Malek Harris commits to MU!

[IWB]

MALEK HARRIS COMMITS TO MU!!!

Per his twitter - Great pick up for Buzz Williams!!

[WindyCityGoldenEagle]

Welcome Malek!

[MUMac]

Let's not start off on the wrong foot ... Malek Harris commits to MU! Great news and welcome to the MU family Malek!!

[IWB]

Thanks - sorry, in a rush!

[The Reptile]

Welcome to the family, Malek!!!

[dubs98]

awesome, awesome news. can't wait to see the young man in the blue and gold uni. congrats malek!

[TedBaxter]

The thought of losing Phil Collins is now exorcised.

[pbiflyer]

The thought of losing Phil Collins is now exorcised.
Not so fast my friend:

How can you just walk away from me
When all I can do is watch you leave?
'Cause we've shared the laughter and the pain
And even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

[mufansince72]

My twins are taking "unofficials" to MU tomorrow, I doubt they will commit though, unless they get a huge financial aid package:cool:

[TedBaxter]

The Phil Collins reference goes back 33 years or so when Hank Raymonds lost 6-9 JUCO big man Phil Collins to West Virginia. Like Malek Harris, this Phil Collins was a Orland Park (IL) Sandburg High School alum.

[MUMac]

The Phil Collins reference goes back 33 years or so when Hank Raymonds lost 6-9 JUCO big man Phil Collins to West Virginia. Like Malek Harris, this Phil Collins was a Orland Park (IL) Sandburg High School alum.

Damn Ted, how you remember these is amazing. When you mentioned Phil Collins, I remembered his recruitment. I could never have told you where he went to school, though. Impressive. Maybe you need to change your moniker to "RainMan".

[Phantom Warrior]

How is the first name pronounced?

Does "Mal" rhyme with "Al"? And does "ek" rhyme with "trek"? Is the first syllable stressed as in "MALek?

I assume this is the case, but there are other options as well.

[TedBaxter]

Muleek is the pronunciation based on this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK9rBZQO93c

[TheSultan]

Damn Ted, how you remember these is amazing. When you mentioned Phil Collins, I remembered his recruitment. I could never have told you where he went to school, though. Impressive. Maybe you need to change your moniker to "RainMan".


Hank Raymonds really missed again with Collins. Perhaps if he had one more night to recruit him? But when you look back on it, landing him would have been against all odds. I guess in the in the end, I don't care anymore.

[TulsaWarrior]

The Collins last minute change of heart sent Marquette on a downward spiral. For a yaer prior to his change of heart it was reportered he was an absolute lock for the Warriors. That made other bigs unwilling to consider Marquette. A lesson in why you never stop recruiting.

[Goose85]

My twins are taking "unofficials" to MU tomorrow, I doubt they will commit though, unless they get a huge financial aid package:cool:

Good luck mufansince72, hope MU makes a financial aid commit to you!

[Phantom Warrior]

Collins. Rod Foster. Phil Sellers. Bill Varner. All four were supposedly locks for MU, but we lost all four.

But the one that fried my cookies the most was Scooter McCray. His last-second switch to Louisville absolutely shocked the staff. Had Scooter stuck with MU, then his brother, Rodney, would almost certainly have become a Warrior, as well, and that Louisville national championship that followed could easily have been another MU championship.

The other one that hurt was Russell Cross. It was always pretty much a two-way battle, but had he picked MU.........I don't even want to think about it.

And, finally, of course, was Rick Olson, who had already committed to MU. Had he honored that commitment, we would have won probably another three to five games in each of the following four years.

All those near misses!

[Nukem2]

Yes, those were significant misses that really hurt. Though, Cross was a real reach when I dig back into my memory banks. Was he the same year as Doc...?

[IWB]

Sometimes they are misses - sometimes a coach screws up. It happens.

[MUMac]

Don't forget Donald Royal. Rick thought he had him after losing out on Joe Wolf.

[TheSultan]

Hank Raymonds really missed again with Collins. Perhaps if he had one more night to recruit him? But when you look back on it, landing him would have been against all odds. I guess in the in the end, I don't care anymore.

Oh come on! I actually had to google up Phil Collins songs for this...and nothing???

[IWB]

I liked it Sultan

[Goose85]

As did I Sultan. I was just thrown having to think back to all the near misses that Hank and Rick had.

[MUMac]

As did I Sultan. I was just thrown having to think back to all the near misses that Hank and Rick had.

When we talk about near misses, Joe Wolf seems to get cast aside. I remember the article in the paper the morning he was announcing, saying he was committing to MU. Rick thought he had him.

[CaribouJim]

Sun-Times article on Harris this morning - sorry if already posted - good picture of him:

http://seasonpass.suntimes.com/news_article/show/267413?referrer_id=596370

When Marquette coach Buzz Williams offered Sandburg's Malek Harris in April, it wasn't a casual throw-it-out-there offer. Williams and assistant coach Isaac Chew made Harris a high priority, hoping the 6-7 forward would be their first 2014 commitment.

When Marquette coach Buzz Williams offered Sandburg's Malek Harris in April, it wasn't a casual throw-it-out-there offer. Williams and assistant coach Isaac Chew made Harris a high priority, hoping the 6-7 forward would be their first 2014 commitment.

That's exactly how it played out as Harris, who visited Marquette on Wednesday, gave Williams and Marquette an oral commitment.

Harris himself knew his trip to Marquette on Wednesday was different in comparison to other visits because he couldn't fall asleep on the car ride to Milwaukee. This was the first visit among several he had taken where Harris couldn't get any shut-eye during the ride to campus.

"I was thinking so much about Marquette and so excited I couldn't sleep," says Harris. "But Marquette has always stood out to me, and I felt like if everything was the way I expected it was going to be on the visit, I would commit."

There was a long list of suitors for Harris, including Purdue, Iowa, Northwestern, DePaul and Kansas State among other high-major programs. Williams and the Marquette staff, however, put the Golden Eagles out front, both with the relationship they built with Harris and showing how he would fit as a player.

"I love the coaching staff and have such a good relationship with them," says Harris.

Marquette is getting a player that fits the Buzz Williams recruiting profile and mold: a competitive, hard-nosed player with a non-stop motor. Harris admitted that helped in his decision.

"That was a big factor, because I was looking at a school and program where a lot of the players that have gone there and played there were a lot like me in the way they played," says Harris. "It was easy to envision and great to see the type of success those players have had. And the style of play is a great fit for me."

Harris brings versatility to the forward position, which Marquette has had so much success with in recent years. He makes plays in a variety of ways, always seems to be around the ball, is an above-average rebounder and can defend multiple positions with his size and length.

The multi-faceted senior, who impressed this spring with the Illinois Wolves with his advanced ballhandling skills and a warrior mentality, is now considered one of the top 100 prospects nationally in the Class of 2014