Hillcrest Prep 6-foot-7 rising senior forward prospect Andre Harris is no stranger to scholarship offers. In fact, he has many of them already on the table from schools at numerous different levels. But this week, Harris received one of his biggest offers to date, as he earned a scholarship offer from a program in the Big-East Conference.
Harris earned the offer from strong play on the spring club circuit, while traveling with the California-based Compton Magic (CA) program. The team is absolutely loaded with talent and Harris has been a big piece for the heavily Adidas-sponsored national program. On the team, Harris has teammed up with fellow Hillcrest Prep star 6-foot-5 rising senior guard Dalen Terry to bring some Arizona flavor to the California-based team, which has won many games against stiff competition this spring.
While the Compton Magic were featured in many big games this spring, Harris came up big when he needed to and gained serious respect for his efforts from fellow and opposing players. As a result of his play, Harris has now added a scholarship offer from St. John's University to his long list of offers.
Harris' next biggest offer to date is Texas Christian University from the BIG-12 Conference, which he received earlier in the year. Harris also currently has offers from Montana, UTEP, Tulsa, Duquesne, UC-Irvine, Grand Canyon, Oakland, Central Arkansas and Houston Baptist.
With offers from every level of division-I program on the table for himself, Harris will need to make a decision on which level he will ultimately land it. Harris will truly need to find the right fit for his body-type and style of play - a very important aspect of the recruiting process for Harris and his future.
Harris is a nice overall talent, and with continued hard work, he could contribute right away at the collegiate level, as a result of his toughness and college-ready frame. He will need to work on his athleticism and quickness defensively to play at the bigger level schools.
Harris changed schools from Red Mountain High School to Bella Vista Prep before then moving again to Hillcrest Prep last season, after the season had already began. After being unhappy with his situation at Bella Vista, Harris has excelled at Hillcrest Prep.
There are very few, if any, other players in the state like Harris. This young man possesses excellent physical size on a strong frame that also has very good length of body. He has excellent versatility and is able to play several different positions on the floor, which makes him very difficult to defend for opposing teams and players. He is a mis-match consistently for teams, as he is physically bigger and stronger than most post opposition he faces. He also has the mobility to also play on the perimeter, although he is at his best around the paint.
Harris will continue to look to build his college recruitment this summer with more strong performances for himself this July. We will continue to follow the recruitment of Harris closely this summer, and bring you any updates as they continue to develop.
Arizona Hoop Review Scouting Report: Harris is a wide-body low post player that likes to score around the basket and from mid-range. He has solid low post skills and a nice ability to use his body to draw contact and finish around the paint. He is also able to step outside and shoot the basketball out to three-point distance, although he still needs to add more consistency to his shot. Currently, he is a good mid-range shooter with a soft touch. I like Harris physically, as he has very broad shoulders and excellent physical strength. He can score inside and out and is difficult to keep off the glass, when he makes up his mind to fight for rebounds. He is a bit of a tweener for the college level, but such players like him often have very good success in college - he will just need to pick the right college program for himself, that will be a good fit for his talent. A strong rebounder and finisher around the basket. Runs the floor. A solid passer. A good shotblocker. A solid low-post defender, but needs more focus on the defensive end to maximize his potential as a player. Has some upside.
