Two players out of Queens who are drawing a lot of attention this summer are Omar Calhoun and Maurice Harkless.
Calhoun is a 6-foot-4 sophomore guard out of Christ the King High School who plays for the Gauchos AAU program (at right in the picture courtesy RealScout.net).
Calhoun averaged about 29 points per game to help the Gauchos 15U team reach the Final Four of the AAU Supershowcase in Orlando.
His team also won the Gold bracket championship at the King James Classic in Ohio. And Calhoun made the all-tournament team at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions.
Last December, he dropped a school-record 44 points in a 73-70 loss to Xaverian. That total eclipsed the previous records of 42 by Erving Walker ( Florida) and Omar Cook, who went to St. John’s and played in the NBA.
“He’s getting a lot of college interest,” said Omar Calhoun Sr. “Villanova and St. John’s have offered. He has interest from Maryland, Pittsburgh, Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Indiana and Rutgers.”
Omar Sr. said his son also carries a 93 average in the classroom.
Another player to watch is Harkless, a 6-7 junior wing out of Forest Hills High in Queens who was selected to the Hoop Group Elite camp’s Top 20 All-Star Game.
Nathan Blue, coach of NY Elite, says Harkless has offers or interest from Arizona, UConn, St. John’s, Rutgers, West Virginia, Florida State, Seton Hall, Duquense, Temple, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Manhattan, Hofstra, Binghamton, St. Peter’s, Rhode Island, Norfolk State, and UMass.
“Harkless will be a similar small forward as Devin Ebanks, Trevor Ariza or Stanley Robinson,” Blue wrote in an email. “Playing mostly under the basket in his high school season, Harkless will handle the ball a lot more this season.
“He’s one of the better small forwards in the country at his position. I don’t see anyone other than Michael Gilchrist, Angel Nunez and Kentavious Caldwell, with the same potential after high school.”
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(Photos Daily News & courtesy RealScout.net)
