Shiloh’s Harris Signs With Creighton

Darian Harris, second from left, a Shiloh Christian senior basketball player, signed a national letter of intent with Creighton University on Wednesday. Also on hand for the signing were his mother, Connie Harris, far left, his father Scott Harris, standing, and sister Chantelle Harris. In the background is Saints coach Brent Hester.
Darian Harris, second from left, a Shiloh Christian senior basketball player, signed a national letter of intent with Creighton University on Wednesday. Also on hand for the signing were his mother, Connie Harris, far left, his father Scott Harris, standing, and sister Chantelle Harris. In the background is Saints coach Brent Hester.

— Shiloh Christian boys basketball coach Brent Hester just smiled and nodded in agreement.

Most coaches will readily admit that the better their players are, the better coaches they become. Hester is no different when it comes to senior Darian Harris.

“No doubt having a player like him makes me a real good coach,” Hester said.

Creighton basketball coach Greg McDermott is hoping to say the same thing.

Harris, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, signed a national letter of intent on Wednesday with the Bluejays. A large crowd of family, friends, teammates and Shiloh Christian students were on hand for the signing ceremony.

“This is a big deal for our program,” Hester said. “He’s going to end up being the best player ever to play here, and losing him is going to hurt after this season.

“With a player like Darian, I count the days down to see how many days I have left with him.”

The Bluejays are ranked 15th in the latest ESPN and USA Today polls. They are members of the Missouri Valley Conference, and the program ranks in the top five in attendance in the country.

Last season Creighton advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the program has advanced to the Sweet 16 three times. This season the Bluejays are led by junior Doug McDermott, who is one of the country’s top players.

“When I was in about second grade, I told my dad (Scott), ‘One day I’m going to be on TV and I want to play college basketball,’” Harris said. “So he was like, ‘All right, we’ll just keep working toward that.’ He’s helped me through everything. We’ve had ups and downs, it hasn’t been easy. Sometimes you’ve just got to keep working hard.”

As a junior, Harris led the Saints to the 4A-1 Conference title by averaging 23 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

Greg McDermott said in a news release that he projects Harris to be a perimeter player at the next level,

“Darian can dribble, pass and shoot and possesses a high basketball IQ,” McDermott said in the statement. “He won an AAU National Championship this summer with the Arkansas Wings. As he develops his body, we anticipate him being a valuable asset to our program at the wing position.”

Harris chose Creighton over 23 offers. He said after visiting the school, there was no doubt where he wanted to go.

“One of the big things for me was the team being a family,” Harris said. “I felt like when I went up to Creighton, all the kids were a family there. They all hung out together, played together, did things together and the coaches weren’t separated. They were part of the family, too.”

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