The Daily OrangeHarris spurns Syracuse, signs with Tennessee
By Conor Orr and Matt Ehalt
Posted: 11/20/09, 12:42 AM EST Section: Sports
NEW YORK - Tobias Harris, the No. 9 overall prospect on Scout.com, officially committed to play basketball at Tennessee Wednesday night. He announced his decision at the ESPN Zone in Times Square Thursday, just minutes before Syracuse tipped off the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer against California.
The decision for Harris comes after a long and arduous recruiting process, which began with 11 teams in contention for the 6-foot-8 versatile forward from Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) High School. After an initial round of cuts whittled the field down to seven schools - Syracuse, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and West Virginia - Harris began making a series of official visits, starting with Syracuse on Sept. 26 and ending with Georgia Tech on Monday.
Harris said each of the seven schools were in contention until he made his final decision late Wednesday night.
"It was just the coaching staff, it's a family atmosphere down there, that's the main thing," Harris said of Tennessee. "I wanted to go somewhere where, if I wasn't playing basketball at that school, I would still go there. And I thought I would go there."
Harris made the long-awaited decision in front of a raucous crowd inside the ESPN Zone restaurant, packed with more than two dozen Syracuse fans who sat directly behind Harris as he made his commitment live on ESPNU.
As an ESPN Zone employee brought Harris a cake - shaped like a Tennessee basketball jersey with his name and No. 31 on the back - patrons inside the restaurant rang out in a chorus of boos. Some Syracuse fans flocked outside the restaurant to further taunt Harris after not selecting SU.
"It's just going to happen," Harris said of the pack of Syracuse fans behind him. "Some of the best universities were recruiting me, and to say 'no,' it's hard, but I think this was the best decision for me."
The Orange received one letter of intent for the 2010 early signing period, shooting guard Dion Waiters. SU is currently awaiting letters from small forward C.J. Fair and centers Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita, all who announced verbal commitments prior to the early-signing period.
The decision for Harris comes after a long and arduous recruiting process, which began with 11 teams in contention for the 6-foot-8 versatile forward from Half Hollow Hills (N.Y.) High School. After an initial round of cuts whittled the field down to seven schools - Syracuse, Maryland, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee and West Virginia - Harris began making a series of official visits, starting with Syracuse on Sept. 26 and ending with Georgia Tech on Monday.
Harris said each of the seven schools were in contention until he made his final decision late Wednesday night.
"It was just the coaching staff, it's a family atmosphere down there, that's the main thing," Harris said of Tennessee. "I wanted to go somewhere where, if I wasn't playing basketball at that school, I would still go there. And I thought I would go there."
Harris made the long-awaited decision in front of a raucous crowd inside the ESPN Zone restaurant, packed with more than two dozen Syracuse fans who sat directly behind Harris as he made his commitment live on ESPNU.
As an ESPN Zone employee brought Harris a cake - shaped like a Tennessee basketball jersey with his name and No. 31 on the back - patrons inside the restaurant rang out in a chorus of boos. Some Syracuse fans flocked outside the restaurant to further taunt Harris after not selecting SU.
"It's just going to happen," Harris said of the pack of Syracuse fans behind him. "Some of the best universities were recruiting me, and to say 'no,' it's hard, but I think this was the best decision for me."
The Orange received one letter of intent for the 2010 early signing period, shooting guard Dion Waiters. SU is currently awaiting letters from small forward C.J. Fair and centers Fab Melo and Baye Moussa Keita, all who announced verbal commitments prior to the early-signing period.
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