Recruiting Report: DJ Harrell (2019)
How has East Tech — a team who went 17-6 a year ago and doesn’t have a player in their rotation over 6’3” — raced out to a 10-0 start this season? It starts with the talent, leadership, and production of…
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Continue ReadingHow has East Tech — a team who went 17-6 a year ago and doesn’t have a player in their rotation over 6’3” — raced out to a 10-0 start this season? It starts with the talent, leadership, and production of 6’0” combo guard DJ Harrell (2019).
Harrell’s ability to score and make plays for others stabilizes their offensive attack. He also shows leadership, including being humble enough to shell out credit to the entire team when we spoke with him Thursday.
“The difference between this season and last season is that we didn’t have a lot of people who were dedicated,” Harrell said. “Everyone didn’t put in work last season, so that was our downfall. Then, we had a lot of egos that we had to deal with.”
Harrell represented himself selflessly throughout our entire conversation, but we were able to pull out some thoughts on his personal contribution.
“As a captain on the team, I take responsibility for everybody,” he said. “My strengths would be my leadership skills, my athleticism, and I take the right shots. And I get my teammates involved.”
Harrell’s self-critique was of his outside shooting, a part of his game he is hoping to build confidence and consistency with going forward. His game, however, is rather well-rounded. He can defend multiples positions with his quickness and strong frame, which makes him especially good against the drive. Harrell thrives on that end.
He can also play either guard spot. Harrell is a smart drive-and-kick guy from the wing. In their five-guard lineups, he’s been a terrifying playmaker with their floor space. As he mentioned, too, he’s a terrific decision-maker with the ball.
Harrell — who carries a 3.1 GPA and ACT score of 16 — is being looked at closely by Bethany College, Westminster, and Baldwin Wallace. East Tech’s coach has also recently reached out to Tiffin on Harrell’s behalf.
Although the Dragons are the only D-II program on this list, we think he could become a standout contributor at that level.
At this time, though, Bethany and Westminster are the two programs who have hosted Harrell for campus visits.
“[Bethany’s] coach contacts me a lot. I went on an official visit already,” he said.
His relationship is further along with them than any other program, but Harrell will hold-off on making any decisions until after the high school season.
In terms of his criteria for a decision, it’s pretty simple: playing time.
“When choosing my school, I just want go to a school that I’m going to play at and I’m going to fit right in,” Harrell stated.
In the meantime, East Tech is working hard during their midseason break that started Dec. 30 and ends Jan. 11, when they play Lincoln West.
“I feel like all we can do is get better from here,” Harrell said.