Elite recruit Harmoni Turner commits to Harvard
By Matt Ward
The five star guard will continue her career in the Ivy League
The Ivy League has been emerging for a while now. Ever since the Princeton women’s team finished the 2014-15 regular season undefeated, and won their first-round NCAA Tournament game, before falling to No. 1 seed, Maryland, the rest of the country has been on notice. Let’s not forget that it was the Harvard women, not the UMBC men, who in 1998, became the first 16-seed to upset a No.1 seed in either NCAA Tournament, as they topped Stanford, 71-67.
There is a new reason to smile in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as five star guard, Harmoni Turner, has verbally committed to head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith and the Crimson. Turner, of Mansfield, Texas, and Mansfield Legacy High School, is the 41st ranked player in the 2020 class, according to ESPN, and the 6th ranked player in Texas. According to sources, Turner had multiple power-5 conference offers.
Turner has been an elite player in Texas, as she averaged just over 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals per game as a junior last year. She plays AAU with DFW Elite, who competes on the Nike EYBL circuit. Turner will miss her senior season after tearing an ACL competing this summer, but it expected to be ready to go for her first year at Harvard.
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When Turner returns, she will do so for a Harvard team that is looking to win its first Ivy League Championship since 2008. While it isn’t a common occurrence for an Ivy League team to land a top-100 recruit, both Princeton and Harvard have found success in doing so in recent years.
In 2016, Princeton landed current two-time Ivy League Player of the Year, Bella Alarie, the 83rd ranked player in the class, while that same year, Harvard landed Jeannie Boehm, who like Turner, was the 41st ranked player in the class.
Turner will bring an electric skillset to Harvard, with an uncanny ability to handle the basketball and run an offense, as well as the ability to flat out score from all three levels. She has terrific range, competes on both ends, and is able to fill the stat sheet on a regular basis.
The Crimson have made each of the three Ivy Madness tournaments since its inception in 2017. With Turner on her way to Cambridge, that run looks very likely to continue.
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