Heavy Hitters Swing For Harden
Leonard Harden got a lot of exposure last summer playing for Rodney Heard's Team Detroit squad at the adidas Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, so it's no surprise that a number of high major programs are interested in the 6-10 Garden City C.C. freshman.
Harden, a 240 pound Detroit native, averaged 10.4 points and seven rebounds per game for the Kansas junior college in 2001-2002. Blessed with a rugged frame, good footwork and solid low post scoring skills, Harden could be one of the more coveted junior college big men in the Class of 2003.
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JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com caught up with Garden City Head Coach Jeremy Cox at the recent Region VI Tournament in Salina, Kan. He said that UNLV has shown tremendous interest in Harden, as have Texas Tech and Texas A&M.
Harden signed with Duquesne during the fall 2000 signing period but was released from the NLI after the coaching change last spring. He had played for ex-AAU coach James Stafford who was in his first year as an assistant at the Atlantic 10 school; Stafford was not retained by new coach Danny Nee.
Of course, Harden will return to junior college next year, and we will keep you posted on his recruitment in the coming months, so stay tuned.