NEW YORK — Tobias Harris arrived for his commitment announcement at the ESPN Zone in midtown Manhattan in a black stretch limo.
The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior forward from Dix Hills (N.Y.) Half Hollow Hills West High School stepped out with his father, Torrel, and assumed his position on the set in a gray suit with an orange shirt.
About 30 Syracuse fans sat behind him in the restaurant and soon began to boo as he said, “I’m going to be playing my college basketball at the University of Tennessee.”
“Rough crowd,” Harris later quipped.
Harris chose the SEC school over Syracuse, West Virginia, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland and Georgia Tech. He is ranked No. 5 overall in the Class of 2010 and No. 1 among power forwards.
“I liked the family atmosphere, the campus,” he said. “It was a place I could imagine going to if I wasn’t playing basketball. I can talk to coach [Bruce] Pearl about anything.”
He added: “We really liked Syracuse and all the other schools, but at the end of the day we liked Tennessee a little more….I’m ready to try to bring them to the Final Four.”
Harris called Pearl about midnight Wednesday to inform him of the decision.
“He was just floored,” Torrel said. “He was yelling, screaming. It was like the happiest day of his life.”
Harris became the story of the summer after transforming his body through a workout program in his hometown. He was one of the top players on the summer AAU circuit and soon became the object of desire virtually every major program in the nation.
“His potential is limitless,” said New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “He’s always had a very high skill level for his size and he has a very sophisticated feel for the game.
“The only thing is he had such a coltish young body, he’s had to grow into his body. He’s done a great job of that working with a personal trainer. He’s made huge strides in terms of his agility and quickness and strength. The consequences of that is that he plays so much harder. I think he’s still growing. He’s 6-8, he may end up 6-10. I really think he can be a terrific player.”
Harris and his father made a surprise visit to Tennessee Tuesday night after taking their final visit to Georgia Tech. It was Tobias’ second visit to the SEC school, following an official visit that was the second of his seven visits. He and his father watched Pearl win his 100th game at the school.
“We went to the game and tried to be anonymous and sat way, way high in the stands,” Torrel said. “We had always liked Tennessee. When we saw the game, how they pressed fullcourt, how they run, how they play a pro offense, at that point we liked it.”
Torrel said Tobias went out to his high school Wednesday night to work out and then came home at about 10 p.m. and said: “I know the school I want to go to. I want to go to Tennessee.”
Bishop Loughlin forward JayVaughn Pinkston was set to announce Wednesday, likely for Tennessee, but then opted at the last minute to hold off, sparking speculation that Tennessee asked him to do so.
New Heights AD Kimani Young said that wasn’t the case, and that Pinkston simply wasn’t “100 percent certain.”
Harris said he would welcome the opportunity to play with Pinkston at Tennessee.
“He’s a great player,” Harris said. “That’s his decision. The more better players you have the better chance you have to win a national championship.”
(Photo courtesy AP)
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