Moe Harkless, Freshman, Small Forward, St. John’s
Overview:
There were not too many bright spots for St. John’s during the 2011-2012 season, but Moe Harkless was one of them. The freshman forward averaged 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks and was the only player on the team to start all 32 games for the Red Storm. While the team struggled, Harkless made a name for himself.
At 6-8 and 208 pounds, Harkless looks like he could be a very good small forward in the NBA. However, he is not a great outside shooter. He only connected on 21.5 percent of his attempts from long range during his freshman campaign. More alarming is the fact that he only shot 45.2 percent from the floor. For a player who can score inside, that just means Harkless tried to take way too many jump shots.
Final Projection:
The good news is that Harkless does not have a bad looking shot. He probably should have gone back to St. John’s to work on it for another year, but he can work on it in the NBA too. Harkless is adding weight, so it is very likely he could play the four spot. But right now he is not a good enough shooter to be a small forward and not strong enough to be a power forward. Both of those could change and that gives Harkless a lot of room to improve and he could work his way into the first round of the 2012 NBA Draft.
5/31/12 Update by Dan Levine
Harkless was a prized recruit for Steve Lavin’s Red Storm. He was a star, averaging 15.3 points per game and over 36 minutes. He has to develop a little more, but will find himself drafted in the first round.
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