Haralson more than 3-point shooter

By: Kevin Duffy

Posted: 11/14/08

On the surface, Scottie Haralson is a 3-point specialist in every sense of the term.

Following every three-hour practice (where Haralson knocks down 46 percent of his long-range attempts according to coach Jim Calhoun), he stays in Gampel Pavilion shooting 3s until he gets kicked out.

Haralson stands behind the arc, takes a pass from a team manager, rises up and follows through in perfect rhythm. Splash.

He gets the ball back and does it again. Splash.

"It seems like he's making every shot," said senior guard A.J. Price. "He hasn't been missing. If he can bring that during the season in the games, he can be a big help for us."

Every shot involves the same footwork, the same release, and most of the time, the same result. He does it 300 or 400 times after every single practice.

Haralson been like that since high school. Since the 6-foot-4, 215-pound guard started playing basketball, he has been obsessed with the magic of the long-range bomb.

To the casual observer, Haralson is your typical gym rat. He's a guy that wakes up thinking about shooting a basketball, goes through the day practicing it and then goes to sleep dreaming about it.

But to those who know him, he's much more than that.

Haralson, the 2008 Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year, works on his academics as hard as he works on his jumpshot. Haralson's 3.75 grade point average was good for No. 3 in his graduating class of 201 students at Provine High School in Jackson, Miss.

"School is always something my parents have pushed real hard," Haralson said. "No matter what I did on the court, they always took pride in what I did in school. Really, since I've been in school, I've always been up there at the top of my class."

Haralson has a hard time distinguishing which accomplishment he's most proud of - probably because the list is so lengthy. Aside from being Mississippi's Player of the Year, a UConn signee and a n honor roll student, Haralson led Provine to back-to-back state championships as well.

"I'd say I am proud of them all equally," Haralson said. "They all mean something different. But I've worked hard to achieve each one and I'm going to keep working hard to achieve more."

Haralson is undecided in determining his major right now, but he says he enjoys math courses the most and will most likely go in that direction. Then again, he always has basketball to fall back on.

Even before Haralson plays in his first regular season game, the comparisons to ex-UConn star Rashad Anderson, the program's all-time leading 3-point shooter, are inevitable.

Calhoun, for one, can't talk about Haralson without mentioning Anderson.

The similarities are uncanny. Both are pure long-distance marksmen. Both have the capability of stretching the defense and changing the game. And both have body types that are more suitable for an outside linebacker than for a spot-up jumpshooter.

"They were begging me to play football in high school," Haralson said. "But I wanted to stick to one sport and be as good as possible at it, so I picked basketball."

Given his advanced physical build (he benches 260 pounds and squats 325), Haralson has challenged himself to do what Anderson never could - provide the Huskies with more than one dimension.

"I can use my strength to my advantage," Haralson said. "I can take the ball hard to the rim, rebound well, play defense - all those kinds of things. There are going to be days when my shot isn't falling. I still have to help out this team."