2007 Harp has coaches attentions

As the son of a former college coach, 2007 three-star prospect Ryan Harp knows how to play the game, so it is no surprise that practically every school in the country has shown at least preliminary interest in the 6-foot-4, 175-pound shooting guard from Cooper High School in Abeline, Texas. Although it is still quite early in the process, Harp's father named seven schools that sit on top of his son's list.

"Stanford, Rice, Texas Tech, William & Mary, Valparaiso, Notre Dame and Oklahoma are seven schools that have expressed interest in Ryan and Ryan is very interested in as well," said Harp's father Dennis Harp. "All schools have either evaluated Ryan in person or on tape. Now, Ryan is getting letters from everybody, from Arizona to Florida to Syracuse, but those seven schools have shown more of a significant interest than others. When you think about it, with a list like that how can you go wrong."

A 4.0 student who is thinking Pre-med at the moment, Harp is looking for a quality mix of academics and basketball.

A left hander with a smooth release, Harp is equally good with the ball in either hand and in fact takes most of his shots off the dribble in the lane with his right hand. On the year Harp is averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game while shooting 78 percent from the free-throw line and 54 percent from the three-point line for his 15-13 team.

"For a while it didn't look like we were going to make the playoffs," said Dennis Harp. "But we won five straight now and Ryan has averaged over 24 points over that stretch."

One of those five wins was over rival Abilene High School in a regionally televised game where Harp scored 32 points in his teams 40-39 victory.

Rivals.com watched Harp's performance in that game and scouted him last summer at the Nike Hoop Jamboree. Harp has a strong basketball IQ, finds the open man, and knocks down shots. He moves well defensively, but he needs to get much stronger. His development strength wise will ultimately determine the level of Harp's game.

"Right now Ryan can dunk in traffic and has good lateral quickness," said Dennis Harp. "With 8 to 12 more pounds, improved ball handling and a quicker release, who knows what level he can play at."