Jalen Harris '21

[LCPolo18]

Jalen Harris has committed to Georgetown.
6’2” Point Guard graduate transfer from Arkansas.

http://instagram.com/p/B-gIU0-hC4j

[Deleted]

Yowza

Welcome Jalen!

[LCPolo18]

arkansasrazorbacks.com/roster/jalen-harris/

Not much of a three point shooter, but his assist to turnover ratio has a lot of potential.

[LCPolo18]

[s4hoyas]

Sounds good to me...welcome to the Hoya family, Jalen!...BTW, your boy is really cute...bound to be a player...

[mdtd]

I decided to go onto the College basketball Reddit and ask what Arkansas fans though of Harris. I've gotten two responses so far in about 36 minutes and they seem pretty solid. Here they are:
"He improved his shooting a lot this year. He was useful when defenders played off him or key players were getting a breather it seemed to be a shooting fundamentals thing so I could see it continue to improve. His vision is pretty good but not as effective against athletic teams. I think he will thrive more in an organized offense. Anderson and to a lesser extent Musselman have a lot of pace to the play which doesn't allow for a lot of meticulous play. The only real downside is he'll try to do too much and have silly turnovers which aren't ideal for a PG, but it is not from a lack of talent or knowledge, just trying to make a play.

I don't know what Ewing's philosophy is but you've got an experienced player who's played in a very very athletic league in the SEC with a skill set more designed for the Big East imo. A good get and hopefully a good fit. Arkansas has seen a few grad transfers come in the past few years who could barely dribble the ball so if someone like Jalen transferred in I would be ecstatic and one of the only reasons he didn't play as much this year is we got an outstanding grad transfer in Jimmy Whitt."

"He is a great playmaker. He sometimes takes risks and gets burned leaving people to ask what he was thinking. He has a good shot. If he improves it he could be a threat downtown which combined with his speed could make him an elite point guard. He was close to all sec two years ago just due to his assist-turnover rate."

They both seem to hit on the same themes. A good guard who can distribute the ball and do what he's asked. He's been in the same system and has tendencies to try to force it and will make mistakes, but that will also result in buckets, which this team as of now would struggle with. He was replaced by Jimmy Whitt who you may remember from the first SMU game, never misses a mid-range jump shot. Ewing does run solid sets, and the offense is efficient, so someone like Jalen should help that and allow for it to continue. Ewing's offense seems to always be set and have a plan and not be forced or running a ton of freelance. He's played in uptempo systems and this shouldn't be much of an adjustment for him. Someone who's fast and can push the pace while having the knowledge to know when to take a risk and when not to will really help when this team may be on a drought. Ewing's offense isn't meticulous really and aside from quality SEC teams typically having a lot of length at all positions, I don't know how much the SEC and Big East differ, so take that point as you may.

His shot seemed to be contentious on this site and looking at the percentages, it's not pretty. So seeing these guys talk about his improvement and seeing how Pickett's shot looked like it was improving, I think that can be improved by the staff. He's had an improving shot and hopefully, he will continue to work on that, whenever/wherever he can. Good get. Not going to wow you or surprise you, but provides exactly what this team needed. Now, we need another scorer.

[LCPolo18]

[mdtd]

Apr 2, 2020 23:10:58 GMT -5 LCPolo18 said:

Wahab-Harris duo?!?!?!

Arkansas had a very small team last year and needed as many scorers as possible just to stay in games and compete. That did hurt Harris a lot and helped guys like Mason Jones and Isaiah Joe. The tallest kid who recorded a minute for Arkansas was 6'8" which for an SEC program going against very good big men, is not easy. Easy buckets are hard to come by without a big man. Having Wahab should really help Harris. 

[blueandgray]

Love having a PG with size and speed. He loves to look ahead and have guys flanking him on the wing. Jamarko, Jahvon and Mac should all be. Sry excited. He’s a good finisher at the rim, plays solid D and will hit you if you are open. Kid is going to play 25 plus minutes a game.

[madgesiq92]

An experienced PG that can facilitate the offense and provide leadership to a very young team was our biggest offseason need IMHO. Pretty ecstatic over this one. Welcome Jalen.

[Elvado]

Nice pick up.

A seasoned veteran who can play day one, in whatever role Coach needs, is very good news.

[daveg023]

We'll take it. Seems to fit the mold of what we said we needed in graduate transfer. Provides experience and stability at the position. This is a nice piece that if complimented by a 2-3 more pieces, will help make this roster competitive.

[AltoSaxa]

This speaks to take what you can get. He is not a shooter. We missed on the transfer market.

[bostonfan]

Glad the Hoyas are on the board with a commitment from the transfer pool. He will add an experienced, steady hand to the offense and allow the freshman to get comfortable in the college game without having to be responsible for running the offense and getting everyone involved. He does not look like he needs to get a lot of shots to be effective and I would assume his length makes him a good defender.

He is not going to add much to the offensive end, so the next additions, either high school kids or transfers, need to add some offensive punch. Overall I am happy with this pick up and think he will help the team.

[calhoya]

Wonder how this fits with McClung next year. I wanted to see McClung more in a PG role, using his ability to drive and kick or pull-up and pop. Still think that McClung is most effective with the ball in his hands.

[prhoya]

Congrats to Jalen, his family and the coaching staff!

[wolveribe]

Perfect fit for what this team needs. Cover to help the freshman PGs and more importantly defense.

[prhoya]

Several posters have mentioned his good size/length. From the sites I checked, he’s 6’2”, that’s one inch shorter than Allen and same as Mac. Looking at the roster (and counting Mac), we now have four roster players of 6’2” or less.

[Deleted]

Harris is your starter on day 1. He gives you a much higher floor, and the comfort that the position isn't going to be a total vacuum.

If Beard or D Harris (2 Harrises in 1 off-season?) steps up and takes the position away by the end of the year, even better. At least they won't be thrown into the fire from the opener.

We've now got someone capable in there to let us deal with some of our other issues (overall shooting, SF play, defense, Mac/Pickett consistency), and worry a little less about this one (basic PG play).

[tupac]

This kid can ball welcome Mr. Harris .... Check out his clips on you tube ..