Harrison Smith leaving - ship issue solved?
by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on Jun 23, 2009 11:49 PM CDT
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PrintAccording to the Statesman, Harrison Smith is leaving to play for another school.
Here's the scoop.
So this brings up a couple of questions:
1. Will we miss Harrison? He hasn't contributed much overall, but was starting to come on with a few decent performances late last year. He pulled the trigger a bit too often for my taste, though, with some questionable shot selection.
2. Will this solve the scholarship issue? By Harrison leaving, Damion James now will retain his spot with no problem. If J'Covan Brown actually qualifies (as his dad claims, but the clearinghouse hasn't said so yet), Texas will be +1. Word has it that the transfer knew when he signed up that he may not get a scholarship the first year.
Any insights? I'm so very excited about this team.
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One other question ...
If Smith played as a junior last season, can he transfer and still play another year elsewhere? Does he sit out a year and play as a fifth-year senior? Not sure how that works … earlier this month I suggested he leave and was told that he wouldn’t since he was going to be a senior.
Watch out, I bite.
by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on Jun 23, 2009 11:54 PM CDT reply actions
The way it works is that players have five years to use their four years of eligibility.
Since Smith never redshirted, he can transfer, sit out a year, and still play a season.
As for the question about missing him, no, the Longhorns won’t miss him a bit. He played last year in an attempt to get more shooting on the floor, which he never really provided, and this year’s team will have much more outside shooting. When guys like Justin Mason will have trouble seeing the court, it’s safe to say that losing Smith won’t have an impact.
The Longhorns are still going to be one over the limit if J’Covan Brown is finally cleared and there are rumors that he has been and is currently on campus. There could be another transfer (likely one of the bigs), or, as has been discussed here before, a player like Jai Lucas could pay his own way, as his father can afford it. When Rick Barnes has talked about it recently, he doesn’t sound concerned, so he probably knows something that hasn’t been made public yet.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jun 24, 2009 12:04 AM CDT up reply actions
Thanks for the clarification on eligibility
As to Lucas, there was a blog mention in the Statesman. During his recruitment, apparently his dad was agreeable to picking up the tab for a year, if needed. If anyone would understand the difficulties of funding everyone’s ship, it would be a coach/former player.
Watch out, I bite.
by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on Jun 24, 2009 10:27 AM CDT up reply actions
Rumor has it ....
that Smith will go to a Div.II school and if so he will be able to play there next year. SFA was the school mentioned in the rumor.
by TCB Orange Dino on Jun 24, 2009 12:28 AM CDT reply actions
First off,
SFA is not a Division II school (even in football, where it’s I-AA) . . . Lumberjacks are Div. I in hoops and were in the tournament this year after winning the Southland Conf. tournament. He could go to a Div. II school (A&M-Kingsville, for ex.) and play next year. Hope he has a good senior season.
And I hope Rick Barnes can find enough minutes for the talented players he’ll have this season.
A few things
Yall knew this post was coming:
1.) I for one will miss Harrison. Granted, dude wasnt that good here but he did give this program time and effort. My guess is that he could easily start at a school like Florida Atlantic or UTEP.
2.) Like I said, Clint Chapman is the only one else who I have heard expressing interest in transferring, citing playing time as a big factor. I only hope that either Chapman/Balbay/Mason/or Hill leaves, therefore increasing the team FG percentage by 29%, lol
3.) I think people underestimated HS. He wasnt the best shooter, but dude could dribble and come off screens very well, and held his own defensively all season. I always thought he was an upgrade over Mason this year and will be sad to see him go.Good luck Harrison!
Here comes BillyZane and rBr talking crap, rather than stating the facts about the situation
by greenspointexas on Jun 24, 2009 1:41 AM CDT reply actions
Since you brought it up
The guy was an elite screen comer-offer. Pick and roll, UCLA cut, down screen, whatever it took he would come off that screen like he was giving it the business.
I miss all Longhorns when they leave. Even this guy.
Here comes BillyZane and rBr talking crap, rather than stating the facts about the situation
Regarding this, the problem is we always state the facts, the issue is your inability to process and understand them. Not my problem.
"From the waist down, Earl Campbell has the biggest legs I have ever seen on a running back." -John Madden
by run Bevo run on Jun 24, 2009 7:18 AM CDT up reply actions
Gotta say, bud,
I think you’re off base here. Harrison provided a couple of timely 3’s and several hustle plays last year, but that’s really about it. Your comment that he “held his own defensively all season” is laughable. His primary role was as Barnes’ motivational tool, i.e., “if you don’t want to hustle, I’ll play Harrison, because at least he’ll try”.
That being said, here’s to wishing Harrison the best of luck, wherever he goes, and in all his future endeavors. He always seemed (from afar, granted) to be a stand up kid, and his effort was never in question.
Harrison’s defense was down right abysmal, giving up just as many points as he ever scored.
His D was the reason he didn’t see the floor more.
I’m sad to see a kid go after giving 3 years to our program, even if his contributions weren’t on the court, its hard to measure all that he has helped with in practice and off of it.
But any claims to his D on the court being worth anything is a down right fabrication. He was a liability on D, plain and simple.
by BoddickerIsClutch on Jun 24, 2009 9:45 AM CDT up reply actions
I agree dont get me wrong.
