Even with strong NBA bloodlines, Gicarri Harris, somehow remains one of the more underrated prospects in his class, possessing realistic pro upside in his own right. At 6’4”, Harris is a crafty guard who is capable of playing both backcourt positions. He has proven to be a winner and leader at Grayson High School (GA). Last year, he helped the program to reach the Georgia Boys State Basketball AAAAAAA semi-final before losing to eventual champ Wheeler High School (GA). This past summer, the rising senior was invited to both the adidas Eurocamp and adidas All-American Camp, showcasing his offensive productivity, positional versatility, and shotmaking ability in front of NBA personnel and talent evaluators. With a college decision on the horizon, one program in his top-six of Georgia Tech, LSU, Miami, Purdue, Stanford, and Virginia Tech will have an opportunity to add a significant piece to its roster.
In this interview with Pro Insight’s Conrad Chow, Harris discussed his family’s athletic background, shared his Eurocamp takeaways and a cultural highlight from the trip, broke down his top-six schools, a timeline for a commitment decision, and much more.
For the next installment of the Pro Insight Q&A series, we present 2024 prospect Gicarri Harris, from Loganville, Georgia:
Pro Insight: How did you get to where you are today? Talk a bit about your background and family.
Gicarri Harris: So right now I live in Atlanta, Georgia. I went to Grayson last year and I play with the Atlanta Celtics. We had a pretty good AAU season, just wrapped that up in Vegas a few weeks ago and we were also in South Carolina for the [3SSB] Rock Hill Championship. So yeah, we had a pretty good season. I was the top scorer on my team. Just a leader on my team trying to push everybody. Our main thing was just to win, so yeah, I feel like I had a pretty good summer.
PI: Can you share a bit about all of the athletes in your family?
GH: Yeah. My dad used to play in the NBA. He’s Glenn Robinson. He also went to Purdue. And then my brothers, my brothers on my mom's side — one of them plays basketball. He used to go to Georgia State, probably like seven years back. And then my older brother on my mom’s side, he plays football and then now he does boxing. And then on my dad's side, one of my brothers is Glenn Robinson III. He played in the NBA before and then Gelen, he used to play college football, and then he's switching back from football to rugby. So yeah, he's in that area.
PI: What is the best piece of advice you’ve received from dad?
GH: You know, he's basically said, “Just keep working hard, keep being consistent,” just keep being me, you know, playing my game. Just keep working hard.
PI: Did you play any other sports growing up?
GH: I played football for about three years when I was probably like 2nd through 4th or 3rd through 5th [grade]. I forget, but yeah, I used to play a little bit of football.
PI: For those who aren’t familiar with your game, what are your greatest strengths and playstyle?
GH: I feel like I'm a three-level scorer, you know, I can score it any way. I play defense, too. I'm a really good defender. I like to get my teammates involved, as well — you know, just facilitating the court. I can be a point guard or shooting guard, so I can be a combo guard whichever team I’m on, whatever one they prefer for me to play, you know, I'll play whichever. Yeah, but most importantly, the best thing about me is I just want to win. So that's my best ability — just to win.
PI: Who do you model your game after or study on film?
GH: I try to watch players like Luka [Doncic]. Well, I'm not really his size, but I kind of play like him because I have a great change of pace. You never see Luka like playing too fast or let defenders bother him, so I try to look at his game, you know, play at my pace, don't let anything affect me. Let's see...also, I feel like somebody I play like is Malcolm Brogdon. You know, we're both good defenders. We can play like combo guards. We can shoot. That's who I feel like I play like the most in the NBA, so yeah.
PI: What is the most underrated aspect of your game?
GH: I would say my versatility — like I could either be a point guard on the team or a shooting guard. I can play defense, so for me I try to play the role whichever the team likes for me to play the best. You know, if they want me to be a point guard and set the team up for everything, I'll be a point guard, but if they want me to score the ball, I'll be a shooting guard — so whichever one of those, it doesn't really matter.
PI: What type of leader are you?
GH: I feel like I have to step into the role next year. Definitely not because I'm a senior, but last year I felt like I was a leader because we only had one senior on the team and it was basically my team last year, so I made sure everybody was going hard, like going 100%, making sure like not to get on my teammates too hard, make sure they ask me questions if they didn’t know something, you know? Just making sure everybody's on the same page. That's how I feel like I was last year and I have to step up even more, this year.
PI: What do you feel you still need to improve on the most? What have you been working on?
GH: I'm working on my ball handling and working on being even more of a consistent shooter. If you're going to college or anything and you’re a guard, you're gonna have to be able to shoot the ball at a high clip, so just staying on ball handling and shooting and then also getting a little bit faster, stronger, more athletic and just staying healthy.
PI: You had the unique opportunity to travel to Italy for the adidas Eurocamp — talk about that experience a bit more. What was it like from a cultural side of things being in Europe?
GH: Yeah, that was my first time going overseas. It was definitely different. Like it's a whole different world out there in Italy. Yeah, it was just a great experience. So I got to see like a whole different world, you know, see how other people are playing overseas. I could see how they were living and stuff like that. Like you don't get as much access in the United States as you do out in Italy. You know, you can't take anything for granted out there. Yeah, it was a great experience. I'm glad I got to see this other side of the world.
PI: What was one of your favorite memories from that trip?
GH: Something that stood out was we got to see the Colosseum in person. So yeah, it was just great getting to see the whole history that happened over there, stuff like that. We’re seeing all types of tourists and everything. Like it's one of the seven sites that you got to see in the world. So yeah, it was great over there.
PI: Who did you enjoy playing with and who was one of the toughest individual matchups on the other side?
