Men's Hoops Signs Harold Hector to NLI
Click on the above YouTube link, or the two at the bottom, for a clip of Harold Hector in action in high school.
Nov. 16, 2009
MALIBU, Calif. - The Pepperdine men's basketball team has signed Hector Harold, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Northfield Mount Hermon School, to a letter-of-intent, Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury announced today.
Harold, who is originally from Pasadena, Calif., was given a rating of 88 out of 100 by ESPN.com's recruiting site.
"The very first time I saw Hector play, I fell in love with him," Asbury said. "He's very versatile. He's known as a shooter and a scorer, but the thing I liked most about him was how he could hit the open man and make the simple play. He's a tremendous leader. He's a guy that competes to win in every drill and every situation.
"I'm ecstatic that Hector is coming to Pepperdine. He's the one guy we targeted at the position we felt we needed. He's the one person we went after where we knew we had a chance to get him."
Harold spent three years at the Renaissance Academy in La Canada, Calif., then headed east to attend Northfield Mount Hermon (located in Mount Hermon, Mass.). Last year as a junior he averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, and heading into his senior year he has been nominated for McDonald's All-American honors.
"I chose Pepperdine because first of all, it's close to home," Harold said. "I liked Pepperdine growing up, and my dad talked about how good it was when he was playing. I want to help build the program back up. I liked how Coach Asbury and Coach (Marty) Wilson run the program and I wanted to be part of it ... I think my strength is my versatility. I'm a guy that can do whatever the coaches ask me to do. I'm a team player."
NMH plays in the New England Preparatory School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC), one of the best prep leagues in the nation. The school has sent more than 50 players to Division I schools in the last 10 years. Harold was rated as one of the top 10 seniors in New England by the New England Recruiting Report in August 2009.
"He's a terrific player," NMH Coach John Carroll said. "Hector is our 29th player to go D-I in the last five years, and he's as good as any of them. He could have easily gone to a BCS-level school but the pull of going home to Southern California and Pepperdine University was super strong. He really wants to make a difference there, and he will make an immediate impact at Pepperdine.
"He has defended anywhere from the 1 to 4 for us, and he's super-talented offensively. He's good off the dribble. One of the best things about him is that his best games came against the best teams. He had some spectacular 30-point games against top 10 teams. Against lesser teams, he would let other kids have their moments."
At the Renaissance Academy, he helped the Wildcats reach the 2008 Division V state championship game by averaging 10.0 points.
Since the age of 12, he has been playing for the Basketball Training Institute (BTI) at the AAU level.
"Hector is a multi-dimensional guy who can play four positions," said Robert Icart, the director of BTI. "He can bring the ball up and play a little point. He's a natural wing, but he can also post up against smaller guys. He has a very good base of fundamental skills that will allow him to be very successful in the WCC. In a couple of years, he could be one of the better players in the conference, if not the premier player.
"He's very committed and has a tremendous appetite to get better. The area where Hector has grown the most is leadership. He has been a very good vocal leader for us, complementing players and making them feel good about themselves. He is enthusiastic and has really worked hard."
The Waves have no seniors on the 2009-10 squad, so the addition of Harold would bring the Waves to the maximum limit of 13 scholarships in 2010-11.
Pepperdine (0-1) hosts Long Beach State on Tuesday (Nov. 17) at 7 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse.
