High School Sports
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High-school senior commits to Wake Forest for basketball
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Published: June 30, 2008
C.J. Harris has one season of high-school basketball left at Mount Tabor, but he won't travel far when he begins college as a freshman in the fall of 2009.
Harris, a rising senior and 6-2 1/2 shooting guard, committed to Wake Forest yesterday in a phone call to Coach Dino Gaudio. Harris, who was recruited by more than 10 Division I programs, said he selected Wake Forest over offers from Clemson and Virginia Tech.
Harris said that he always wanted to play for the Deacons, whose coaching staff offered a scholarship several weeks ago, but he said he wanted to make sure he explored Clemson and Virginia Tech also before making his decision.
"That's where I have always wanted to go, so I am very excited," Harris said. "Because the other schools had come in, I wanted to get a good look at everyone and make sure I was making the right decision.
"Just being from town, I already knew the (Wake Forest) players really well, the coaches are real cool and I get along with everybody. It felt like a perfect fit."
Harris, with a quick first step and long arms, is a talented dribble-drive player with a penchant for finishing in traffic. Last season, he averaged 19.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 4.5 steals a game for a Mount Tabor team that finished 26-4 and reached the NCHSAA's Class 4-A Western Regional semifinals.
"That's his bread and butter," Coach Andy Muse of Mount Tabor — whose brother, Mike Muse, is an assistant at Wake Forest — said of Harris' ability to drive. "C.J. can take the ball to the rim at will and I have seen him do it against everyone he has gone against.
"But since our season has been finished, he and a couple of teammates have been in the gym and have shot a mammoth amount of threes, stand still, moving, and his shooting has taken off in the last two months. He has got a lot of range on his shot now and I think he will just get better because he is a gym rat."
Harris said that he got the feeling some coaches were wondering if he could shoot.
"I have been in the gym most of the time working on my J," Harris said. "I have always been able to shoot, I just needed to build my confidence. I have tried to extend my range and it's added a new dimension to my game."
Harris said of his phone call to Gaudio: "He was excited. He said welcome to the family and he was happy that I am coming. And my parents are really excited, They didn't care where I went, they just wanted me to be happy, and I know I will be."
Andy Muse said that he never told Harris, or any of his other players in the past, where to go to college, even though Mike is on the bench at Wake Forest with Guadio.
"The thing is, the Wake Forest system fits him because they do a lot of dribble-drive," Andy Muse said. "But the thing I like most about C.J. is his teams win. His Chris Paul AAU team wins, his Mount Tabor teams win, and really, he will do whatever it takes to win. That's what I appreciate about him the most."
■ Mason Linker can be reached at 727-7324 or at mlinker@wsjournal.com.
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