Tobias Harris Makes It Official, Commits to Tennessee

by Ben Broman on Nov 19, 2009 6:22 PM EST in Basketball Recruiting Comment 14 comments

Well, that's that. Tobias Harris confirmed the rumors and officially verballed to Tennessee today. With it, he probably killed most Maryland fans' dreams of an elite recruiting class, and denied Maryland of their first top ten recruit in god knows how long.

First off, Tobias and his family did a pretty good job. They were very respectful of all the schools (except GT, but do they really deserve it?), and ended up being very thorough with their decision. Torrel seemed to love UMD, and I wouldn't be surprised if Maryland got very involved with Tobias' little bro, Tyler Harris. As it stands, I don't particularly understand the decision to go to Tennessee, but Tobias must've had a certain feel there - they definitely did there homework otherwise - so I won't complain about the recruitment.

Second, Maryland is now looking at an uphill battle to get to the top 15 in recruiting classes. The most likely targets are probably unknown right now, but Jon Graham is likely a target, as well as possibly getting re-involved with C.J. Leslie. Maryland seemed to drop off both those recruitments recently, but both will wait until spring, so Maryland could get back in the game. Other names to keep an eye on are Gil Biruta and Stefan Nastic, though I imagine most will come out of nowhere closer to the spring.

Don't forget, though, Maryland already has a really solid 2010 class. Even if the Terps can't pull off a big fish this year, they'll be able to field a very solid team with a possible star and day one starter in Terrence Ross. I'd rather begin focusing most efforts toward landing a big time player in 2011, and possibly 2012 (Justin Anderson, please).

The dream had to end at some point, folks.

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hes gettin paid

no way he would pick tenn, unless he;s gettin paid, he doesnt need harris, but we needed him alot more

by sunny2189 on Nov 19, 2009 6:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Come on now, of course he isn’t getting paid. Keep the sour grapes off this board. He is a great kid from a great family (Tyler Harris Terp recruit class of 2012!). He made the choice he thought was best for him.

by nmprisons on Nov 19, 2009 6:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Definitely not

No way. Has absolutely no need for money, his family’s loaded.

I agree that, from an external perspective, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, but he just liked Tennessee. No shot he was getting cash.

Remember, we still have a shot at his little bro. Let’s keep up support, huh?

by Ben Broman on Nov 19, 2009 6:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

dissapointing

but you knew it as soon he came on an you saw his shirt. He’s going to have a fun time losing in crappy city of Knoxville!!! At least we still have a very encouraging class coming in next year. Way better than anything I would of expected a year ago!

The owner of...... www.birdswatcher.com

by Michael18 on Nov 19, 2009 6:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Time for Adrian to take his game to the next level

He won’t be sharing time at the point with Tobias next year. He’ll be backed up by Terrell and maybe Terrence. Even if they can contribute, team success will be very dependent on Adrian’s performance. Let’s see how much he improves this year in assists, reducing turnovers, and running Gary’s offense. He has the athletic ability but he hasn’t shown yet that has to found his own way to lead.

by wmterp on Nov 19, 2009 7:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

yea sorry my bad

i was hoping really bad, he’s a good kid, but i don’t see tennessee as a good fit and he will probably be a one and done

by sunny2189 on Nov 19, 2009 7:21 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Tennessee Basketball

Hey guys, I’m a visitor to this blog, so I’m not going to come here and talk trash. However, I would like to state a few FACTS about Tennessee basketball. While Tennessee certainly does not have the fine history of Maryland, it is clearly a program on the rise. Since the arrival of Bruce Pearl 4 years ago the Vols have: 1) Won 2 outright SEC titles; 2) Finished ahead of Kentucky all 4 years; 3) had 2 trips to the Sweet Sixteen; 4) play in a beautiful 20,000+ seat arena; 5) have finished in the top 5 in attendance nationally 4 consecutive years, including #4 last year; 6) have averaged 25 wins per year in each of Pearl’s 4 years; 7) have finished higher in the national rankings than Maryland each of the last 4 years. And now for an opinion: The Vols will win their 3rd SEC title under Pearl, finish ranked in the top 10, and for the first time in program history, advance beyond the Sweet Sixteen.

