The signing of incoming freshman combo guard Gicarri Harris is one that had (and has) Purdue faithful amped. The son of Glenn Robinson, Harris comes out of my neck of the woods and folks, the top Atlanta-area basketball recruits are monsters.
As a senior, Harris led Grayson HS (Loganville, GA) to the school’s first ever state championship against my high school’s rival, so good for him. I liked him already.
The final additions to Purdue’s class of 2024, Harris arrives in West Lafayette with a composite 97.3 rating and was considered the eighth best prospect out of the state of Georgia. The 6’4” 185-pound combo-guard out of Grayson will have a solid opportunity to learn from the experienced guards in front of him in Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, and Harris is capable of playing both the 1 and the 2.
Now, for the homework beyond learning from his new teammates:
1. He’s shown his offensive prowess. Not to say he’s a defensive liability AT ALL, it’s just that he played with a very talented group of fellow D1-bound players in high school and was never tasked with being the one guy who does it all on both ends of the court.
To play for Matt Painter, you have to be a two-way player at guard to clock in double-digit minutes. He’s clearly very offensively capable, but that defensive role is a huge aspect for the Boilers as well. Painter doesn’t fit his puzzle pieces together to where he’ll tolerate lackluster defense because a guard can score 30 points in a game. It’s just not the team’s style.
So make sure you keep your head on a swivel in practice and learn that tenacity on defense that’s expected from a Purdue guard. Loyer and Smith have proven that they can be pests on defense.
Start there.
2. This kid is talented enough to where he’ll likely be playing backup point guard and/or shooting guard from the get-go. Harris’s handles and ability to run an offense as either the point or an off-guard will be crucial for depth, and I want to see him look crisp early.
The game moves at a different pace at this level, but he was indeed playing in the largest and most challenging region of Georgia high school basketball. I trust him to adjust quickly, but he has to make sure he’s comfortable handling the ball up the court pretty quickly given the expectations.
It sounds so rudimentary, but in practice, make sure you take care of the ball and balance that judgment of when to pass versus when to pull up and shoot versus when to drive the lane.
3. Given the chance he could play either guard position, this one is simple: off-the-ball movement and catch and shoot drills in practice will prove vital in his utility as a freshman. Shooting, in theory, is his best skill, but sometimes it takes even the best shooters a minute to adapt to having college athletes flying at them on closeouts. Purdue needs floor spacing and Harris can space the floor.
At the same time, the salad days of Zach Edey drawing a triple team while shooters stood around waiting for an opportunity to drain a wide open look are sadly over. TKR (or whoever Purdue features on the post) is a great player, but he’s not a floor distorting monster. Harris and the rest of the Purdue guards will need to return to the Boilermaker tradition of flying off screens and draining 3’s.
Overall
Harris is favored to find a place in the rotation this season, either as a shooting guard or an extra ball handler in addition to fellow freshman C.J. Cox (and Braden Smith of course). He’s coming out of a premier high school program and has played a ton of winning basketball at the high school and AAU.
If Harris takes care of his homework assignments, look for him on the court next fall.