FC: great article about Fr. Basketball forward John Harrar
- Thread starter Ranger Dan
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I say get him out there at TE next fall and by mid-January Chambers canl have him again.
6' 9" and it says he's a guard? What am I missing? He' got to be a forward or center or he's the next Magic Johnson.
I missed the part where they said he was a guard... he's a stretch 4, all day long.
Yep, mistakes like that make the author look uninformed.....
He looks like a rebounding machine to me. Just what last year's team lacked. And maybe he can be a good sized defensive stopper as well, given time, another ingredient PSU has been missing.....
Word is that he is, in fact, diving for loose balls and pursuing every rebound. The biggest factor in defense and rebounding is will, not skill. If he continues to work like this during real games, and not just practice and exhibition games, then he will likely motivate others to do the same. Could be a real impact even if he doesn't play a ton of minutes compared to Watkins/Stevens.
This. Thats why Dennis Rodman and Wes Unseld were great rebounders...will.
There is 8-10 minutes per game to be had the 4 spot. When Stevens sits down, who comes in. Pat either goes super small with a 4 guard line-up which in the Big Ten has not worked as they killed on the boards. Or they have to go twin towers with Watkins and Moore/Pierce in at the same time. So if Harrar can play acceptable defense, rebound, and hit an open mid range jump shot on a drive and kick, those minutes are his.
I agree will and aggressiveness, along with basic positioning and anticipation, make great rebounders. but it also helps if a college player is 6'9" and built like a TE....
Agressiveness, positioning, and anticipation all fall under the "will" umbrella... guys can be great rebounders at less than 6' 9" as well. Being tall, strong, and athletic sure doesn't hurt though.
Imagine the improvement that Watkins will have the chance to achieve, playing against another athletic-ish (lets not make him the second coming of Kevin McHale just yet) big man in practice every day. Harrar will also improve his skills by playing against Watkins. As we've seen in football, it's not enough to have just a first team worth of talented players, you need talented second and third team guys to challenge and push the starters.
Yeah, that certainly was a great article. And John sounds like a super kid. I'm happy he's with us, and love the part in the article about John being a diamond in the rough. It sounds like a good get for our team.
I can't wait for the Brooklyn tournament in a couple of weeks. I'll be at the game; my daughter lives a 5 minute walk from the Barclay Center.
I can't wait for the Brooklyn tournament in a couple of weeks. I'll be at the game; my daughter lives a 5 minute walk from the Barclay Center.
Sure do need depth to get going in the NCAA. I'm not convinced we have a good enough first team, let alone depth. On paper, the recruiting peaked with Carr's class....
Watkins is talented, but he's not the second coming of Kevin McHale either. If Harrar is to be effective coming off the bench, he does not need to be second coming of Kevin McHale. Just an average big ten power forward rebounder and defender. Something PSU has lacked for a long time.
You are underestimating Mike Watkins. He is going to be all big ten before he’s done at Penn State and will get a shot at playing in the NBA. His offensive game isn’t advanced now, but his defense and rebounding are very good and will get better once he learns how to avoid foul trouble.
Harrar, I think, doesn’t have as high of a top end, but has the chance to bring a lot of the intangibles that good teams need to win. I think of those pesky Iowa forwards, who always seemed to get a loose ball, hit an open 15 footer, and be in the right place for a offensive outback or draw a charge.
No I'm not. He has a great chance to be the best big man to ever play at PSU. But he's not yet. And even being all big ten, a tall order for a PSU big man, would not make him second coming of Kevin McHale .
I'm reserving judgement of Harrar until I actually see him play some games. Like a seasons worth of B10 games, where he actually gets some significant minutes. Lots of players get hype, get good practice reports,.... and never make an impact.
From BSD:
2. John Harrar played significantly more than Trent Buttrick
Jamari Wheeler will likely be the freshmen with the most playing time this year thanks to his ball-handling skills and Penn State’s need for a backup point guard. What we learned over the weekend is that Harrar appears to be ahead of fellow freshman forward Buttrick on the depth chart. While Buttrick has been praised by Chambers for his shooting, Harrar dominated the playing time over the weekend with a total of 27 minutes compared to Buttrick’s five. Harrar also made a small impact on the box score with eight points and six rebounds. As Chambers explained after the Bloomsburg game, though, Harrar’s value has a lot to do with intangibles.
John is an energy guy, and he plays hard. He has no ego, and he’s just going to go out there and compete. He doesn’t even need to touch the ball, but the guys love him. They’re going to give him the ball. He got up-and-down, did a nice job on the defensive end, he sets amazing screens, but just his juice, his energy, his love and passion for the game. It’s going to be hard to keep him on the bench.
Harrar seems to be that blue-collar type of player that Chambers loves, so it will be interesting to see how much of the court he sees in the regular season opener against Campbell.
2. John Harrar played significantly more than Trent Buttrick
Jamari Wheeler will likely be the freshmen with the most playing time this year thanks to his ball-handling skills and Penn State’s need for a backup point guard. What we learned over the weekend is that Harrar appears to be ahead of fellow freshman forward Buttrick on the depth chart. While Buttrick has been praised by Chambers for his shooting, Harrar dominated the playing time over the weekend with a total of 27 minutes compared to Buttrick’s five. Harrar also made a small impact on the box score with eight points and six rebounds. As Chambers explained after the Bloomsburg game, though, Harrar’s value has a lot to do with intangibles.
John is an energy guy, and he plays hard. He has no ego, and he’s just going to go out there and compete. He doesn’t even need to touch the ball, but the guys love him. They’re going to give him the ball. He got up-and-down, did a nice job on the defensive end, he sets amazing screens, but just his juice, his energy, his love and passion for the game. It’s going to be hard to keep him on the bench.
Harrar seems to be that blue-collar type of player that Chambers loves, so it will be interesting to see how much of the court he sees in the regular season opener against Campbell.