by NashvilleDodger on Nov 19, 2009 7:36 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for that. Hopefully you will advance far enough in the tournament this year to play Maryland. We look forward to it.

by nmprisons on Nov 19, 2009 7:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I dont put much stock in a Top whatever recruiting class

The one time Gary did bring in a class (2003) like that they stunk up the place and I couldn’t wait for them to leave. Gary is such a hard ass that it puts off the top players whose egos are through the roof. I’ll take a Jordan Williams whos gonna stay four years and produce over this kid any day.

Also who got the Tenn fanboy all riled up?

by ccrun1800 on Nov 19, 2009 8:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree with you 100% about recruiting class rankings. I’m kindof inclined to forgo the spring drama and not waste time “re-pursuing” Leslie or chasing another headcase like Stephenson last year. Unless there’s a pure PG out there that appears out of nowhere, I say we stash the schollie for next year.

To be fair to the TN fans, I’ve seen a lot of unnecessary trash talk (not just here but other places) about how poor their program is and what could Harris possibly see there, etc, etc. I mean, yes, Pearl is arrogant and unlikable from an outsider perspective, but he seems to at least be relatively clean and the results have been there for him. And TN is a great school for athletics overall, with great fan support.

by jellisjenius on Nov 19, 2009 8:12 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

To me, TN's weirdness isn't as much about Pearl + lack of athletic support

Tennessee is a top 5 school in the country for athletic support, no doubt, but football still rules the roost and it’s still in a football part of the country and a football conference. It’s in a comparatively small media market, and they’re losing 4 starters next year, meaning their ability to make a deep run is definitely weakened even with Tobias. They also have absolutely no track record for placing talented guys in the NBA. With his choices it was pretty much impossible to make a bad decision, but I don’t really see the pluses I see at other schools.

Of course, it’s a personal choice – if he felt like everything was right at Tennessee and he’ll be happy there, by all means he made the right choice. I don’t think people are dumping on TN as a program or Tobias for picking it, but it is a bit odd.

by Ben Broman on Nov 19, 2009 8:27 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I hear ya, but...

take a look at Florida. Before the 2 national basketball championships, they were pretty much looked at as a football school as well, even though they had decent success in the previous 10 years or so. As much as I hated to see him commit to Tennessee last night, I can see why he chose them due to the reasons given above by Nashville Dodger. Also, I think he sees the fact that Tennessee is losing starters (just like Maryland is losing 3) is a huge opportunity for him to show his talent. Lastly, with regards to the media comment of Tennessee not getting much exposure, I have to respectfully disagree. I think that all major basketball programs get just as much exposure. Take a look at Memphis. They are close to Tenn, in a weaker conference, and have probably received the most media exposure (both good and mostly bad) in the past 3 years or so. Either way, I am very happy with how hard MD recruited Harris, and I can’t wait to see what our future recruiting classes are going to be (assuming we continue to hit the market hard). Go Terps!

by Terps2K6 on Nov 20, 2009 9:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

well

You are right. UT only has 1 player in the NBA right now, CJ Watson, a back up point guard at Golden State. But to be fair… Bruce Pearl’s very first recruiting class at UT are just now seniors. Tyler Smith is looking like a 1st rounder… Wayne Chism may get drafted, and Scotty Hopson who is a sophomore will get drafted when he decides to go.

What’s attractive about Tennessee basketball doesn’t lie in the past. As for Harris, his playing style is perfect for the system Pearl runs. A very mobile power forward who will get to handle the ball a lot. But honestly, when you are choosing between the top programs on his list, a lot just comes down to the relationship w the coaches…

by golfballs03 on Nov 20, 2009 1:55 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ben, I agree

For the reasons you give, I thought all along that his best fit was either Maryland or Syracuse. However, he seems to be a thoughtful person who has made the effort to find the best fit for him. Our loss is Tennessee’s gain. So be it.

by wmterp on Nov 19, 2009 9:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs