Jerome Harper

9/15/02: "Jerome Harper of Iowa State will miss the first semester and will likely be unavailable for the Cyclones this season. Harper must pass one more test before he can received his GED. He has already received his AA degree from Indian Hills (IA) CC. Harper was also in the news recently in Ottumwa, where he was arrested twice this summer. Harper was part of College Basketball News’#7 recruiting class. He averaged 15.3 points a game for the Warriors last season. Indian Hills finished the season 28-6 and were tenth in the final NJCAA poll after starting the season as the 2001-02 preseason number one JC team...." - InsidersHoops

5/12/02: "One significant spring commitment that received little attention was Iowa State's signing of SG Jerome Harper of Indian Hills C.C. As a prep senior in South Carolina, Harper was a top 10 prospect and McDonald's All-American. Scout Van Coleman of the FutureStars service says Harper needs to polish his game and refocus on long-range shooting. But, Coleman says, "He could be a guy that steps on the court and nobody will notice Shane Power left." - DeCourcy, Sporting News

2/18/02: "Jerome Harper's recruiting saga appears to be resolved ... at least for a couple months. After signing out of high school with Cincinnati but ultimately enrolling at Indian Hills (IA) CC after he failed to qualify for freshman eligibility, Harper now reportedly has committed to Iowa State, after previously expressing great interest in his hometown school, South Carolina. Harper, a former McDonald's All-American, is a 6-6 WF/WG from Columbia, S.C., who was a top-15 prospect as a senior from the Class of 2000. He's played well -- if not spectacularly -- for Indian Hills the past two seasons and figures to be an impact performer at the college level. This year he's averaging16 points, five rebounds and four assists per game. Collegiate promise aside, what about the NBA? Harper has maintained steady interest in jumping directly to the League after finishing his sophomore season at Indian Hills, despite the holes -- inconsistent perimeter shooting, spotty defense -- that still plague his game. But for the time being, the Cyclones add Harper to a recruiting class that already includes top jucos Jackson Vroman, Tim Barnes and Chris Alexander (also at Indian Hills). ISU also signed in-stater Adam Haluska in the fall. If there's no attrition from the among the five recruits, then the Cyclones will have reached the maximum of five newcomers who may be brought in each year." - PrepStars

2/17/02: "Jerome Harper, a 6-5 swingman at Indian Hills (IA), has made a verbal commitment to Iowa State. As a freshman in 2000-01, Harper averaged 10.2 points and 4.9 assists while Indian Hills finished fourth in the NJCAA national tournament with a 32-5 record. This season he is averaging 15 points for the Warriors, currently ranked #9 nationally by the NJCAA with a 26-3 mark. Entering this season, Harper was rated #2 among the nation's JUCO wing guards by Lindy's College Basketball (Van Coleman) and #5 among the shooting guards by The Sporting News (Rick Ball)." - Big Apple Sports

12/6: Listed as the 2nd best SG in Juco. (Barbour, - #1) - Van Coleman, Future Stars

11/12/01: "Antwan (Barbour) should be a great college player, but Jerome Harper has more NBA teams after him. Jerome is about an inch and a half taller than Antwan and has much better all around skills, able to play both guard spots, plus small forward and can defend well. I was at the NJCAA Tournament last year and although Barbour stood out, he didn't look like he was as big of a draft prospect as Jerome is. Antwan isn't a true 6-5 either, closer to 6-3 1/2, which is obviously bad in the eyes of NBA scouts, which is why Joe Forte fell so far, when most fans thought he was a lock for the lottery. The same thing is expected to happen for Antwan. Antwan should have better stats and be counted on more to score than Jerome, but that doens't make him a better NBA prospect. Although it will be close, as both are great ball players. At Kentucky, Antwan's big scoring ability will likely drop a lot." - John Thompson, NBA Draft Report

11/12/01: "Jerome Harper may have one particular college on his mind this fall, but the talented JUCO sniper could have some crucial decisions to make come the spring time.

Harper, a 6-4, 180 pound shooting guard from Indian Hills C.C. in Ottumwa, Ia., should be one of the top players in the junior college class of 2002. The product of Keenan H.S. in Columbia, S.C. has a particular affinity for one college, according to IHCC Asst. Coach Chad Boudreau. "South Carolina is his main look because he kind of wants to go back home," Boudreau said. "Who knows what avenue he'll go after this year? He might even try to go in the draft." Harper had a solid freshman year at Indian Hills, but did not put up the gaudy numbers in the scoring column that he did in high school or on the summer travel circuit. From that perspective, a jump to the pros might not seem warranted.

