the recruit: K.T. Harrell

Name: K.T. Harrell
Position: SG
Hometown: Montgomery, AL
School: Brewbaker Tech Magnet
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 200

Rivals: four-stars, #17 SG, #67 overall
Scout: three-stars
ESPN: 91

This hasn't been an easy post to figure out. If there's a theme to K.T. Harrell's recruitment, it's "under the radar", a definition seemingly tailor-made for Harrell. He didn't play for his high school last year, having just transferred, so there's little recent stuff to go on but his AAU season this summer.

There's enough to go on to get the scouting services excited though. Don't get too comfortable with those rankings above. Scout's got a pretty generic three stars listed, but that's not going to last - he'll be in their top 100 in the end. Rivals calls him "super explosive." ESPN already gave him a nudge: the day he committed, he was rated a 90, and by the end of the day, he had that 91 instead. Something about going to an ACC school that makes you look a little better. I have a feeling they're not done upticking him.

Harrell makes the perfect complement to the talent we've brought in so far. Joe Harris is first and foremost a shooter, and Will Regan can shoot and post up some. Now we need a slasher, someone who can score off the dribble. Oh look: "[Harrell] is a deceptive athlete that gets into the paint at will." Also: "Harrell attacks the rim in transition as well as in the half court with great speed and quickness with the ball. He finishes through contact or with acrobatic athletic plays."

Harrell was getting all sorts of love from the SEC schools, being an Alabama native and all, but it was the ACC he really wanted. And he got it. By the time his senior year is over and the rankings get all finished up for 2010, the rest of the ACC is going to wish they'd been in on this one too.

So: the rest of the class. Harrell's commitment ends the Mychal Parker pursuit. Next up is the Trae Golden watch. If I had a basketball recruiting board, Golden would be at the top of the blue list with half a foot in the orange. The Scout article linked above says he's not going to commit anywhere any time soon, but the article also says K.T. Harrell isn't going to commit soon, either.

A couple other things you should see: first, since we're on the topic of basketball recruits, the ACC Sports Journal has a feature on Will Regan. Favorite part: “'By sixth and seventh grade, people were calling me left-handed,' Will said. 'But I was actually right-handed.'"

Second, I've been doing some Q&A's for fellow blog writers; one can be found at brand-spanking-new football-in-general blog Glory Days. You'll have to wait til all the other season previews are done to see much in the way of my extensive thoughts on our own season in this space, but these Q&A sessions are like a little sneak preview. There's another coming up next week at the ACC & SEC Blog.