GSK Tournament News

Basketball Recruiting General36

Probably the most interesting thing that happened was off the court the during the press conference with Word of God’s head coach. Erasto Hatchett, also Ryan Harrow’s brother-in-law, criticized the attitude of his players and the culture that has been at Word of God in previous years during a five minute opening “statement”. There is still speculation that Ryan may transfer mid-year to come to Word of God and play for one the most talented high school teams in the country according to Hatchett. However, after watching the press conference one has to wonder if that move makes sense.

Here are a couple of quotes from the N&O:

“At some point in time, we’ve got to understand there’s not an ‘I’ in team,” Hatchett said.

Hatchett went through each of the players sitting near him, describing them as talented, but with attitudes that will allow them to “self-destruct.” The only one of the four described as not having that sort of attitude, Joel Kindred, was described as joining a team with a detrimental persona that has started to rub off on him.

“I have a heck of a task at hand. And it hurts me to my soul that I feel like I have the most talented team in the country — and what they’ve been exposed to, and the way they’ve been able to kind of get things or feel like things should come easy to them through basketball is going to become a domino effect,” Hatchett said.

“And the game we used to know or have known it as is not going to be any longer. And that’s the truth of the matter.”

“And we’re missing it. We want the entertainment. We want the high-flying. We want the alley-oops and the dunks. And so do I, [but] there’s a way to do it,” Hatchett said.

“I know what I’m trying to give them and instill in these guys is right. Anyone who don’t believe it and anyone who don’t feel that way, then you’re a part of the problem as well. Period.”

I also got to hear Hatchett at Harrow’s signing day event earlier this Fall and I have to say that he is an impressive guy. Based on what he says, he sounds like he has his priorities straight and that he takes the game of basketball and his role has a coach very seriously. Assuming he can win at Word of God, then you have to wonder if he has a future at the college level.

On the court, Ryan Harrow scored 35 points in his team’s win over local school Raleigh Millbrook. After only scoring 6-8 points in the 1st half, Harrow erupted in the 2nd half by scoring 7 points in the final thirty seconds of the 3rd quarter. In the 4th, he continued pouring in points and saved his team from an upset after missing a shot, then tipping the ball one handed to a wide open teammate underneath the basket who scored the game winning bucket with only a few seconds left.

This wasn’t a great game for Harrow. He missed all five three point attempts and if he played well, then he could have easily scored 45-50 points. Instead, he only scored 35 points…when is the last time you could say an NC State commitment only scored 35 points?

This win set up a semi-final match up tonight at 7:20 pm against Kinston who has UNC commitment Reggie Bullock leading their team. Broughton HS’s gym will be packed. If you plan on going, then make sure you get there by 5 pm or else there is no guarantee you will get in the gymnasium. I would almost put this in the “can’t miss” category for local NC State fans despite NC State playing a home game against Winthrop at 7 pm in the RBC tonight.

At 5:40 pm, NC State commitment Luke Cothron’s team, Flora MacDonald, plays against United Faith Christian. These are two of the top private schools in the state and it should be an outstanding game. Cothron had 30 points and double digit rebounds yesterday in his team’s win. This was my first time seeing Cothron and in my opinion he is a better prospect than either of this year’s freshman forwards Painter and Howell. He is legitimately 6’8″, strong, and mobile. He has all the tools and he would be a perfect addition to next year’s team. Rumors from the tournament suggested that his commitment to NC State is solid though Tennessee and Alabama are making a run at him.

Basketball Recruiting General

36 Responses to GSK Tournament News

  1. Sw0rdf1sh 12/29/2009 at 4:07 PM #

    LOL rick.

  2. phillypacker 12/29/2009 at 4:42 PM #

    Greywolf, The point was not the headline it was the poor quality of the article itself, which did not at all reflect the video attached to it. If more was said that substantiated the hack work that this high school kid wrote, he should have included it.

  3. Wulfpack 12/29/2009 at 7:04 PM #

    Who cares what anyone has “read”. We won’t know how good these players are until they arrive on campus and actually begin playing college ball, away from home and all their advocates/coddlers. If Harrow is as advertised, we’ll know real soon next year. But I don’t pay a bit of attention to all the junk that is out there. They’ve been wrong time and time again, but the check has already been cashed.

  4. GAWolf 12/29/2009 at 10:23 PM #

    Daily Update went to the games tonight. I’m sure he’ll be so kind as to update what and who he saw. Roy Williams was in the house to see his boy go up against Sid’s boy. Can’t wait to hear how that panned out.

  5. Daily Update 12/29/2009 at 11:36 PM #

    Harrow had 23 points in the 1st half, got sick at halftime, returned for about another minute, and then left the game for the night(to the hospital?). 25 points and 3 assists in about 17 minutes of action.

    It was quite a performance in the 1st half. I have seen a lot of former NC State players in HS and in the Chavis league before they hit campus beginning with the Sendek era. Having said that, Harrow’s performance was the best half of basketball I have seen by an NC State commitment while still at the pre-college level(Hodge in the Chavis League after his senior year would be comparable).

    Kinston was a much better team. They were bigger, more athletic and much, much deeper. They had 15 players and it looked like numbers 6-15 were as good as anyone on Walton’s bench. They have to be one of the best teams in the state at their level if not overall.