As a freshman for the fourth place finishers at last March's NJCAA Tournament, Harper averaged 10.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Harper repeatedly told the coaching staff that a knee problem was to blame for his lack of explosiveness on the offensive end last year. "We had it checked 100 times, but he kept saying that his knee would lock up on him," Boudreau said. "So he would settle on shooting jumpers and quit going to the hole. At the start of practice this season, he had been killing -- going to the hole and dunking on people -- he looked like he did in high school."

But just a few weeks ago, Harper said his knee locked up again. "We have this great [doctor] in town and he did an exploratory MRI," Boudreau said. "They went in there and found a couple of pieces of bone floating around in there and locking up. We got that removed and he's playing already." Indian Hills does not start its season until Nov. 16, and Boudreau expects Harper to be at 100 percent once the season gets under way.

While South Carolina appears to be the primary college option for Harper at this stage, Illinois and Iowa State had expressed some interest in Jerome earlier this year. "I think it would be tough to keep him instate," Boudreau admitted, referring to Iowa State's chances with Harper. "The message he is sending is that if he does not go pro, South Carolina is where he would want to go." However, Boudreau said that South Carolina probably would not take a fall commitment from Harper, due to his pro aspirations and suspect academic past. - Rivals Hoops

10/3/01: "Jerome Harper may not be the king anymore, but he's still a prince. The 6-6 forward, a former McDonald's All-American from South Carolina, was a top-10 prospect from the Class of 2000 who chose Cincinnati as a prep senior, but academics and legal issues derailed him from his path to Division I. He now has to share the ball -- and attention -- with his very talented teammates at Indian Hills, but the explosive scoring ability he showed in high school is still there. According to coach Kenyon Murray, he's getting some interest from South Carolina and Illinois, among others. His recruitment likely will last into the spring." - PrepStars.com

8/31/01: Listed as the best 2nd best JUCO SG in the USA. (behind Barbour) - Future Stars

7/31/01: Listed as the third best Juco Soph in the country. - NBA Draft Report

3/21/01: "Indian Hills advanced to play Georgia Perimeter on Thursday in an elite eight matchup at Hutch. Brandon Brooks collected 18 points and eight assists in the contest, much of which came during the decisive final six minutes. Jerome Harper played unselfishly for the Warriors, registering 15 points and 10 rebounds to aid the second half comeback." - Juco Junction

3/20: "Originally signed with Cincinnati. "He's a tremendous talent but also unselfish," Blake said. "He can score 40 or 50 but is still happy with an assist." - Wichita Eagle/Russ Blake

2/8/01: "The Warriors were without standout freshmen 6-6 Jerome Harper and 6-0 Brandon Brooks, who did not make the trip. Harper re-injured a knee he hurt earlier in the season while Brooks was being fitted with a brace to protect knee damage which occurred during the January 24th Moberly game with Moberly." - Monter Draft News

12/21: Jerome Harper had 21 points in a win over Moraine Cty JC.

11/25: "(Indian Hills) held a slim 20-19 lead when Jerome Harper, making his Indian Hills debut, had a field goal and Leslie added another to give the Warriors the lead for good at 23-20. Harper's steal and jam came in the closing minute of the game and was the final basket the Warriors would get on the night, giving them a 71-58 advantage." Harper had 11 pts and 4 reb's. - Ottumwa Courier (snipped)

11/23: Harper did not play in IHCC's 20+ point win against SW Comm College. It was their third game of the year and all three wins have now been 20+ point wins. - Mike Ryan

11/8/00: "McDonald's All-American Jerome Harper, from Columbia, S.C., who has a deep bone bruise on his right knee, sat out the scrimmage and slam dunk competition. He is expected to recover and should be ready for the season opener next Friday." - Ottumwa Courier

8/4: "We also have confirmed that 6'0 Brandon Brooks from Portland (Jefferson) OR, who signed with Arizona State last spring, is heading to junior college at Indian Hills (JC) IA, where he will join 6'5 Jerome Harper from Columbia (Keenan) SC. Obviously, we'd rather have Duke's Jason Williams and Chris Duhon or Arizona's Jason Gardner and Gilbert Arenas, but can you think of another guard duo that will be any better in college basketball next year than Brooks and Harper?" - HoopScoop

6/20: Hooptv.com lists Jerome as the 14th best player in the country.
Up Next: Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.
The Skinny: Extremely unselfish, Jerome can hit the three and is an excellent slasher, which enables him to go to the tin often. Has good size and a killer cross-over but needs to develop more consistency.
The Word: ?Against Fairfield Central this year, Jerome came off the bench in the second half to score 18 points in 14 minutes. He was picking off passes and dropping NBA threes from all over. It was unbelievable.? - Coach Zach Norris, W.J. Keenan High School - Hoopstv.com

