Spring Break
The Daily OrangeTHE MISSING LINK: Top recruit Harris highlights elite team with SU recruits Waiters, Fair
By Conor Orr
Posted: 10/15/09, 3:06 AM EST Section: Sports
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"We're just telling him how good we could be if we can get him," said Waiters, a star shooting guard from Life Center Academy in Philadelphia, who committed to play for Syracuse with the Class of 2010.
"Like that's all we need."
The sales pitches are getting easier by the game. Waiters, Harris and fellow Orange commit C.J. Fair are all part of the Unique All-Stars, a top-flight team in the elite Nike iS8 fall classic. The team is attempting to recruit another SU commit, center Fab Melo, for the playoffs, which begin Oct. 23 in New York.
The Unique All-Stars allow the current Orange commits to play with Harris, a coveted recruit who has narrowed his college selection to seven schools - including Syracuse. Coached by Harris' father, the team gives Harris a unique preview into a future with the Orange, something that he won't get with any of the other six Division I programs knocking at his door.
"We're all real cool and easy to get along with," Fair said of SU's current Class of 2010. "I talked to (Harris) the other day and to have him up here would just put us on the top."
For Waiters, the decision was easy. He committed to Syracuse before playing a minute of high school basketball. And as he watches his recruiting class grow around him, he knows adding Harris would make the trip he's waited more than four years for all the better.
"We need that one piece right there and we're going to be good," Waiters said.
Throughout the team's opening round play, the Unique All-Stars coasted to a 4-0 record, earning them a berth in the playoffs. And the prospects of taking home the crown may look even sweeter, as Harris and his father are in talks with Melo to join the team for their playoff roster.
After meeting Harris at a Top 100 NBA camp in Charlottesville, Va., Melo joined Waiters in his efforts to convince Harris to commit to Syracuse. Adam Ross, Melo's coach at the Sagemont (Fla.) School, said that Melo and Harris are in communication regularly.
Ross said Melo's appearance in the iS8 tournament next weekend is contingent upon him completing his schoolwork. But he admitted that having those four prospects on the court together is reason for anticipation.
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