Harris Added to Men's Basketball Recruiting Class
7/10/2017 12:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State University men's basketball head coach Rob Senderoff has announced the signing of Kain Harris to the 2017 recruiting class. He will sit out the upcoming year per NCAA rules and be eligible for the 2018-19 season.
"We're happy Kain has joined us here at Kent State," said Senderoff. "This year will be beneficial for his development as a player, and we believe he'll give us a great deal of help over the following two years. We're really excited that he is here."
Harris comes to Kent State from Tulane and is a former standout high school recruit out of Chicago area's St. Rita of Cascia. The 6-4, 210-pound guard had several highlights in his two years at Tulane, serving as a valuable scorer for the Green Wave. He averaged 9.1 points and 1.7 boards over 33 games as a sophomore. He was at his best at the start of American Athletic Conference, averaging 18 points per game in the first five conference games in 2017.
Harris consistently earned trips to the free throw line, averaging four fouls drawn per 40 minutes and finishing at an 81.4 percent clip. From the floor, Harris shot 38 percent. He developed into a solid 3-point shooter his sophomore year at 34.4 percent, up six percentage points from his freshman year.
When on the floor, Harris was a confident scorer for Tulane and the teams' most productive player in multiple wins. In games won, Harris' points per game average jumped up to 13.4. That includes a career-best 27 point performance in a victory against South Florida, in which he shot 7-for-16 from the floor and 10-for-11 from the free throw line. Other notable performances include a 25-point night against UCF and 15 points against the eventual NCAA National Champions, North Carolina.
As a senior in high school, Harris averaged 16.2 points, five rebounds and four assists. He led the Mustangs to a 26-3 overall record during his lone year at St. Rita and was named to the Chicago Catholic League All-Conference Team. Before transferring to St. Rita, he won back-to-back state championships at Morgan Park HS.
Harris is the fifth addition to the 2017 recruiting class, joining Philip Whittington, a transfer from USC Upstate, in sitting out the upcoming season. Harris and Whittington will be able to practice with the team this season and work with sports performance coach Rhen Vail, who works exclusively with basketball student-athletes. Freshman BJ Duling, and transfers Akiean Frederick and Jonathan Nwankwo will be eligible to help Kent State defend its conference championship immediately.
