Duke Basketball Signee Wins MVP Despite Only One Three

Future Duke basketball player Darren Harris is more than just a threat from downtown.

Photo credit: Jonah Hinebaugh-USA TODAY Sports

At Peach Jam in July, Duke basketball commit Darren Harris took home MVP honors by leading Team Takeover to an 8-0 record at the prestigious event while putting his picture-perfect 3-point stroke on full display.

But Harris, now an early Blue Devil signee alongside a Paul VI Catholic (Va.) teammate in five-star center Patrick Ngongba II, isn't limited to sharpshooting. First and foremost, the 6-foot-6, 195-pound four-star wing, who ranks No. 57 on the 247Sports 2024 Composite, is a winner.

And Harris has been adding to his overall repertoire. He exhibited those improvements this past weekend in becoming the MVP of still-undefeated Paul VI Catholic's 78-70 overtime win over a loaded Myers Park (N.C.) squad at the National High School Hoop Festival in Maryland.

Harris finished 1-for-6 beyond the arc in the victory but managed to tally 26 points by getting to the line and going 9-for-15 from 2-point land, including a bucket late in overtime to give his Panthers a 72-68 lead. He added three rebounds and two steals, earning a "top performer" tag from 247Sports' Travis Branham:

"Darren Harris is a certified specialist and has been a big reason why he is ranked so highly amongst the national senior class with his reliability to drill shots from three. In this very same event a year ago, Harris shined by drilling jumper after jumper after jumper, but this year that wasn't the case.

"The sniper struggled to find the bottom of the net from range but showed that he is finding other ways to make an impact and score the ball.

"As I hinted at, his shot isn't the only reason why he is highly regarded but also his knowledge and IQ of how to play with talent around him but most notably play in a highly competitive environment and

WIN

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Harris battled both on defense and on offense and used his strengthening body to make an impact."

He and Ngongba are part of a five-deep Duke basketball recruiting class. It ranks No. 1 in the country, per 247Sports, featuring the top-ranked senior in Montverde Academy (Fla.) five-star forward Cooper Flagg. The other two prizes are Wisconsin Lutheran five-star forward Kon Knueppel and North Meck (N.C.) five-star forward Isaiah Evans.

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Stay tuned to Blue Devil Country on SI.com for more Duke basketball recruiting news.