My original statement comes off kind of harsh, above all I’m sad to see someone give us three years and we basically give him the door. I hope he lands in a good situation for him to shine.
by BoddickerIsClutch on Jun 24, 2009 11:09 AM CDT up reply actions
"and another baby bird is pushed from the back of the nest"
good luck to Harrison
by the other Andrew on Jun 24, 2009 8:08 AM CDT reply actions
Very Surprised
I never thought Smith was a transfer candidate and have said so on BON multiple times. I am very suprised that he would transfer with just one year of eligibility remaining.
He hasn’t played much, if at all, the first three seasons and wouldn’t have played at all next season. I wonder why he would wait until now to transfer? If he really wanted to get minutes, he could have easily transfered this time last year or even the year before.
That said, Harrison deserves our respect and best wishes. He worked his ass off for three seasons. Good luck, Harrison, wherever you land.
--AW--
I will miss him
He was always an afterthought in that recruiting class, and understandably so, but Todd Wright had nothing but good things to say about this guy in every interview. He always stated that every good team needs a guy like Harrison Smith in the locker room, which is where he will be missed more than on the floor. Hopefully the incoming freshman have the same attitude and work ethic HS did. I wish nothing but the best for him.
+1
Great observations. Even if he didn’t contribute much on the court, Harrison clearly hustled. He had a good attitude and a great smile. I’m sure that translated into positives for his teammates.
Good luck, Harrison!
Watch out, I bite.
by EddieTheAlbinoSquirrel on Jun 24, 2009 10:28 AM CDT up reply actions
Rivals actually had him ranked as a 4 star and top 100, around Mason’s and ahead of Hill’s and Dex’s ranking. He was of course behind KD, DJ and Damion. What a class that was. He had offers from Connecticut, Florida and Oklahoma.
http://texas.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1428
http://texas.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=30755&Sport=2
Amazing how everyone completely missed on him.
I don’t know what happened. All I can guess is that, somehow, in high school his complete and utter lack of lateral quickness was never exposed defensively and he took a high enough volume of shots to look like a solid shooter. Strange.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jun 28, 2009 1:30 PM CDT up reply actions
Good luck Harrison
he gave us some quality minutes last season, hopefully he’ll find a place where he can get some more PT (and continue his education).
At any rate, this team is going to be awesome next season!
Some thoughts on Smith and the J'Covan Brown situation
I agree with those above regarding what Smith brought to the team. He was the guy who everyone on the bench and everyone in the arena would root for with enthusiasm when he made one of his rare appearances on the court. I think attitude certainly helped team chemistry. But make no bones about it, from a basketball standpoint, he was easily the least valuable player on the team. I always thought highly of him and hope he finds some team where he can be more of an on-court contributor.
As for J’Covan Brown, I am not at all convinced that this guy is eligible or that he will still have a spot on the team if he becomes eligible. I have heard Rick Barnes talk about the team and scholarships and players on campus this summer a couple of times in the past week or two, and not once has the name J’Covan Brown ever come up. And I don’t think it’s just a clearinghouse issue.
Barnes was asked about “newcomers” for next season on Craig Way’s show last week, and he said that Shawn Williams was already on campus and enrolled in summer school, but Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton had not (as of then) gotten their final transcripts through the clearinghouse yet, so they weren’t allowed to enroll on scholarship or practice with the team yet. One would think that if Brown were in the picture at all, Barnes would have included him in the discussion as either being on campus already like Williams or waiting for clearinghouse approval like Bradley and Hamilton. So I’m just not buying that it’s anywhere close to being a done deal with him, and it may already be too late in Barnes’s mind.
Normally I would agree with you Brown, but this is basketball...
As others have noted, I think the fact that Brown hasn’t moved on and Barnes hasn’t clearly shown him the hand makes it unlikely he is out of the picture. Brown has already lost a year and he could have already gone to a lower division school or even more easily moved into pro-ball but he and Barnes seem to be sticking it out. While he might not have been a five star guy, I am sure lesser talents have moved directly to Europe or Israel to get a paycheck when their grades kept them from playing college ball.
I wish Barnes would clear the air just so we know the situation, but I guess it will all resolve itself in the coming months.
Am I missing something here?
Do we want J’Covan Brown? I feel like Texas’ basketball program is moving toward consistently recruiting top notch one and done players. I don’t see a spot for him even if there is a scholarship available. Is he a diamond in the rough and I am just out of the loop?
by Make em' eat Chet! on Jun 24, 2009 1:14 PM CDT up reply actions
I think if there wasn't, Rick Barnes would have told him so.
Playing time could be hard to come by, but Brown can really score the basketball, a talent that every team needs. Even programs that can consistently recruit one and done players need “program” players, guys who will stay in the program and help provide continuity, guys like Royal Ivey.
by Wescott Eberts (GoBR) on Jun 24, 2009 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions
He was #54 in the country according to Rivals
He was a 4 star and easily the diamond of the 2008 class (Ok, Ward was the only other commit, but he was a 3 star guy).
J'Covan Brown
This team is loaded and deep, playing time will be an issue. Will a guy kicked off his high school team for a bad temper who cannot make the grade (minimum as they are ) be the right guy relative to team chemistry.
Good luck to Harrison..
Tip of the hat to Harrison
He could have left last year, and probably should have, but he stayed on and made a contribution to the team. I hope he is lights-out at SFA.
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. If they get mad, you're a mile away AND you have their shoes.
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