It was announced today that William & Mary Tribe Basketball program added a graduate transfer student from Dartmouth, Cole Harrison. Welcome to the Tribe Cole! With the Tribe losing several players this offseason (Jack Whitman and Greg Malinowski to transfer, as well as the dismissal/transfer of Hunter Seacat), especially in the “big man” department, Head Coach Tony Shaver was looking to add some much needed depth; he found some in Cole Harrison. But let’s get to know Cole, his accomplishments at Dartmouth, to get a better picture for how he will fit in with the Green and Gold. Roll Tribe Roll.

Cole Harrison 

QUICK HITS

• Height: 6’11″
• Weight: 245
• Class: Graduate Transfer
• High School: Montrose Christian (Rockville, Maryland)
• Number: #44 (while at Dartmouth)
• Twitter Account: @ColeHarrison

Dartmouth Profile

For this next section, we dug up Cole’s online profile from the Dartmouth Athletics website. It offers some great insight on him personally, as well as his progression with the Big Green. We’ve bolded some of the key highlights, and added in his high school highlights for your viewing pleasure, because you can never listen to enough instrumental hype music (I mean, am I right?). You can check out his full Darmouth profile here.

PERSONAL
Full name is Christian Cole Harrison … born on May 5, 1994 … son of Barry and Connie Harrison has one brother … father played hoops at Lipscomb University for Don Meyer … keen interest in studying psychology and/or economics with an eye on going into the business world … avid disc golfer.

HIGH SCHOOL
Played at powerhouse Montrose Christian Academy in Maryland for coach Stu Vetter during his senior year of high school … the year prior was at Brentwood Academy under coach Dennis King in his hometown … also played for Battle Ground Academy and coach Lenn McKnatt … averaged seven points and eight rebounds for Montrose Christian, which finished 2012-13 ranked 25th nationally with a 19-5 record … helped Brentwood to district and regional championships with a 26-7 record before finishing as the sub-state runner-up … played in three games that were televised by ESPN in high school … member of National Honor Society and FCA.

FRESHMAN (2013-14)
Injuries kept him off the court through most of the non-conference portion of the schedule … made debut at Harvard, playing five minutes while attempting one shot … next time against the Crimson saw action for 18 minutes … scored nine points versus Yale on 4-of-7 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and blocked two shots, all season highs … made his only field goal attempt at Cornell, tallying three points and hauling down five boards in nine minutes … lone start came at Columbia and played 15 minutes … injuries caught up to him after that, keeping him off the floor the rest of the season.

SOPHOMORE (2014-15)
Saw playing time in 27 of the 29 contests … opened the year by setting season highs in field goals (3), attempts (7) and points (6) at St. Bonaventure on Nov. 15 … got lone starting assignment at Longwood on Dec. 3, playing 11 minutes and scoring three points … blocked five shots over an eight-game span in the middle of the season …

knocked down three field goals in four attempts in a mere six minutes at Vermont on Jan. 14 … matched that shooting total two and a half weeks later at Princeton while hauling in four rebounds over 14 minutes, both of which were season-highs, as were his six points for the third time … snagged four caroms in the next game at Yale on Feb. 6, but also fouled out having played a mere seven minutes … tied for third on the team with a pair of dunks.

 

JUNIOR (2015-16)
Checked into 17 games throughout the season … contributed a bucket and two rebounds to the 79-56 win over LIU Brooklyn early in the season … added two more points and three boards against in-state rival New Hampshire … best game came against Pine Manor in which he hit 3-of-5 field goals and both free throws for eight points, plus had career highs with eight rebounds and a pair of assists in 12 minutes of action … hit 3-of-4 from the line and hauled in three boards in a loss to Columbia … collected three more rebounds in just two minutes during an 87-70 triumph over Brown.

SENIOR (2016-17)
Missed the season due to an injury.

W&M Sports Blog Analysis: Why You Should Care

After reading through his bio, you can see that Cole’s impact at Dartmouth was all over the board, and unfortunately, much of it was defined by whether or not he was healthy enough to play — never averaging more than 2 points per game. However, when he did play, he showed flashes of brilliance that reminded everyone why he belonged. Standing at 6’11” 245 pounds, his frame is quite literally made for basketball (or football, if you ask someone like Jimmy Graham).

After watching Harrison’s high school tape, you understand that he can impact the game not only on the defensive side of the floor, but on the offensive side as well. Impressively, he has the ability, seemingly rare among big men, to face up and shoot jump shots. In a 2013 Washington Post article (yes, we do our research at the W&M Sports Blog!), Harrison provided a quote that sticks with us: “I’ve always tried to start games by making an impact at the defensive end, but I feel like I can also make a difference with my rebounding and overall presence inside the lane…I’ve learned this past year how to help my team win without having to score.”

When looking purely at his stats, most fans will shrug and say, who cares? Just another body on the team. But basketball is much more than that — it’s a game is played on both ends of the court, not just the offensive end. Think about it, despite boasting a less than meager 28% Free Throw percentage last year, would you still take Hofstra’s 6’9″ 250 pound Lithuanian dynamo Rokas Gustys on your team? Of course you would! Now why is that the case? It’s because Gustys, with his big body and defensive presence alone, single handedly disrupts games (averaging 12.1 rebounds per game last year) — frequently finishing with double-digit rebound totals. And when he scores 10+ points, Hofstra typically has the game in the bag.

Fit with the 

Now, I don’t make that point to say that Cole Harrison equals Rokas Gustys, but I do make it to emphasize that with some polishing, Harrison can have a big impact for the Tribe this season. The Washington Post article further mentions that Dartmouth employs a Princeton offense — much the same as your William & Mary Tribe. Predicated on constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork, this style of offense allows Harrison to play to his strengths: in the post, and facing up for short jump shots.

In addition to the Dartmouth offer, Harrison finished with 13 Division I offers from schools like fellow CAA rival Towson, UMBC, Lipscomb, Mercer and Wofford. More impressively, at Montrose Christian, Harrison maintained a sparkling 4.0 GPA. He sounds like a member of the Tribe already; and speaking of academics, he will continue on at W&M as a member of the Mason School of Business in pursuit of an MBA. Impressive.

On the court, Harrison will join fellow big man and starter Nathan Knight. Nathan boasts the highest scoring average of all returning players, finishing with just over 9 per game last season. But with the aforementioned Jack Whitman having transferred earlier this offseason, Coach Shaver acted quickly in bringing another big man on to replace him. And he did just that with Cole Harrison.

Conclusion

Harrison will see plenty of minutes this season, and luckily enough, will be traveling with the team on its upcoming international trip to Jamaica on August 5. This will provide him with plenty of time to gel with the rest of the squad before the season officially starts in November.

We’re excited to see what this season holds, with plenty of new faces getting a shot, there will be no shortage of excitement this year on the court for your William & Mary squad. LET’S GO TRIBE!!!