He is a great player, getting better, and one of our best long range shooters ever. I had the very fine pleasure of meeting him after practice in S. Florida last winter and found him to be an equally fine young gentleman and one of the single most enthusiastic people I have ever met on a StJ team. Enjoy him while we can. There will rarely be another one as upbeat as he in future. He's a special player. If anyone, he reminds me of Matt Brust when it comes to confidence and guts; he didn't get those scars while dancing.
He is one of our best shooters in a long time. Even so, our best shooter ever, Mullin, would often pass up an open 20 foot shot if a teammate was open for a better shot. Artest would do the same. Those attributes are what creates a great team, guys who will cut, flash, bust their butts to fill lanes on the break. When a guy is pulling up from beyond the arc on a break, and firing at will in a set offense, guys start to stand around because they begin to know they probably won't get the ball if open.
Right now, Harrison is a great talent, a tough kid who can shoot the ball, and has the knack of getting off tough shots off the dribble.
I'd offer you this question: If you think he is a great player, do you think the team is developing right now as a cohesive unit? I don't.
The problem with your sentiments is your making it seem like its his fault the team isn't developing. The rest of the team has flaws. Stevie Wonder can see that. So props to Harrison for not continuing to put the square peg into the circle hole by trying to involve these severely flawed offensive players.
You know, besides being older, I am old school. I love textbook basketball - it's beautiful when executed well. After the thread about Maravich, I started reading the biography "Pistol Pete". Maravich was all about flair, about getting the crowd on its feet with astounding shots and passes. Bill Bradley (written about in the bio) was a polar opposite - a great player who wasted nothing in flair and was as straight up a player as great college players ever.
Mullin would astound you by passing up an open 20 footer to pass to Jeff Allen from 8 feet, who often would blow the shot. Why? Because that's how basketball is played - you hit the open man. (Key to old Knicks success - move the ball, find the cutter , the open guy on the wing.) It's one reason Bradley started on that all-time great knick team, and Cazzier Russell came off the bench.
Harrison is not talented enough to carry the load, If he learns to cut, flash, use picks, and (gasp) set some once in a while, this will be a much better team. We are not watching a high school team, these are all D1 players. A decade ago, I doubt that Grant, Bootsie,etc would have been nearly as good is Artest wasn't such a great passer at his position. Ball movement on that team became infectious, with guys often passing up contested 6 foot shots to find the open cutter for an open layup. Beautiful basketball, really.
This team CAN become that. Any team of talented athletes can. You might even find a place for Marco if this team learns to move the ball. And that starts with Harrison.
