Initial Reactions to Jermaine Harris' Commitment to URI
As the #85 player overall and the seventh-best center in ESPN's Class of 2018 recruiting, Jermaine Harris had plenty of choices to go to for his four years of college basketball. Who would've thought that a kid in the position of Jermaine Harris would pick URI over the likes of Kansas, West Virginia, Miami Fl, Xavier, South Carolina, and Maryland? All of the schools in Harris' final eight besides Southern Utah looked like heavy favorites, in comparison to URI. As an individual who has rooted for Kansas since I first started watching college basketball, even I was pleasantly surprised with Harris' choice. He not only made the correct decision but he put himself in a position to be the star of the Rhode Island MBB program for the four seasons that he resides in Kingston, RI.
Jermaine Harris gives the Rhode Island Rams a versatile center, who has the unique ability to guard the opposing team's 1-5, on any given night. Harris brings tremendous athleticism and leaping ability that will be crucial on both ends of the floor. The best news that I received from this particular commitment is that Harris acknowledges that Dan Hurley and the URI coaching staff told him that he would be utilized as a strong rebounder. While continuing to grow as a basketball player through his years, Harris can come in and contribute immediately as a freshman. If Harris is able to exhibit his rebounding prowess and strong leaping ability as a freshman, he has the potential to exceed the accomplishments of former Rhody MBB big men, Lamar Odom and Hassan Martin. Going forward, imagine Jermaine Harris working in tandem with Cyril Langevine in the frontcourt. Good luck to the other 13 Atlantic 10 MBB teams trying to score in the paint or grab a rebound. They all better pack a lunch.
The time for a slow, methodical center in modern basketball is practically extinct. With the way that winning basketball is played nowadays, Rhode Island did extremely well with securing a five man who can operate in the half court, as well as in transition.
In the future, expect many posters from Harris on all of URI's opponents.
The Upper Marlboro, Maryland native followed the path of current Rams, Michael Tertsea and Jeff Dowtin. In the future, Jermaine Harris will link up with fellow Class of 2018 recruit, Tyrese Martin, and the two players are very familiar with one another. Harris and Martin are both Under Armour All-Americans with DC Premier. When the recruiting targets of Rhody MBB became a lot clearer in recent weeks, I kept reiterating that Dan Hurley and his staff could build an "Atlantic 10 superteam". I cannot say that I was 100% sure that everything would play out just as planned. With this commitment, David Cox has played an integral part in helping University of Rhode Island men's basketball dominate the recruiting scene in the DMV area. For those fans that were worried about the future of Rhode Island MBB, worry no more.
Rhody MBB is ready to roll in 2018-2019 and the upcoming season is yet to start. Life is good to be a Rhody MBB fan nowadays!
