Wisconsin has extended another scholarship offer in an effort to complete its 2012 recruiting class. According to Scout's Brian Snow, Indianapolis (IN) Lawrence North guard Eron Harris joins Adam Woodbury in the running for the class' final open slot.
Though he's only listed at 6'3" on most sites, Harris has incredible length and schools around the country have been eyeing up his potential since his switch over to AAU powerhouse Indiana Elite. Joining the Elite squad gave Harris more exposure and he seized the opportunity. After breaking out at the adidas Invitational, Harris continued to play well at the Best Buy Summer Classic last week in Minnesota.
Greg Gard, Lamont Paris and Bo Ryan have all been involved in scouting Harris this month. As anticipated, all the attention resulted in Harris' first high-major offer (Dayton has also offered). The staff obviously likes Harris' potential as a perimeter defender with his length and quickness, believing he could form a nice 1-2 punch with Sam Dekker in the future. And Badger fans have every reason to be optimistic about that possibility.
Harris finished his junior season strong, including a 32-point output near in late February against Kentucky-bound Marquis Teague's Pike squad. Those who had seen him play at Lawrence North were predicting a big summer for Harris and they were right. Playing on a loaded travel team has allowed Harris to show off the improvements to his jump shot. As you can see below in the clip from the adidas Invitational, Harris has a pretty sweet stroke. I'll admit he appears to have a low release point, or at least starts his shot farther in front of his body than most. But the fact that he turned a previous weakness into a strength is good enough for me.
Now Harris' plan is to work on his ballhandling and decision-making, as he is still turnover-prone at times. Highlight reels from his high school season exhibit speed in the open floor and the instincts to make the right pass in traffic.
See Harris' prospect profile page for more videos and links.
The Badgers could be on the brink of closing out the 2012 class. Woodbury is a hotter commodity that will need more time to decide, but all indications are that Harris has a strong preference for Wisconsin's program. He recently implored his Twitter followers to check out Bo's Soulja Boy video and has been quoted saying it's been "a dream to play in the Big Ten." After a string of highly-rated prospects who received Badger offers, Harris' recruitment also returns to the traditional Bo Ryan mold of identifying under-the-radar players and pouncing early.