Harris talks Duke, recruitment
Big-time shooting wing, Darren Harris, from Paul VI in Fairfax, Va., holds a Duke offer. His father spoke with Bull City Hoops.
Paul VI in Fairfax, Va., is a program that produces a ton of Division I basketball talent. The esteemed private school just west of the DC Beltway has two players, in fact, that played in Durham this past season for the Duke Blue Devils.
Sophomore Jeremy Roach and freshman Trevor Keels both came from the school. And there’s another young wing at Paul VI that is drawing elite attention. His name is Darren Harris, and the 6-foot-6 wing is coveted for his pure jumper, ability to score points and being a well-rounded winner.
His father, Kevin Harris, spoke to Bull City Hoops about his son’s journey.
A former high school coach himself, Harris sees the tremendous value that his son would bring to any college program.
“I think the combination of basketball IQ and Darren’s ability to consistently make shots from deep make him appealing to coaches at the next level,” he said.
The rangy wing has already been down to Duke for two visits so he’s seen a full scope of what Jon Scheyer and the support staff can offer him. Plus, he’s experienced the magic that is Cameron Indoor Stadium.
“The energy at Cameron and on campus on game day was very high,” he recalled. “It’s also important to get a great education as well, which obviously Duke has to offer. Darren liked the family atmosphere and how welcoming everyone was to us while we were down there.”
“Coach Scheyer talks about Darren making winning plays and impacting the game in ways other than just shooting.” - Kevin Harris
Duke recruited Harris initially with some passion and now they’ve fully offered him. The 34-year-old coach made it official on the Harris’ family’s second visit.
“The coaching staff has been great, Coach Scheyer initially reached out and we went down to Cameron for two games this season,” he said. “The second of which, the FSU game, was when Coach Scheyer offered Darren.”
We prompted Harris additionally for more of his thoughts on the Duke program. And most importantly how Scheyer envisions Harris in the Duke offense, should they be fortunate enough to land him.
“Coach Scheyer talks about Darren making winning plays and impacting the game in ways other than just shooting,” he noted. “They are unable to reach out directly to Darren until June 15th. Trevor Keels has been a tremendous resource on Duke for Darren too.”
As the first season for Scheyer approaches, the family is excited and eager to see how big wings and shooters fit into the scheme under the first year head coach. Needless to say, the Harris camp will be watching closely.
“We are looking forward to watching how Coach Scheyer runs his program, and how he incorporates players with similar skill sets.”
Harris has many other offers as well, including Villanova, Maryland, Georgetown, George Mason — all of which he has visited already.
nice to see Keels is involved