GH: Some people, I'll say Mikel Brown, Paul McNeil. They were both on my team there. We were all guards. Yeah, we kind of just bonded on that trip, but it was really all the teammates too as well because we all had a bond. We only had like three or four practices before we started playing. So yeah, it wasn't tough, but it was a little bit challenging like figuring out everybody's playing style and stuff like that, especially since we had to go against overseas people like they were being more physical than us. And I feel like some people that I went against, really like all the teams in the Eurocamp that we faced against in the actual games, they were tough and then some people on the USA select team — I'll say VJ Edgecombe, Zoom Diallo, those were probably the top two on the other team…Annor Boateng as well, so yeah.
PI: What was different about adidas All-American Camp compared to Eurocamp?
GH: I feel like my game has just gotten so much better since the Eurocamp, so I performed much better or a little bit better at the All-American Camp. Yeah, but Eurocamp was more of like a learning experience, seeing how different the game is played overseas and stuff. They’re more physical. They play a harder defense, they're always touching. And then on the offensive end, they swing the ball around, set back screens and flare screens, just constant movement. So yeah, I definitely learned some stuff from going overseas, for sure.
PI: Let’s dive deeper into the top-six schools in your recruitment. What is the main message you are receiving from each program and how do they stand out? Let’s start with Georgia Tech.
GH: Georgia Tech, they're right here at home. They just hired Damon Stoudamire a few months ago. They offered me as soon as he came onto the job. So yeah, they’ve just been great to me. You know, they've been going to all of my games and stuff for adidas and then for my high school at LakePoint. So yeah, they’ve just been great all around.
PI: What’s LSU saying?
GH: LSU, they have an amazing campus. They're trending right now for sports, especially women's basketball and stuff, but I feel like next year, men's basketball's gonna start to feed off of women’s and stuff like that. So yeah, they’ve got a great campus. And then their head coach, he used to coach Ja Morant, so I feel like he has a great development system over there at LSU, which could potentially lead me to the NBA. That's why they're a great program.
PI: How about Miami?
GH: Miami, it is a great campus. Miami is just a great city in general. Coach Larrañaga is a great coach. You know, they've been recruiting me for over a year and they just offered me in June. They've just been keeping an eye out on me. They just made a Final Four run last year. So yeah, that's definitely a school I would consider.
PI: Next up is Purdue.
GH: Purdue has been great to me. They've been recruiting me ever since like my sophomore year. They've called me at least once a week. They won the Big Ten regular season last year for college basketball. So yeah, they have a great program, great coaching staff, and I went on a visit last year. It was a great visit.
PI: Let’s move to Stanford.
GH: Stanford is one of the top academic schools in the whole country. If I were to graduate from Stanford, I would basically be set for life with all the networking and connections. So yeah, they have a great campus and they're somewhere I could fit in for basketball, as well. I'll be a combo guard over there, whichever one — point guard or shooting guard, it doesn't really matter. Their coaching staff has been great and that was another visit I went on last year, so it's been a great experience with them.
PI: Finally, Virginia Tech.
GH: Virginia Tech, they've just been keeping an eye out on me all the time. They've been to all my games. The whole coaching staff went to my high school last season and watched a workout. They've also shown some clips of like their previous guards, how I would be playing there. They let their guards play basketball like they have freedom, stuff like that. So yeah, it would definitely be a great school to go to, as well.
PI: What will ultimately be your deciding factors when making your choice?
GH: I just want to go somewhere where I can win. I want to go somewhere that I can have great development so I can reach the NBA. Just want to have a great coaching staff, great campus life as well, great education and have friends, connections, and networking. So yeah, whichever one can accommodate all of those would definitely be where I would go.
PI: What is a timeline looking like for a commitment decision?
GH: Probably late September, early October.
PI: What are your biggest interests outside of basketball?
GH: Just hanging out with my family.
PI: Who are your favorite music artists?
GH: Lil Baby.
PI: You have one hashtag to describe yourself. What is it?
GH: #Blessed.
PI: If you woke up tomorrow to see a fortune in your bank account, what would be your first purchase?
GH: I don't know. I'll probably just get some fast food, like some Chick-fil-A I guess. I'm not sure (laughs). I'll just go get some food. I'll worry about all the other stuff later, I guess.
PI: If you weren’t pursuing a career as a professional hooper, what do you think you would choose to do?
GH: I'd be a coach.
PI: Who’s someone you really look up to?
GH: I look up to my brothers. They're always giving me great advice. They're always telling me what I should do for my next decisions and stuff. So yeah, it would probably be my brothers.
PI: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
GH: I would say bad hygiene.
PI: Are you an introvert or extrovert?
GH: I’d say I'm more of an introvert.
PI: What is something that most people have no idea about you?
GH: Well, I travel out to LA a lot since I got family out there, so I usually go there probably like three times a year, so I got family out in LA and get to visit there a lot.
PI: Are you working out with trainers in LA whenever you get the chance?
GH: Umm not really, but I've actually started boxing a little bit with my brother because he has this little place, this little gym, so I've just been boxing a little bit. So that's pretty much it, but not like anything with basketball except for like LA Fitness or something like that. But yeah, I'm boxing just a little bit.
PI: Where do you see yourself in five years?
GH: I see myself in the NBA on a team where I'm contributing a lot.
PI: Name four words that best describe you.
GH: Blessed, hardworking, humble, and grateful.
PI: At the end of the day, what do you hope to be remembered for?
GH: I hope to be remembered for just making an impact on the youth, like the young. Once I make it, I just want to find somebody that was kind of like me growing up. I want to help them out, getting their name out there, more exposure. So that's something I want to do when I grow up.
PI: How do you plan to use your platform to benefit others?
GH: I'll probably have my own camp or something and I'll probably make my own AAU team or something like that. But yeah, I definitely want to do something in that area just so I can help out the youth, for sure.