Battered and Bruised, D’Angelo Harrison Makes a Case for Big East POY
Posted by Justin Kundrat on February 23rd, 2015Senior guard D’Angelo Harrison stepped off the floor of Carnesecca Arena for the last time in his career on Saturday, and a long round of applause followed by chants of “D-Lo” ensued. It would be hard for St. John’s fans to fail to appreciate everything Harrison, along with fellow seniors Sir’Dominic Pointer, Phil Greene IV and Jamal Branch, have brought to this program in spite of countless transfers, early departures and other off-court issues. Although this season too has had its ups and downs, St. John’s, at 18-9 overall and 7-7 in Big East play, is knocking at the door of the NCAA Tournament. Harrison claims he wants nothing more than to get there for the first time in his four years on campus, and he has assured Red Storm fans that it will occur. A player of his magnitude — currently averaging 18.3 PPG and sitting at third all-time in St. John’s scoring history behind only Chris Mullin and Malik Sealy — would be hard pressed to let that claim fall short.
D’Angelo Harrison Has His Eyes on the NCAA Tournament (USA Today Images)
Earlier this month, Harrison broke the 2,000-point mark without even knowing it. “I didn’t know until Phil and Dom told me when I got into the locker room. I don’t like to know stuff like that. I like looking at stuff like that after the season.” He is the quintessential team leader, the face of the franchise, and perhaps the strongest candidate league-wide for the Big East Player of the Year award. The race for the Big East’s top honor has been a hotly contested one this season. Georgetown junior D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera appeared likely to run away with it in the early going. When his shooting suffered, the consensus soon shifted to Seton Hall’s Sterling Gibbs, whom the Pirates had rallied around in their surprising march to the Top 25. Following his team’s dramatic collapse and ensuing elbow incident, the front-runner with two weeks left in conference play is not so clear. Some are pointing to either of Providence’s Kris Dunn or LaDontae Henton, both of whom have shared the leadership responsibilities for the Friars’ 19-8 season. Others believe that one of Villanova’s stars — perhaps Darrun Hilliard or Daniel Ochefu — should get the nod if the Wildcats run away with the league title. But if the Red Storm can make a push down the stretch, it could be Harrison who has the best case of any.
The first and most obvious contribution that Harrison provides is elite scoring. The senior accounts for 25.4 percent of his team’s points and 26.0 percent of its shots while he’s on the floor. In games when Harrison scores 12 points or fewer, the Johnnies are a mediocre 4-4 on the season. They are 14-5 in all the others. Perhaps more impressively, the 6’4″ guard averages 35.3 minutes per game, a number which includes the many games where he has been nursing an injury and faced foul trouble (Harrison has fouled out six times this season). The Texas native has also pulled down 5.7 rebounds per game this year, ranking him 12th in the Big East and first among guards in this category. Given that St. John’s was playing with a six-man rotation until recently, Harrison’s already-significant impact has been magnified. Maybe Dunn is the better pro prospect or Henton the better all-around scorer, but when focused on a single individual’s importance to a team’s success, how many of the others can trump what Harrison brings to the table? In the three-week push toward his first and final NCAA Tournament appearance, the St. John’s all-time great has a chance to leave his mark beyond just the stat sheet.
Villanova grad, patiently waiting another 10 years for season tickets. Follow Justin on twitter @JustinKundrat or email him at justin.kundrat@gmail.com
