Harvard basketball: Crimson snags Canadian recruit in Noah Kirkwood
Even though Harvard basketball has a starting backcourt in line for the next three years, coach Tommy Amaker is already thinking about the future.
One of the more impressive achievements of Tommy Amaker’s reign as the Crimson coach has been his ability to recruit talented players that power conference programs covet. It’s not because of the academic standards, but rather the unique conference rules and a severe lack of television opportunities that hurt recruitment to the Ivy League.
Nonetheless, Amaker has again signed a good one in the form of a 6’7″ wing Noah Kirkwood. He’s ranked by 247sports as the No. 137 prospect for 2018. He’s also considered the top Canadian prospect as well.
Kirkwood chose Harvard over Tulane, Pittsburgh, George Washington, and several others. The three-star commit played for the U-19 Canadian basketball team, contributing in each game on their gold medal run. In the semifinals against the United States, he chipped in six points in nine minutes of action.
At 6’7″ with the ability to shoot, Kirkwood can play and guard multiple positions. That kind of versatility and size will cause havoc in his future Ivy counterparts.
The Canadian is Harvard’s third commit for 2018. He joins three-star forward Kale Catchings and four-star point guard Spencer Freedman. While it may seem weird to focus on guards when the starting backcourt for this season are sophomores, but it’s the perfect move for Amaker.
Aiken and Towns are an exception at Harvard in that they played huge minutes as freshmen. By now having a pair of capable guards coming down the pipeline, the future veterans (Aiken and Towns) can become mentors for them and allow the rate of development to go at a more comfortable speed.
It also essentially allows the coaching staff to exclusively recruit a post player, giving them a potential advantage in that area.
Amaker has had his name floated around for past coaching gigs and we’re starting to see why he’s been turning them down. He’s building his own strong team, one that could make some big noise in the future.