University of Maryland men’s basketball freshman Jaziah Harper had never been to the East Coast prior to coming to College Park, but head coach Buzz Williams was key to Harper’s decision to commit to the Terps in May.
“I figured out who the coach was and I knew right off the bat if I had the opportunity to play with him, I knew I would advance and grow tremendously,” Harper said on Glenn Clark Radio Sept. 2. ” … I’ve been going to work. He’s been putting us to work.”
The 6-foot-7, 205-pound wing from Oak Park, Ill., received interest from Wisconsin, Clemson, Baylor, Michigan and Indiana before settling on Maryland. Harper didn’t actually know Williams before being recruited. However, the athletic director at his prep school, Bosco Institute in Indiana, was friends with Williams.
“I put all trust into my athletic director. Being able to play with [Williams], I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m excited,'” Harper said.
Williams became head coach at Maryland in April and had to turn over the entire roster, but his reputation and personality gathered new recruits. For fellow freshman Darius Adams, all it took was one conversation with Williams to join the team.
Harper said it was easy to connect with his teammates and the coaching staff. The roster is a group of 16, none of whom Harper had met prior to coming to Maryland. He asks a lot of questions to some of the older teammates who came from Texas A&M who have worked with Williams before.
Now that Harper is at Maryland, he looks forward to continuing to connect with the rest of the team, whether through faith or as a mentee. He has gone to church with his new teammates.
“Right now, we’re all connected,” Harper said. “We’ve done several activities off and on the court, so everybody is really great, even the coaching staff. I connected with a lot of the coaching staff really well.”
Harper only has three Instagram posts. The Bible verses Psalm 23:1 and Philippians 4:14 in his bio.
“I choose what I want to share with the world,” he said. “I just keep it with my family and coach.”
For more from Jaziah Harper, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jaziah Harper