Recruiting Report: Deron Harrell (2016)
When Deron Harrell made the switch from Denver Science and Tech Stapleton to Denver East last season, he joined an Angels team that was built around their senior point guard, Brian Carey. While East was a gifted group with high-rising…
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Continue ReadingWhen Deron Harrell made the switch from Denver Science and Tech Stapleton to Denver East last season, he joined an Angels team that was built around their senior point guard, Brian Carey.
While East was a gifted group with high-rising athletes at forward like Jordan Willis and Ben Potts, along with several good guards, so much of the powerhouse program’s offense was manufactured by the talents of Carey, who finished as Class 5A’s scoring champion (24.5 ppg) and assists leader (7.8 apg) and was named the Gatorade state player of the year. Denver East reached their third straight Final Four.
As a junior on that team, Harrell did his fair share of scoring with 12 double-digit performances and a 9.4 per game average. He was an explosive slasher for the Angels but, beyond anything else, Harrell’s role was to guard well and provide energy.
Now in his second season at East, his final high school campaign, Harrell can still get to the basket, rebound and defend a number of positions. But his role has changed. After averaging 7.7 shot attempts per game as a junior, Harrell has upped that average to 11.5 while not sacrificing anything in the way of efficiency. He’s shooting 52 percent this year, the exact same mark as a season ago.
On a team with three seniors who are capable of going off for scoring barrages, Harrell is the team’s leading scorer at 16.3 a night. 6-foot-8 Daytone Jennings (15.9 ppg, 10 rpg) and guard Jack Buckmelter (14.5, 4.2 rpg, 3 apg) fill out one of the state’s best trios.
Harrell has a new niche as a go-to offensive force. He applies constant pressure on defenses when he creates in transition and in half-court sets. The senior also relies on a silky mid-range shot and has improved from the free-throw and three-point lines. His wingspan benefits him defensively.
“Since I’m long I like to get out on them, get my hands up and try to get into passing lanes, get steals and get fast break points,” he said, adding that he is going to continue focusing on the development of his ball-handling skills, being able to go right more often and his three-point shot.
With only one game in single digits for scoring out of ten, the 6-foot-3 and 175-pound wing had one of his top performances at No. 2 ThunderRidge (9-1) last Saturday as he tallied 19 points and seven rebounds in a 63-59 win over the previously unbeaten Grizzlies. The No. 9 ranked Angels improved to 6-4 with their only losses coming by a combined seven points to two Final Four contenders in Legend and Cherokee Trail, along with two close losses to teams from California, one of them ranked in the top 25 nationally, in the Maui Classic in Hawaii.
For Harrell, basketball recruitment has been quiet thus far, but he’s a fantastic athlete who is taking an official visit to the University of Wisconsin on January 16 for football. As a quarterback, the senior threw for 1,347 yards, 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions. He also ran for 329 yards and three touchdowns and defensively tallied two picks.
The Badgers are interested in Harrell as a wide receiver and defensive back. He said he definitely might end up in the Big Ten for football. And yet, college hoops is still something he may want to pursue.
“I’m still keeping my options open,” the high-Division II/low-Division I prospect said. “If I get a good basketball offer, I still might play basketball.”
Senior season football highlights