Miner Rush, a UTEP Miners community

A Mississippi area newspaper, The Dispatch, discusses Rashanti's path from high school star to El Paso. The article quotes Dave Telep, the national recruiting director for Scout.com, on his observations of Harris' remarkable performances at a 2007 prep tournament. If you weren't excited about his potential earlier, you will be after you read this.

Brian Stinnette of Chicago Hoops is reporting that Michael Haynes, a 3 Star (Rivals) forward has committed to UTEP. Haynes had offers from Minnesota, South Florida, and Xavier and made headlines when Duke showed interest in him late in the recruiting season. Haynes visited Duke for their February game against Virginia Tech. ESPN (Insider) shows that Haynes drew interest from Marquette, Iowa State, DePaul, and Bradley. UTEP's C-USA rival Marshall was also reportedly interested in Haynes. Haynes was a star at Chicago's Washington High before transferring to the Heat Academy in Martinsville, Virginia. Haynes was rumored to visit UTEP last weekend along with Rashanti Harris and Stinnette says that he "loved the environment at UTEP" and was "excited to become a Miner." I can't verify the accuracy of this report. I do know that Tim Floyd is on the recruiting trail right now and we should expect some official announcements when he gets back to El Paso. One thing is certain: Tim Floyd is being aggressive on the recruiting trail. Haynes had offers from marquee programs in powerful conferences. If Floyd has signed him, along with Rashanti Harris, it would be huge for the program on a national recruiting level.

We knew it was a done deal, but it's nice to hear the "letters have arrived" at Tim Floyd's office. Harris definitely has eligibility concerns, but there's no way Tim Floyd would be recruiting him if he wasn't positive he would be cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse. KTSM has also confirmed that Harris will have four years of eligibility with UTEP. It's not clear if he will have to sit out next season, per NCAA transfer rules, since he did not play in any games last season with Georgia State. KTSM also confirms that William Small, Harris' recruiter at Georgia State, will join Tim Floyd at UTEP but the article wasn't clear in what capacity he will serve. He won't be UTEP's Director of Basketball Operations, as that spot has been filled by former Floyd player (USC Forward) Keith Wilkinson. So, it appears Small will be an assistant coach and/or recruiting coordinator. Small has 16 years of coaching experience and it's all in the southeast. He's coached at Southeastern Louisiana, Troy, Western Kentucky (where he's credited with signing Courtney Lee who's now with the New Jersey Nets), Tulane, and most recently Georgia State. At Georgia State, Small was the lead recruiter of Harris and three star forward James Vincent. If Small could consistently sign 3 and 4 star recruits to the Colonial Athletic Association's Georgia State, I can't even begin to imagine what he might be able to bring to UTEP. So far, with Harris coming along with him, he's off to a good start in El Paso. Also, in news that slipped through the cracks seemingly everywhere else, John Bohannon, of Lancaster, has also signed on the dotted line. These signings give UTEP a 6'9 center who physically is ready to play immediately and a 6'10 freshman who has seemingly endless upside. Bohannon was the star of Tony Barbee's final recruiting class and it was vital that Floyd keep him committed. With Jamison Stearns and Darrious Curry out of the picture, the only Miner recruit unaccounted for is Matt Korcheck, a 6'9 center out of Sabino High School in Tucson. Scout has Korcheck rated as the #29 center prospect in this year's class. On April 14, Bill Knight reported that Korcheck is "still with the Miners" but I have not found confirmation that he's made it official. If he does sign, or has, the Miners will be set in the post in 2012. Exciting times.