Welcome home SG/SF Blake Harper.
The Final piece to the puzzle…YES!!!
Harper’s Heading to the Hilltop…He’s a Jay!
(While ol’ git was meandering about on youtube…asleep at the wheel…) The top freshman – and the top player in HBCU men’s basketball last season — has announced his final transfer portal choice.
Blake committed to Creighton baby! He’s a Jay!
Blake Harper, who won the conference MEAC Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year awards for Howard University, has narrowed his choices between the Bison, Big East school Creighton, SEC’s LSU, and the Big Ten’s Ohio State.
Harper, a native of Washington, D.C., averaged 19.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3 4. assists per game for the Bison this season, who were upset by Morgan State in the 2025 MEAC Tourney quarterfinals. He has 3 years of eligibility remaining for his chosen school.
https://www.si.com/college/hbcu/basketball/blake-harper-hbcu-basketball-enters-transfer-portal
Sooo. What if ol’ @roytrilliams1 (below) is correct? What impact will a Harper addition add to the Jays?
Blake was one of two incoming frosh on a Howard team with eight seniors. He developed into their lead scorer over the course of the season (3 players with dbl figures. scoring). Harper, while likely not needed to be a prolific scorer with the Bluejays, will enable the offense to explode from all five spots on the floor. His tendency to penetrate and get to the line may turn out to be his greatest strength. He hit 82.5% (221-268) from the line this past season. Comparatively, only Kalk 68.1% (160) and Ash 93% (128) had 100 or more FTA’s. As a team the Jays were 403 of 550 FTs, 73.3%. In the MEAC Quarterfinals vs Morgan St, Blake made 12 of 13 foul shots and finished with 28 points to lead the Bison.
At Gonzaga College HS in Washington, DC, where his dad – Byron Harper, was a longtime assistant coach, Harper’s development stalled. Factors such as size, growth and extra weight prevented him from being the player he had hoped.
“Blake never got to play his best basketball here,” said longtime Gonzaga Coach Steve Turner. “He always had the ball-handling skills because of his development at the guard position. What separates him is his court vision and high basketball IQ. The things that held him back were his height and his weight.”
Washington Informer quote-Ed Hill February 12, 2025
“Howard was the first to offer him. He played with the players on the team and it seemed to be a good fit for him. It was also important for him to play for a coach who looked like him,” the elder Harper told The Informer. “All the right things happened. There was a growth of three inches over the summer. And then, the conditioning program that the coaching staff put in really helped him. He has always had a high IQ for basketball and he had the skills from playing the guard position. His growth was ultimately a game-changer for sure.”
Washington Informer quote-Ed Hill February 12, 2025
As a true Freshman, it seemed like Harper would be brought along slowly, but that was not part of Coach Blakeney’s plan.
“When I watched him in practice, we knew that he was going to be special,” said Howard’s head coach, Kenny Blakeney.
Washington Informer quote-Ed Hill February 12, 2025
He started from Day 1. We know the rest. (Article link below.)
HEADLINES –
https://www.wowt.com/2025/04/27/creighton-mens-basketball-adds-commitment-meac-player-year/
https://www.on3.com/news/howard-transfer-blake-harper-commits-to-creighton/
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/blake-harper-1.html
Alex Drake – Roll Jays Podcast, part of the BE Energy Network. On Wing Blake Harper, MEAC FoY/PoY, potentially coming to Creighton…
“I mean, for me…if, if he does sign with Creighton…let’s go ahead and book our FF tickets in advance.
Because I feel really good about that roster.”
Bluenotes 