    Still, Harrow carried his team in the 1st half. He hit threes, made 3 point plays, hit floaters, scored in transition, made great passes and showed off his ballhandling skills. He also missed 3 fts including the front end of 1 and 1. So he could have had 27 points easily in that half.

    The whole gym was impressed to say the least.

  6. D_Medlin 12/30/2009 at 2:16 AM #

    It didn’t much matter who was on Walton’s bench tonight because after Harrow left the Raiders pretty much stayed with the same five guys. Except for one inside guy who played sparingly the same five stayed on the court. It showed too because by the end of the game a couple of Walton’s players were suffering from cramps.

    Also, I think Harrow had more than 3 assists in the first half. I can rememer at least four or five plays he made. I’m not sure exactly who keeps stats but I bet assists aren’t too high on the priority list.

    And yes, Harrow was taken to the hospital by his parents after halftime to receive fluids.

  7. Daily Update 12/30/2009 at 7:35 AM #

    ^I couldn’t believe when I heard that Walton stayed with Kinston in the 2nd half. I left when Harrow went out for the 2nd time (after watching 4 hours of basketball). The inside guy only came in because one of Walton’s big guys(not very big) turned an ankle. It looked like they only had 1 player on the bench in the regular rotation.

    Harrow scored 20 of his team’s first 24 points. Again, this was against a very talented, big, and athletic team.

    I haven’t seen Lorenzo Brown play. I need to make that a priority. If he is as good as the UNC fan sitting next to me said, then I will be really excited about next season.

  8. Rick 12/30/2009 at 9:04 AM #

    “I haven’t seen Lorenzo Brown play. I need to make that a priority. If he is as good as the UNC fan sitting next to me said, then I will be really excited about next season.”

    I saw him play last year and am very impressed. Very strong and athletic. Nice looking shot. We could have really used him this year. He is what we lack. A shooter that can create his own shot.

  9. sockerne1 12/30/2009 at 10:04 AM #

    Thanks for the recap DU. I was there for the Flora game and the Walton game last night. Thought i’d share a few observations.

    In the Flora game, i was very impressed with United Faith. They had some good individuals but were even better coached. Luke is far from a running game type player. He is a great finisher, and scores lots of points. You can tell that much from all of his box scores. He is also a good rebounder when he is under the rim. He spends most of his time at the top of the key though (offense and defense). Not sure if this is due to his gaming personality or due to the coach’s gameplan.

    Harrow was the most exciting player i saw in those two games. Kinston was playing him very physically. They put one of their big strong guys on him after his first scoring run, and tried to push him around some. Harrow definately was frustrated by the lack of calls (mostly when trying to get open for an inbound pass). The frustration lead to a small highlight reel of his typical showboat dribble around guys with extra flair. The crowd loved it. He showed a pretty nice shot from outside, showed his floater when driving a few times (maybe 50% on those), and man is he good at driving to the basket for a 6′ guy. The defenders hardly ever get close to blocking his shot when he is close to the basket. He is great at slashing away from the bigs, or keeping himself between the defenders and the ball, getting fouled, and still getting off a good shot for the and 1. I hope he continues to bulk up just a little. Luckily i think hes a personality that tends to get calls going his way….i hope that doesnt change when he’s in the Red and White.

  10. ncsu_kappa 12/30/2009 at 11:41 PM #

    Cothron and Harrow

    I was there as well for both of Harrow’s games and Cothron’s. Harrow easily the most exciting player to watch in the tournament but number 30, the PG for United Faith, gives him a run for best player in the tournament (disclaimer: didn’t see any WOG games to assess CJ Leslie. Reggie Bullock is very legit too). Back to #30, I hear he’s going to Fl. St. next year and he is really reminiscent of Ty Lawson the way he attacks and shoots (I’m referring to latter part of his college career). Harrow only had three assists but lets be real, he may have only made 7 passes in the first half.

    Javi –
    I thought Javi is playing well enough to protect his position too. Incorrect observation. Ryan Harrow is a human highlight reel. He has eyes in the back of his head and I swear I saw him shoot lightening bolts out the back of his arse. Ryan Harrow is the real deal with exception of defense. He is the best offensive player I’ve seen in some time. Ball handling, court vision, shooting, and penetration he is in very elite company.

    Cothron –
    plays on the wing way too often for my liking but in his second game he also showed solid post moves, a jump shot, and a little slashing ability. Would have been nice to have him play along side Smith but I hear its not likely that he will qualify academically even if he signs.

    Harrow will start its not even a question (granted he doesn’t try to trump Lowe’s instructions). He’s like a smaller Jeff Teague but a better finisher and a little more showmanship almost to the point where you have to ask, “is this showboating good or bad?” Either way, he will sell tickets and even in a loss fans will leave happy.

  11. Rick 12/31/2009 at 5:57 PM #

    “Harrow definately was frustrated by the lack of calls (mostly when trying to get open for an inbound pass).”

    IMO the way he handled not getting calls was one of the more impressive things about him. He did not complain or say anything he just played that much harder. Driving to the basket to make them make a call. That mentality is completely missing from this year’s team. It is also how close games are won.

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