As the old saying goes, one in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. This especially holds true when it comes to recruiting. 6’1” Senior Jalen Harris ended his recruitment on Monday when he committed to Buffalo.
Despite recent recruiting interest from the likes of South Carolina, Old Dominion, Iowa State, Wisconsin, and others, Harris went where he felt most comfortable. Harris has a long standing relationship with Buffalo’s Director of Player Development Julius Hodge. He was also a team mate for two summers with commitment Quate McKinzie, of whom he developed great chemistry with.
Harris has been a name on the radar since he entered high school, at Greenfield School in Wilson, NC. As a freshman, Harris participated in the final Carolina Challenge, the NC staple run by current San Antonio Spurs executive Dave Telep. Subsequently, Harris has participated in both the 2014 and 2015 NC Top 80, the event that took over the space vacated by the Carolina Challenge.
Harris is a flashy point guard, who excels in transition. Although slender, Harris has a tight handle and finishes well above the rim on the break.
Harris has been a staple, over the years, at various Phenom Hoops events. See how he has progressed:
2013 Fall NC Phenom 150
No single player benefited more from the NC Phenom 150 Camp than Jalen Harris. Simply put, he was outstanding and is poised to make a tremendous jump in the PHR NC 2016 rankings. Jalen is a special talent. He has great end-to-end speed with the ball and his court awareness is superior! Jalen is an excellent athlete and passes the ball exceptionally well and is a very unselfish player. All we can say is “Jalen gets it!” He is the ultimate playmaking PG that will make others around him better. While he could score at every opportunity, he was concerned about getting his teammates involved; a true attribute of an elite level PG.
2014 NC Top 80
Jalen has exploded on the national level and is now being recruited by high elite level programs and rightfully so! Jalen simply has an extra gear in his offensive arsenal and is explosive in attacking the rim. He is at his best in transition and loves to go “up, up, and away” and throw one down on bigger defenders. Coach Brian Field stated, “Jalen finishes well above the rim and is a big time athlete. He is so good off the dribble and has a really big upside.” The challenge for Jalen is to work in the off-season to get physically stronger and become as aggressive defensively as he is offensively. The sky’s the limit!
2015 NC Top 80
Jalen is blessed with tremendous speed and athleticism. He has an extra gear and can finish in transition with highflying “highlight” dunks. In addition, Jalen is fearless in attacking the rim and has little to no problem getting into the teeth of the defense. While Jalen prefers slashing to the rim for the majority of his points, he has improved his perimeter skills. The next step in his development is to become more consistent with his jumper, which will quickly elevate his stock to a higher level. Jalen has the physical intangibles to become an elite level PG at the next level.
Harris is the second commitment in Buffalo’s 2016 class; he joins fellow North Carolinian Quate McKinzie. This follows last year’s class where Buffalo brought in three recruits, shooting guard CJ Massinburg, shooting guard Nikola Rakicevic, and power forward Nick Perkins.