Harrow’s commitment a result of “great recruiting” by Wolfpack

It is no secret that poor point guard play has plagued NC State’s Basketball Program for years. (Link to BJD’s recent positional analysis)

Even if Farnold Degand doesn’t bounce back from his knee injury this year, a fix for this problem may be on the near-term horizon after Ryan Harrow, a rising high school junior point guard, committed to play basketball at NC State. We discussed Harrow and the Wolfpack’s future roster was discussed in this entry at the time of Harrow’s verbal commitment.

On Sunday, the N&O’s Tim Stevens wrote a great article about Harrow and his potential for stardom.

Lots of interesting things to discuss in the article. A couple of real quick ones:

(1) Telep’s Turnaround

He has been out of the recruiting mainstream to the extent that Dave Telep, the director of recruiting for Scout.com, has not yet evaluated him. “I need to see him more,” Telep said. “I honestly haven’t seen him enough yet to say much about him accurately.”

I *think* this is a change in position for Telep as I could have sworn he made some comments when Harrow committed that indicated that Harrow was certainly not going to be one of the top/elite/top 10 players at his position.

(2) Potential Growth

Harrow isn’t impressive physically — he weighs just 150 pounds. But he wears a size 13 shoe and he has long arms. Doctors have told him that he may grow to the 6-2 or 6-3 range. “If he does that, he is going to be one of the top 25 players in the country before he is done,” Goydish said.

Not many people with size 13 shoes finish their growth under six feet. Not many finish under 6’3. This is very exciting for Harrow’s future potential. I just hope that he can keep his ankles from twisting too much as he grows into his frame.

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59 Responses to Harrow’s commitment a result of “great recruiting” by Wolfpack

  1. Noah 07/22/2008 at 7:29 AM #

    I wear a size-15 and I’m 6-1. But yeah, most of us who have to buy shoes from special-order shops are much taller.

    I think a backcourt of Harrow and Brown could be promising. I still don’t think we’re going to get Wall.

  2. wufpup76 07/22/2008 at 7:47 AM #

    ^Like Noah, I wear a 14 but only got to 6’1 (Eastbay catalog was great back in the day)

    I am hoping Harrow will sprout up a tad more than I did … Hopefully he won’t have any problem bulking up a little either

  3. Rick 07/22/2008 at 8:12 AM #

    THe mroe I read abotu Wall the less I want him.
    I think he is a spectacular player but I am so leery of the people he has surrounded himself with.

    This is when AAU hurts basketball. Guys get their hooks in players for their own profit.

  4. Ed89 07/22/2008 at 8:17 AM #

    I would prefer to add Ryan Kelly and Derrick Favors over Wall. I think we’ll be okay with Farnold, Javi, and Mays at the point, but we’ll need some help down low.

  5. Noah 07/22/2008 at 8:23 AM #

    I’m in the opposite corner on Degand, Javi and Mays. But I think Brown and Harrow would go a long way to fixing our woes.

    My problem with Wall is: 1) He’s going to play for someone else and 2) he’s only going to be there for one year.

    I think we need a longer-term solution.

  6. StateFans 07/22/2008 at 8:37 AM #

    If Degand can stay healthy…

  7. Ed89 07/22/2008 at 8:37 AM #

    I think with another year Farnold and Javi (along with Mays)will be more than adequate. Brown will definitely be a good addition in ’09 as will Harrow in ’10. I’m about ready for Brown to go ahead and commit already. I agree wrt to Wall. I think Favors is a one and doner, too, and maybe Wall is intimidated about playing with another one and doner. I think he wants to be the “star.” We’ll see though…one way or the other, I think we’ll know something fairly soon.

  8. BJD95 07/22/2008 at 8:42 AM #

    Problem is…Harrow won’t possibly play for us during the next 2 seasons, and after that, he will be a true freshman. That’s potentially 2+ full seasons of absolute suck unless Degand regains and maintains full health.

    Can Lowe really survive that?

  9. StateFans 07/22/2008 at 8:50 AM #

    ^ That is the question. Just for Sidney to be here long enough to enjoy the 2010 recruiting class then we are going to need either:

    (1) Degand to evolve and stay healthy
    and/or
    (2) Wall to help bridge the gap to improvement a year earlier.

  10. Noah 07/22/2008 at 9:00 AM #

    I really don’t think Lowe’s job is on the line. Has anyone heard anything that would change my mind?

  11. BJD95 07/22/2008 at 9:28 AM #

    Failure to survive may not necessarily mean getting fired (this is NC State, after all – our buffoon AD didn’t even want to fire Chuck Amato, for God’s sake). Two more really shitty seasons could turn the program into a laughingstock, making recruiting (even holding onto existing recruits) next to impossible.

