Recruiting report: DJ Haggins (2017)
DJ Haggins is a player that likes to work hard. So while the season just ended for the 6-foot-2 rising senior, he already has goals for the offseason. “I want to develop my ball handling and make my shooting more…
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Continue ReadingDJ Haggins is a player that likes to work hard. So while the season just ended for the 6-foot-2 rising senior, he already has goals for the offseason.
“I want to develop my ball handling and make my shooting more consistent,” Haggins said. “I need to improve.”
Haggins will suit up for Euclid next season after being the leading scorer for New Day Academy as a junior. The well-traveled guard was at Lake Catholic before that, and he is happy he moved to a new school.
“It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because my coach developed me as a player a lot,” Haggins said.
Higgins is a late bloomer. He’s come along way in the last few seasons to put him at the level that he’s at.
“I didn’t start becoming good until I was about 15 years old,” Haggins said. “Before that, I was terrible. Even I will say that.”
So what changed?
“Then I started working with different coaches and changed my mindset about the game,” Haggins said. “I realized I couldn’t just work at one thing at a time. I have to work on everything.”
This season was a different one for Haggins. He came into his own as a player and became not just a contributor but one of the top players on his team. He was also a standout at the Buckeye Prep Elite 2016 Spring Showcase.
“The key for me was attacking the baseline and doing what my coach told me to do,” Haggins said. “I improved my defense and worked with my teammates to get easy buckets.”
Now that he can play at the level he hoped, he wants to take his game to the next level. Haggins wants to play in college and has interest from Shawnee State.
“I want to get more looks from colleges,” Haggins said. “I’m not really interested in JUCO because I don’t want to have to switch out schools. I want to get a scholarship.”
Playing college and professional basketball has been a long-time goal for Haggins. He’s loved the sport since he was very young.
“When I was little, my mom bought me a Little Tykes hoop, and I kept going with it,” Haggins said. “As I got older, I started watching NBA games, and I thought it was so cool. So I started going to the gym and practicing.”
Now he’s developed himself into a player willing to do anything to help his team.
“I’m a slasher who can rebound very well and play some defense,” Haggins said. “I’m also one of those guys who like to motivate his team and be a team leader.”