5/10/00: "South Carolina’s Mr. Basketball will be wearing an Indian Hills Warriors uniform next season. Jerome Harper, a 6-foot-5, 190-lb. guard from Columbia, South Carolina, signed a national letter of intent with Indian Hills today (5/10). Harper is a McDonalds All-American and was named 1st team All-American by Parade Magazine.
Harper led Keenan High School to the South Carolina Class AAA state championship this season. He averaged 20.2 points, 8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game as his team compiled a 30-2 record. "I want to thank Jerome’s coach Zach Norris and all the people at Keenan High School in helping Jerome with this decision," Indian Hills head coach Mike Marquis said. Marquis feels that Indian Hills' assistant coach Chad Boudreau was instrumental in signing Harper. "Chad developed a close relationship with Jerome during the recruiting process," Marquis says. "This combined with Jerome’s visit and meeting the rest of the Indian Hills family helped in his decision to become a Warrior." The South Carolina High School Coaches Association named Harper "Mr. Basketball". This spring, he has played in the McDonalds all-star game held in Boston and in the Sonny Vicaro Roundball Classic in Raleigh, North Carolina. Many basketball recruiting services and magazines list him as the 7th best overall high school player in the nation and the best shooting guard in America. "Jerome has the potential to come into Indian Hills and make an immediate impact on both ends of the court," Marquis states. "There’s not an offensive skill that he doesn’t possess and he is a very strong defender." Indian Hills also signed Harper’s high school teammate to a national letter of intent. Ronald Palmer, a 6-foot-3, 185-lb. guard played for Keenan High School in Harper’s junior year. Palmer led the team in scoring averaging 22 points per game. Keenan High lost in the 1999 South Carolina state championship and finished with a record of 28-4. "Ronald can really shoot the ball and shoot it with range," says Marquis. "He has a big time jumper and just needs to get himself back into game shape." Marquis again emphasizes the importance of signing players from winning programs. "Both Jerome and Ronald have tremendous win first attitudes on the floor," Marquis said. "The fine program under Coach Norris has prepared them in a team style of play, they’re very unselfish." - Indian Hills JC
http://www.ihcc.cc.ia.us

4/26: "It's junior college all the way for South Carolina's most talented prep player. However, Harper appears to be light-years away from grasping the idea of high school, let alone the academic rigors of college. Vincennes, Indian Hills and maybe Southern Idaho are trying to lure him to their respective campuses." - Rivals100Hoops

4/14: "..we've learned that Harper will visit North East Mississippi (NEMS) on April 28th. If he signs there, the recruiting battles for him in two years will be high, as several SEC and C-USA schools will fight it out for his services. - MidSouth Hoops

4/11: "Harper, who was only 1-7 from beyond the arc in the Sonny Vaccaro all star game, hasn't been the same player this spring. However, that's understandable, because right now he has off the court problems and, as a result, appears to be heading for the junior college route. As a matter of fact, we reported several days ago that Indiana Hills (JC) IA might be where he ends up, but the last two days the Southern Idaho (JC) ID has been watching his every move here in Raleigh, NC." - HoopScoop

4/5: latest rumor on Jerome is that he will go to Indian Hills Comm College, tho nothing has been confirmed yet. - Mike Ryan

3/23/00: "Apart from the incident which resulted in Harper's being locked up in jail just when his name was being announced as a member of the farcical "Big Mac" team, Cincinnati dropped him because, reportedly, he has virtually no chance to qualify academically. And, NO, Kentucky is not recruiting Jerome Harper. His options appear to be a junior college, or to play in the CBA or overseas next year." -- Bob Gibbons

3/19/00: Keenan HS wins the Division State Chmapionship.

3/1/00: Newspaper articles in the Post, Enquirer and Columbia SC confirm that Cincinnati has rescinded the scholarship.
2/27/00: Named to McDonalds All American Team.
2/17/00: has "altercation" with aunt's boyfriend.
12/4/99: plays first game with Keenan HS after a short absence.
11/16/99: After interview with Mic Cronin, WBOB interviewer says that "it is doubtful" that Harper will play for UC next year.
1/3/99: Harper "is now talking more about entering the 2000 NBA draft than about enrolling at Cincinnati (if he qualifies academically)". - Brick Oettinger
7/17/99: "Harper is a tremendous athlete and he can get his shot from anywhere, because he's so explosive off the dribble and he's got excellent moves, super quickness, and deep shooting range." - HoopScoop