    IMHO, this is why Lowe constantly talks about Degand. He really is the program’s only lifeline to get to 2010.

  12. Noah 07/22/2008 at 9:29 AM #

    We were bad last year even before Degand got hurt. I still think he’s a backup PG, but maybe when they opened up his knee, they put some shooting ability in.

  13. wufdog 07/22/2008 at 9:58 AM #

    “Not many people with size 13 shoes finish their growth under six feet. Not many finish under 6′3.”

    I have a size 13 shoe, 5ft 7 adn well into my 30’s. This is the best news I have heard in a while, I could grow to 6ft 3

  14. Trip 07/22/2008 at 10:02 AM #

    What the crap, positive press?

  15. Ed89 07/22/2008 at 10:15 AM #

    For all you short guys with big feet, do you have 6’9″ wingspans? Seriously, just wondering, but this kid’s arms hang down to about his knees. I think the staff has made a great find….time will tell, and NO, I do not think Lowe’s job is on the line.

  16. 66pack 07/22/2008 at 10:15 AM #

    UNC gets top recruitimg classes and we talk of possible height based upon foot size.We sure do give UNC blogs things to ridicule.

  17. Ed89 07/22/2008 at 10:30 AM #

    What size shoe did Jordan wear in 10th grade? Oh that’s right, he was CUT from his H.S. team in the 10th grade….

  18. howlie 07/22/2008 at 11:02 AM #

    We’ve determined three things.

    1) This thread is not about our new PG
    2) Everyone on this board are little people with really big feet.
    3) Which leads to the question: What kind of wingspan do all the freaks have, so that we can know which choice is next:
    3a) Have the original article erased now that it is debunked, or;
    3b) call Barnum & Bailey for new employment opportunities for us in a failing economy?

  19. waxhaw 07/22/2008 at 11:30 AM #

    We certainly weren’t as good as advertised prior to Degand’s injury. However, we were a LOT worse without him.

    We beat South Carolina, Villanova, Davidson and Cincinatti with him.

    We also lost to New Orleans and ECU with him.

    If he’s healthy, I have a lot more optimism about this season than without him. (if for no other reason than his defense)

  20. BJD95 07/22/2008 at 12:04 PM #

    With Degand, we were sometimes average, sometimes pretty good, sometimes awful. Without Degand, we were consistently awful.

    Lowe doesn’t have to have a breakout season this year or next to survive. But they can’t both be total trainwrecks like post-Degand 2007-08.

  21. JimValvano 07/22/2008 at 12:08 PM #

    I am 5 foot 2 and wear a size 18 shoe. My wingspan is 6 foot 7 inches.

    Now, on a more serious note. Apparently Harrow is pretty good already, despite his being slight in stature. We’ve all seen guys much smaller in both height and weight go on to become not just successful college players but also successful NBA players (see Muggsy Bogues and Spud Webb). I don’t care if he stays the same or ends up 6’9 and 300 lbs…I just want a point guard that can bring the ball down court without any help, create shots for his team, knock down open jumpers and free throws, and can play reasonably good defense.

    With that having been said…Coach Lowe’s job is not on the line this season (barring an 8-20 Doh’retty like disaster). My family is full of prominent donors (one of which is top 10) and to the best of my knowledge the talk of dismissing Coach Lowe is very minimal. With the 2010 class looking so promising, Coach Lowe will in all likelihood get the chance to coach through at least that season. After that…all bets are off.

  22. PackGirl 07/22/2008 at 12:35 PM #

    Speaking of point guards…for all of you who would like to see our trusty PG Engin Atsur play again, check out this link and skip down about 6 paragraphs:

    http://www.usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=2008MSNTMacao

    Turkey plays USA in an olympic warm-up game on July 31 at 8 am (that’s 8pm Chinese time) and it’s on ESPN2. (That’s not in the article but I saw the schedule elsewhere.)

  23. Noah 07/22/2008 at 1:25 PM #

    I’m fine with a 5-9 PG with speed. It’s not really a big deal if he can play. It’s a far bigger issue in the NBA. I once shot around with Bobby Hurley and he’s shorter than I am. Chris Corchiani is significantly shorter than I am.

    Spud Webb will fit in my breast pocket.

  24. waxhaw 07/22/2008 at 1:48 PM #

    ^ As long as you don’t have your spare set of big arse Teva’s in that pocket.

  25. partialqualifier 07/22/2008 at 2:16 PM #

    In all honesty…the only thing more ridiculous than the banter about wingspans, large feet, and the like…is the excitement over an unranked, untested, oft-injured (back spasms and broken wrists b4 the age of 16), point guard that is still nearly 3 years away from being able to help us AT ALL!

    Please tell me that our present team has not become so pathetic that this is the extent of our excitement?

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