placing all of his eggs in one basket there either.

    I honestly believe that Lowe was more than a little taken aback when some of the players that he THOUGHT were more than ready to play at skill levels comparable to ACC competiton, where infact not capable of producing much beyond going off and putting on a show during friendly practice sessions.

    “As for turning this ship around so quick – I think there are lot of coaches who could have done it.”

    I think you’re mostly right there, just not so much with regards to the “quick” part. This is a big school with a big bunch of fans, competing regularly against some of the nation’s elite programs, and in a conference that contains a few of those elites itself. It is not an easy place for anyone, or anything to be turned around, much less having a very limited time frame inwhich to accomplish it.

    “I am po’d about our preparation, execution and effort.”

    Me too brother. I don’t know whether our wise AD did Sidney any real favors by giving him the six year deal right off the bat or not. One thing I do know is that Lowe had better not be thinking he has any cushion to play around with, because every time the players, whether they’re inherited or brought in by Sidney Lowe himself, aren’t playing a brand of BB that is condusive to winning, then Lowe makes his own future more sketchy and exponentially harder.

  14. Elrod 07/01/2008 at 10:03 PM #

    Back to the thought on Harrow’s size… remember that he does have a size 13 foot, so he does have some growing to do. That’s some pretty big feet to be sneaky quick with!

  15. redfred2 07/01/2008 at 10:17 PM #

    Good lord, that young, a generous estimate of 6’0″ tall, and size 13 feet (to boot 🙂 ),this kid will be a lumbering combo point center before he ever even gets here.

  16. Rick 07/02/2008 at 6:59 AM #

    “You guys make me laugh. John Wall has a flaw in his game so that means he won’t go pro?”

    I assume that was directed at me. IMO he will have to improve his jumpshot and left hand if he wants to be a good pro. I think one and done mihgt be a stretch but then again I am no pro scout who looks solely at potential.

  17. newt 07/02/2008 at 8:19 AM #

    “I honestly believe that Lowe was more than a little taken aback when some of the players that he THOUGHT were more than ready to play at skill levels comparable to ACC competiton, where infact not capable of producing much beyond going off and putting on a show during friendly practice sessions.”

    Seems to me Lowe has a very clear understanding of what a ACC championship player looks like (e.g. JJ Hickson) and is doing whatever he can to get more than one of that type of player at a time. If we had 5 JJ caliber players last year, we would have won a lot of games. From day 1 Lowe made JJ the centerpiece of the offense, and many fans spent the year accusing him of not recognizing what some sentimental favorites could do, though I assume you’re talking about guards. You’re not talking about JJ are you? Anyway, listen to Lowe talk and it’s clear that he understands that we need top-20 type guys to compete for championships. That’s the school from which he comes.

  18. Noah 07/02/2008 at 9:50 AM #

    I assume that was directed at me. IMO he will have to improve his jumpshot and left hand if he wants to be a good pro

    Totally different argument and it has nothing to do with the NBA. You go pro BEFORE they figure out that you actually suck. The NBA is not about basketball. It’s about playing hide-and-seek with your talent and getting a couple of hundred grand so you and your boys can cruise around in an Escalade. Hell, you’re talking about a league that has an 82-game exhibition season.

    Basketball? Pffft. Are you a good dunker? That’s all we want to know.

  19. Rick 07/02/2008 at 10:18 AM #

    And that is why the NBA sucks

    But I think you and I agree

  20. mcpack 07/02/2008 at 11:31 AM #

    Wall is projected #4 in 2010 nba draft on nbadraft.net. Favors projected #2! In the video of him he looks WOW!

  21. redfred2 07/02/2008 at 11:45 AM #

    Newt, I think you kind of misunderstood my post. I’m not saying that Sidney Lowe doesn’t know what it takes or real talent when he sees it, I’m saying I’m pretty certain that Lowe thought that he had some players who could at least compliment the superior talent he was planning on bringing into the program. They probably could have, but they didn’t, and the reason doesn’t even matter anymore.

    Lowe has time, but he needs to show that he isn’t going to tolerate anything but total effort regardless of whether or not the team happens to get trounced in the process. In my opinion Courtney Fells would be a great place to start, but that’s just me. I’d say that he and the rest of the players had better get their asses in line and flying right this upcoming season, for their own sake. If they don’t do it for a second season in a row, and for some other strange and unexplained reason, then Sidney Lowe had better R E A L L Y start worrying about the welfare of his own derriere.

  22. nycfan 07/02/2008 at 12:12 PM #

    In response to “Seems to me Lowe has a very clear understanding of what a ACC championship player looks like (e.g. JJ Hickson)” …

    On balance, IMO, Hickson’s potential far outstripped his production in his solo season at State. Be it hitting the freshman wall, a late-season (disastrous) change in overall strategy by Lowe or just other teams figuring out how to guard Hickson, in the losing streak that ended (and sunk) State’s regular season, JJ averaged just under 11.9 PPG (10.1 PPG in the last 6 games).

    He did have a 23-rebound outburst against Clemson, but overall he was not a particularly effective player in that critical stretch.

    [And, yes, he had a big outburst of points in a loss to Miami in the ACCT, but having attended that game I can honestly say it was the most putrid basketball game I have ever attended. The effort left was awful and sloppy and … well, I wasn’t all that impressed with Hickson’s numbers due to how the game was run.]

    I also continued to be baffled by continued claims that Hickson hussled when no one else did. Costner took the cake for insolent, effort-free basketball, but having seen Hickson in person a few times that kid definitely took a LOT of plays off, especially when it came to getting up and down the court or working without the ball. If the ball came to him or the guy he was guarding, Hickson usually played hard, but he also coasted out there. Now, that could easily be chalked up to inexperience versus laziness, but since it got worse over the course of the year (again, perhaps exacerbated by freshman-wall exhaustion) if it was an inexperience issue, apparently no one on the coaching staff fixed it.

    Obviously, he was drafted #19 for a reason and as a 2-3 year player at State he probably would have been an ACC championship caliber player, but I think all college coaching staffs have to take into account now the one-and-done aspect and ask if a talented but raw guy like Hickson can really ever be championship caliber in a single season.

  23. choppack1 07/02/2008 at 5:42 PM #

    nycfan – interesting thoughts.

    I’d have to agree w/ you that Hickson’s effort wasn’t always the best. I think – like most frosh – he had lots of mental lapses.

    I hate to admit it, but I’d rather our team play like 5 Hansboro’s than 5 Hicksons. Unfortunately, I think Tyler enjoys the street cred of Erkle and I doubt you’ll see too many 5 star players imitating his effort.

  24. nycfan 07/02/2008 at 6:59 PM #

    Hansbrough is an exception unto himself, I think. I don’t think you see many *, **, *** or **** players giving the same level of effort, either (to me, it is not just the intensity but the consistency of it that is so unusual).

    I didn’t mean to slag on Hickson, either, I just think he is an interesting case study for the physically gifted one-and-done player with limited skills. I keep reading a lot of State fans claiming Hickson was busting his rear end while other guys moped but I think (moping aside) that is not an entirely accurate picture. How much was mental lapse and how much was not being in the kind of game shape needed to be to get up and down the court, I’m not sure, but I think it was clearly a combination of both. He did work very hard to establish post position, but generally did not do the same for rebounding position. I think almost every flaw in his game is something that can be improved or eradicated with good coaching OVER TIME.

  25. StateFans 07/03/2008 at 7:51 AM #

    Related – article in the N&O discussing DeGand is on schedule to return to the court for practice in October.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/754/story/1129019.html

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