Junior Guard Received Another D1 Offer from Xavier in January
NORTH EDISON, NJ—Since transferring to St. Thomas Aquinas during the summer of 2019, Jaquan Harris, a North Brunswick native, has garnered a ton of attention from all kinds of NCAA D1 schools. Currently ranked 136th nationally and 40th in his position (point guard) by Rivals, Harris received another scholarship offer from Xavier just days before the start of this hoops season.
A 2nd Team All GMC Hoops selection in 2019-20, Harris, who now has a total of 12 D1 offers, is being heavily recruited by the likes of Auburn, Seton Hall, Virginia Tech, and Creighton according to Rivals Basketball Recruiting National analyst, Bob Cassidy. Harris has also received offers from Marquette, UConn, Illinois, Rutgers, Bryant, Merrimack, and Arkansas Little-Rock according to Verbal Commits.
The last time GMC Hoops left Harris, he had just picked up 7 more D1 offers including ones from three Big East Schools: Georgetown, Seton Hall, and St. John’s. Since then, the 6’4” junior, who plays AAU hoops with Aquinas teammates Tristian Jeffries and Josh Rivera for the NY Jayhawks, has also garnered interest from West Virginia of the Big 12 Conference.
The younger brother of former Patrick School standout, Jamir Harris, who was a member of the Celtics last TOC champion team in 2016-17 with the likes of Nick Richards (Kentucky) and Jordan Walker (Seton Hall), also may have Rutgers in play since his father played football for the Scarlet Knights. Harris had followed his older brother’s footsteps to the Patrick School, where he played his freshman year before transferring to Aquinas.
Along with the likes of Quadry Adams (Wake Forest), Derrick Grant (Southern New Hampshire University), Derrick Golden (Montclair State), Jeffries, Samar Abdullah, and Jalen Harris, Harris guided the Trojans to their first GMCT Boys Championship since the 1991-92 season. St. Thomas Aquinas also won its second straight Blue Division Championship, and completed the season at 23-5 overall.
During his sophomore year at STA, Harris averaged 15.0 points, 5.4 assists, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. Harris played in 26 of his team’s 28 games in 2019-20, and made 81 two point field goals, 58 threes, and 52 foul shots for a total of 389 points according to stats compiled at NJ.com. He scored in double figures on 22 occasions, had three double-doubles, and ranked first on the Trojans in three pointers made and assists, second in total field goals made, scoring average, and steals, and was third on the team in blocked shots and free throws made.
Harris scored at least 20 points in a game four times last season including a career high 30 points in an 85-78 victory in overtime at South Plainfield on February 7th. He has a great combination of perimeter shooting and playmaking as well as a ton of athleticism that can show up at both ends of the floor. Fellow Aquinas teammates, Jeffries and Rivera have also racked up D1 offers as well.
Jeffries, who transferred to Aquinas prior to last season, had compiled 7 D1 offers as well as interest from several other schools before committing to play for Robert Morris of the Horizon League back in late August. Meanwhile, Rivera has tallied 9 D1 offers including his most recent one from Drexel University of the Colonial Athletic Association. Rivera recently reclassified to the Class of 2022. All three Aquinas players have combined for a total of 28 D1 offers.
Aquinas, which moved up to the GMC White Division along with Blue Division arch rival Carteret for the 2020-21 season, is looking to be one of the teams to beat in the Greater Middlesex Conference in 2021. The Trojans opened their season on Tuesday night, January 26th against J.F. Kennedy at home at 7:00 PM. STA also has put together a number of non-conference games including Life Center Academy, Newark Tech, St. Peter’s Prep, The Patrick School, and Montclair Immaculate.
Congratulations Jaquan, and keep up the great work.