Harrison commits to Tulsa

After making a visit to the University of Tulsa campus on Monday and getting an offer from the Golden Hurricane, 6-foot-3 guard Shaquille Harrison became the first commitment for new head coach Danny Manning.

"I just committed to the University of Tulsa," the Lee's Summit (MO) West guard told Inside Tulsa Sports just before 9 pm on Monday. "I felt like it was the right fit for me. My family loved it, I love it, and there are great coaches there. I wanted to be a part of that."

Earlier in the day, Harrison said his visit to the TU campus went well.

"It was good," he said. "I really liked it, very nice facilities and campus. I met a couple of the players, but not everyone. They showed me around campus, I saw the dorms, facilities and everything."

Harrison chose the Hurricane over offers from Miami (Ohio), Tennessee State and Northeastern. He was also receiving interest from Drake, Oral Roberts and Missouri State, where Tulsa assistant Steve Woodberry was previously coaching.

Harrison had done his research on Tulsa.

"I have friends that go there that really like it up there, and I looked into it a lot, and I know a lot about the coaching staff," he added.

Recently named one of the top 20 players in Missouri by MOsports.com after leading Lee's Summit West to a 27-4 record and a third place finish in Missouri Class 5 this season, Harrison said he averaged approximately 18 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists per game.

When asked about his strengths, Harrison said, "My athleticism, getting to the basket, and getting in the passing lanes."

Over the weekend, Rivals.com recruiting analyst Eric Bossi told us that Harrison is "a good athlete, defends well and is pretty versatile. He is right on the fringe of being a three-star kid and would be a pretty good late pick-up."

Lee's Summit West head coach Michael Schieber confirmed those sentiments in a recent interview with MOsports.com.

"I think the word that best describes Shaq is versatile," Schieber said. "Shaq is a long athletic guard who with his length can guard bigger players and with his athleticism can guard smaller ones. He is a slasher/finisher at the rim.

"Shaq leaves Lee's Summit West as the No. 2 all-time leader in scoring, No. 5 in rebounding, No. 4 in assists, No. 2 in steals and No. 2 in blocked shots."

Harrison is a two-time all-conference and two-time all-district performer, and he has also earned Most Valuable Player honors in the William Jewell tournament each of the past two seasons. As a senior, he earned all-state honors from the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association and was named Player of the Year in the Suburban league.

Video of Shaquille Harrison: