Harris Hoopla Heating Up

The Boiling Point: Hamilton Southeastern and 2012 recruit Gary Harris, who is ranked No. 24 nationally, is being heavily recruited by several schools, including Purdue.

With the high school basketball seasons complete and summer AAU ball creeping up, talk surrounding big-time 2012 recruit Gary Harris is gearing up.

Harris is a 6-foot-4 guard from Hamilton Southeastern in Fishers, Ind., and is ranked No. 24 nationally by Rivals.com. He’s also thought by some to be the state’s best player in a star-studded 2012 group. He has not verbally committed anywhere and still has a host of schools in the hunt for him, including Purdue. According to Rivals.com, Purdue, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan State, Ohio State and Xavier top his list.

Looking at the recruiting landscape, it would seem that IU is a longshot because its already bursting at the seams with commits. For example, without Harris in the picture, the Hoosiers have 15 players slates for the 2012-13 season with just 13 scholarships. With Harris, they would need to cut three guys from the picture. Purdue, meanwhile, already has 13 scholarships set for 2012, but could add Harris to the mix as an oversign, just as Purdue coach Matt Painter did with Donnie Hale last year. Indiana has done that with several guys, too.

In the case of an oversign, Purdue can make room for him on the roster with a transfer, another recruit not making it to Purdue or someone leaving school early. In Hale’s case, none of that happened and he was forced to prep school for a year and will start in West Lafayette in the fall.

Harris’ mother was an All-American at Purdue back in the day, but it’s unlikely that will help Purdue in landing the four-star recruit.

At this point, it’s anyone’s guess where Harris will end up, but Purdue is certainly in the picture and he could be a huge addition to its class that already has Raphael Davis, Kyle Molock and Jay Simpson. Harris has not said when he expects to make a decision.