Philadelphia forward commits to Penn

If there was ever a day for Penn basketball recruit Xavier Harris to take a trip to Penn, Saturday was it.

On his official visit to campus, Harris, a 6-foot-5 power forward from Philadelphia’s own Constitution High School, met with coaches, toured Huntsman Hall and — most importantly — watched Penn beat St. Joe’s in a Big 5 bout at a packed Palestra.

Before the weekend was over, Harris had committed to play for Penn.

“I was amazed. Living in the city this whole time, I didn’t even know,” he said about the university as a whole.

“Academics was actually the first thing,” Harris said. “I always said in the back of my mind that I wanted to go to one of the academically premier schools in the country.”

But academics will also ultimately determine whether Harris can fulfill his commitment when the Class of 2015 arrives at Penn next fall.

A 3.7-GPA student at Constitution, Harris’ SAT scores are 30 points below the threshold he must meet in order to get into Penn.

He retook the standardized test Saturday and is “very confident” in his abilities to make the jump.

According to his high-school coach Robert Moore, Harris’ scores improved by 70 points last time he took the exam, and he’s working with a tutor three days a week.

“Penn coaches have said they’ll stick with him until he gets the score. We’re pretty confident that if he didn’t get it this past Saturday, he’ll have made some improvement and he’ll continue to chip away at it,” Moore said.

Penn coach Jerome Allen and assistant Dan Leibovitz began recruiting Harris about three months ago, the senior said, joining Dartmouth and a few other Division I schools looking at him.

Harris played his freshman and sophomore years for North Catholic High School. In 2008, his team won the championship at the Palestra.

“When he first transferred to [Constitution] I was pushing Ivies,” Moore recalled. “I called coach Allen; ‘you gotta come and see this kid,’ I said. I had a feeling he would be able to make it to an Ivy League school.”

Harris didn’t receive much attention until he initially improved his SAT scores, Moore explained. After that, though, Dartmouth began to pursue.

“The kid honestly was sold on Dartmouth for a long time, but the official visit got the job done,” Moore added.

The Penn coaches will be getting a unique type of player “not readily on the roster right now,” Moore said. With seniors Jack Eggleston and Conor Turley graduating in the spring, the Quakers could use some added frontcourt depth.

Moore described Harris as “super athletic,” and undersized, but very strong at the power forward position.

“He finishes around the rim, and his jumping ability is unreal,” he said.

Moore also identified Harris as a gritty, physical post player.

“I love contact. I love battling down low,” the 210-pound power forward agreed.

According to Moore, the Penn coaches told him that if he were at Penn right now, he would get significant playing time. And while the recruit is looking to make an impact, he’s just happy to have a roster spot.

“At the end of the day, I don’t expect anything. But the guys who are leaving,” he said, “There are going to need to be guys who can come in and step up in the front court.”

Whether Harris makes an impact his freshman year or not, he represents an increasingly rare minority on the Penn basketball roster. If admitted, he will be the first player to come out of Philadelphia’s public school program — the Pub League — in 30 years.

“It’s just hitting me that it’s a great achievement. I’m just thankful,” he said.

And while Allen didn’t come from the Pub, Harris recognized that the two had much in common.

“Seeing a guy like coach Allen from a similar setting like mine, from a rough neighborhood, not having a father like me, he told me his life story and it was very inspiring,” Harris said.

“One of the main reasons I chose UPenn was to stay close to home,” he added. “They don’t have a lot of guys from Philadelphia, so getting a guy from Philadelphia will put the tradition back in the Big Five.”

And just like Harris’ commitment, it all starts with a Big 5 win.

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