More on Penn hoops commit Xavier Harris

I spoke with new Penn men's basketball recruit Xavier Harris and his coach Rob Moore yesterday after he announced his commitment earlier this week. They both had a lot to say, much of which didn't make it into the print story, so here's some more commentary threaded together from the two:

On the recruiting process, Harris said Penn started talking to him seriously 2-3 months ago:

"Ultimately it was decided for me during the conversation with coach Leibovitz, though they came on late recruiting wise, it was the fact that they wanted me for their program."

"The Dartmouth coach, they were recruiting him before Penn got involved, said that his athleticism and toughness will be something different that no team has. He’s gonna create a lot of matchup problems for a lot of teams in the league."

"He can dunk with one hand, either hand. He’s actually developing some outside shooting skills that will bring people away from the basket. He could either play the three or the four."
"He’ll be able to take guys off the dribble in the Ivy League. In the right system — and I’m sure coach Allen will run plays for him — he’ll get some back screens and alley-oop dunks. He’s got a lot of energy."

"They loved his toughness. I talked to them after the loss to Drexel, they said that’s one of the things they could really use, Drexel plays that style. They needed a guy who has a bit of an attitude."

"Unselfish. I say that because anything the team needs, I'm willing to contribute, whether its scoring, rebounds, or blocking shots. I'm basically a guy who wants to contribute any way possible."

"As a kid, I can’t say enough about him. His mom has done a great job raising him. It’s gonna be sad to see him go at the end of the year. He’s helped us build a basketball program in 2 years — last year was the first year with a basketball team at our school."

"You can’t beat years of tradition at UPenn in terms of tradition."