Despite a standout prep career with the Hahnville Tigers, Claudell Harris Jr. wasn’t recruited heavily to play at the college level.
Fast forward to this year, and the 2021 HHS graduate was in the middle of it all for Mississippi State in the NCAA tournament, scoring 13 points to go with three rebounds and three assists for the 8th-seeded Bulldogs in their game against Baylor. And though that tight game didn’t fall MSU’s way – Baylor earned a 75-72 victory – the game was the culmination of a goal Harris set for himself.
He wanted to play in the NCAA tournament – he saw it for himself, and he went and got it.
Harris started that game and was tied for the team lead in minutes played. He was a key player for a Bulldogs team that was ranked in the Top 25 this season and played in what most would consider the deepest college basketball conference ever, an SEC that placed a record 14 teams into the tournament.
His father, Claudell Harris Sr., called his son’s success a testament to hard work.
“I’m so proud,” Claudell Sr. said. “He graduated during COVID years. Fans couldn’t even be in the stands and there wasn’t a lot of recruitment. He only had a couple of offers out of high school and he chose Charleston-Southern. He made the most of it and he continued to work hard.”
As a senior at Hahnville, Claudell Jr. earned First Team All-State honors and was the MVP of District 7-5A. He led the Tigers to the state semifinals in both his junior and senior seasons, averaging nearly 19 points per game over that two-year span. Harris also cemented his name in the Hahnville record books – his 22 points in a single quarter stands as a Tigers record, and he also sank 11 3-pointers in one game.
Following in the footsteps of his father, who played collegiately at Southeastern, Claudell Jr. outlined a plan for himself as he prepared to play at the next level.
“We set goals every year,” Claudell Sr. said. “Before each school year, write down your goals for the year. His first goal for his freshman year was to make the starting lineup.”
That’s exactly what Claudell Jr. did, breaking his way into the starting lineup for the last 10 games of his debut season.
In year two, the goals were to be a starter and to be named to the All-Conference team. He achieved both – he earned 2022-23 All-Big South Second Team status after averaging 17.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists. His 17.4 points per game average ranked second in the Big South Conference.
He wanted more. Next, Claudell Jr. wanted to play at a Power Five conference school. He entered the transfer portal and made the jump to Boston College. He became a starter and was the Eagles’ second leading scorer with nearly 14 points per game. He helped lead Boston College to the NIT – it was the Eagles’ first postseason play of any kind in more than a decade.
“Then he said that he wanted to be an SEC starter,” Claudell Sr. said.
Just three years removed from receiving little interest from recruiters, Claudell Jr. was in demand – “almost every school was interested,” Claudell Sr. recalled of his son’s second experience with the transfer portal.
The decision came down to Mississippi State, Texas A&M and Georgia. MSU won out. Out to prove he could play – and start – in the SEC, Claudell Jr. again achieved everything he set out to do.
He was the third leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 9.6 points per game. He and his teammates faced off with 14 different ranked opponents throughout the season.
And he proved a very quick study – Claudell Jr. scored 20 points in his very first game with the Bulldogs, shooting 7-for-11 including six 3-point makes against West Georgia. He scored 15 in a Feb. 18 matchup with Texas A&M and 18 against current Sweet 16 contender Arkansas on Feb. 8.
“I’m extremely proud of him, and even more proud of his journey,” Claudell Sr. said. “It wasn’t given, it didn’t just happen – he had to truly work for it. That’s what I truly love. I think he’s an example for other kids in our community who can see that if he did it, you can do it too.”
