Snub Lights a Fire With N.C. State Star Recruit Ryan Harrow
Words. Jason Jordan
Ryan Harrow will concede to this much: when hard work produces dominating results, extreme motivation can be hard to maintain.
“When you’re out there just killing mostly everybody you go against on the (AAU) circuit sometimes you lose your motivation,” says Harrow, a senior point guard at Walton High (Ga.). “But that feeling doesn’t last long. You always find something to let you know that you’re far from being where you want to be.”
For Harrow, that something came in early August when he learned that he hadn’t been selected to play in the Boost Mobile Elite 24 in New York.
Here Harrow had turned in one of the most dominating performances of the summer, averaging 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds a game despite it being his first full summer on the AAU circuit. Also, Harrow’s game – flashy handles, quick first step, breathtaking speed, amazing hops and uncanny vision – seemed like the perfect fit for the Elite 24, which is held at Harlem’s famed Rucker Park, the Mecca for streetball.
“I had been hearing all summer that I was made for that game,” says Harrow. “I never thought I wasn’t going to be picked. I was pretty shocked.”
The snub prompted a typical reaction.
Harrow mentally glossed over all of the accomplishments he’d had during his productive summer with the Atlanta Celtics, leading them to Final Four or title game of every tournament they played in. His play had drastically catapulted him up nearly every ranking imaginable. And after being unranked all summer on the HSH top 50, the only ranking of its kind which disregards class, Harrow jumped up to No. 27.
“Just to be ranked on y’all’s rankings was real big,” says Harrow. “I mean I’m always looking at them and I never see my name, so to finally make it let’s me know that I am definitely doing something right. It’s an honor to be one of the top players period. Not just in my class.”
Still, as is often the case with players not ranked No. 1, Harrow thinks No. 27 is too low. When asked if he thinks that he’s the top player in the HSH top 50, Harrow says, “Well other than Harrison (Barnes, who is rated No. 1) and Jared (Sullinger who is rated No. 4) I don’t see anybody else that can do what I do on the floor.”
As for point guards, Harrow answers “yes” in a quick, no-brainer tone when asked if he thinks he tops the list.
“I do everything that the point guard has to do,” says Harrow. “Take Brandon Knight. He’s a great player, but he doesn’t pass the ball. Joe Jackson is good, but he doesn’t pass. I can pass, I dribble better than both of them, I shoot better than Joe… I haven’t seen Kyrie (Irving) play so I don’t know about him, but I feel like I’m on top.”
For now, Harrow’s new focus is to get Walton, who lost in the state regionals last season, on the same level.
There were some rumors that Harrow would follow his brother Erasto Hatchett to Raleigh when Hatchett was named head coach at Word of God Academy this summer, but with a group of transfers headed to Walton just to play with Harrow, he said he “couldn’t leave them.”
“If there weren’t so many new guys coming in, I would probably be there in Raleigh,” says Harrow. “It would’ve been a good situation for me playing with C.J. Leslie and playing a national schedule. But I don’t want to leave my guys hanging down here. I want to win a state title here and carry that over when I get to N.C. State.”
Once there, Harrow will team up with combo guard Lorenzo Brown. The two will likely form the Wolfpack’s starting backcourt from day one.
Brown, who went head-to-head against Harrow while Brown was at Roswell Centennial High (Ga.), was supposed to be joining the Wolfpack this season. Instead he enrolled at Hargrave Military Academy after he came up short academically.
“All he talks about to me is how it’s gonna be when we go in at the same time,” says Harrow. “I know he’s firm in his commitment. I’m excited to get down there and play with him. That’s gonna be tough for team’s to stop.”
With a fresh motivation, courtesy of the Elite 24, stopping Harrow this season could be near impossible for the opposition.
“I’ve definitely found my motivation again,” says Harrow. “And it couldn’t have come at a better time because I’ve got my senior season. Being left off the team let me know that I’ve got a lot to prove. But I like it better this way. It keeps me hungry.”
Got a question for Jason? Email him: JasonJ@DimeMag.com
This is why Ryan Harrow will make it: http://www.courtcred.com/2009/09/all-access-with-nc-state-commit-ryan-harrow/
Awesome stuff!
This kid is special!