WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins has a knack for taking middle of the road high school prospects and turning them into solid leaders.
Huggins certainly knows how to mold young men into great contributors on the basketball court, but also in the real world. His coaching style and philosophy is old school, no doubt. It takes a special kind of player to suit up for the WVU basketball team.
As of July, Bob Huggins has recruited one of the most talented players in the high school class of 2018. The WVU basketball team has a shot to land Jermaine Harris because he has listed Huggins’ club in his Elite 8.
It was recently said that Harris will announce his verbal commitment next week, so good news could be coming for Huggins and the Mountaineers as practice gets underway for the 2017-18 season.
https://twitter.com/_jharris1/status/887101676154490880
Joining WVU the Elite 8 for Harris are other top programs like Maryland, Kansas and South Carolina. According to Jeff Borzello, Harris visited Morgantown last week and was set to visit Xavier, another top school in his list, soon.
Apparently that Xavier visit was what turned off Huggins from Harris. According to Harris’ high school coach in Maryland, the Mountaineers are no longer pursuing a Harris commitment.
West Virginia is no longer recruiting Jermaine Harris per his HS Coach Chris Cole https://t.co/b9AK6uML6K
— Brian Snow (@BSnowND) September 29, 2017
(@AdamFinkelstein was first)
Adam Finkelstein, an ESPN recruiting analyst went on to say that Harris had moved WVU up to his final three, but Huggins has halted his recruitment. This seems to be the school spurning the player, not the player spurning the school.
Was down to 3. West Virginia reportedly no longer recruiting him. https://t.co/zRUZRDMXAP
— Adam Finkelstein (@AdamFinkelstein) September 29, 2017
So, Harris’ final two is Xavier and Rhode Island. Harris seemed to fit the bill of what the Mountaineers were looking for. He had good size at 6-foot-9, 220 pounds. An athletic forward who can hit the glass, exactly what Huggins looks for in a big man.
But Huggins knows best. There are plenty of other players who want to play for the WVU basketball team. Right now, Jordan McCabe is the Mountaineers’ only hard commitment, according to 247sports. He is a talented shooter from Wisconsin who was always high on the WVU basketball team. The Mountaineers should also get Derek Culver in for 2018, as he is now playing at a prep school.
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Again, it takes a special player to suit up for the Mountaineers. When Huggins gets his guys, special things always have the potential to happen in Morgantown.