Harold Heading Home

New England Recruiting Report | Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Northfield Mount Hermon’s senior swingman Hector Harold made a verbal commitment to Pepperdine University on Monday morning. 

Harold visited the campus in late September, and after having spent the last two weeks thinking it over, decided to pull the trigger on the WCC school. 

“It’s 45 minutes away from my house, it’s in L.A., the coaching staff is real hungry, they have a good young team, they’re a program working their way back up to the top of the WCC, and on a personal level I already knew some of the guys on the team,” Harold told the New England Recruiting Report.  “Everything just made it seem like the right fit for me.”

Harold left California to transfer to Northfield Mount Hermon just prior to his junior season.  When he first arrived he was a fairly one dimensional catch and shoot player but has since evolved into a more versatile and complete player. 

“He was really limited to the perimeter when he first came here but now he can go off the bounce, go inside, and is a much more complete player,” said NMH head coach John Carroll.  “He’s evolved into a leader in every aspect here and that’s something he’s wearing very comfortably and I think he’ll do the same at Pepperdine.” 

Harold has all the abilities to step right in and make an immediate contribution at Pepperdine as second year head coach Tom Asbury and his staff attempt to rebuild the program to be able to compete with the likes of WCC powerhouses like Gonzaga, St. Mary’s, and San Diego. 

“The reality is this is a kid who could have gone to a higher level,” Carroll said.  “He’s had higher looks and a lot of people were telling him to play through the season, but the chance to go back home, play in front of family and friends, and take Pepperdine to the top of the West Coast Conference was something he was really up for.”