By Five Boro Sports
Haron Hargrave had simple goals for himself when he was young: to play Division I basketball and one day make it professionally.
He accomplished those feats, first starring for Sacramento State of the Big Sky Conference then playing overseas for Gaz Metan Medias in Romania.
Still, there was something missing when he came home in June and started playing in the city’s numerous streetball leagues.
Nobody knew who he was.
That, however, is no longer a problem for the Jamaica product. Not after he excelled at Hoops in the Sun, the Entertainers Basketball Classic and Tri-State Classic, West 4th St. and the Kingdome Classic. On Aug. 13, he helped lead the Kingdome team into the Dyckman tournament final, where they were scheduled to meet Bingo’s All-Stars this week.
“I’ve played my game and got my name out there,” he said proudly. “A lot of people know my name now.”
Announcers refer to him as H2O, the chemical formula for water, because his jump shot is so smooth.
The 6-foot combo guard has battled the best the city has to offer, such as current Division I stars Kemba Walker (UConn), Scott Machado (Iona) and Corey Fisher (Villanova). He also teamed with dynamic guards Kenny Satterfield and Kareem Reid, both of them streetball fixtures, on Kingdome.
In other leagues, he was forced to be the go-to guy. Sometimes, he had to hold back.
“I can defer or take over,” the 25-year-old Jamaica native said. “I have my own little flair to the game. I look at the big names and I want to be the best. I want people to see me and think it’s going to be a long day.”
Said Kingdome Assistant Coach Laquan Perkins: “He does it all. He’s coachable, he plays ‘D,’ he hits the long ball. No matter what, he comes to play.”
This is Hargrave’s first year being fully immersed in the streetball circuit. In past years, he always had classes of some kind to take care of. But finally a professional, he was able to completely dedicate himself to his craft, working out in the morning and playing several games at night.
“When I go back to Europe, I’ll be ready to go,” he promised. “It’s kept me in shape. Everybody out here in New York is doing something big.”
Hargrave credited legendary Campus Magnet High School Coach Charles Granby, who he considers a father figure, and his mother, Rhonda, who died four years ago from diabetes, for his career. His mother got him started by personally organizing local tournaments and Granby instilled maturity and discipline.
“He coaches the best of the best,” Hargrave recalled. “I could score 30 and it was nothing to him.”
After his sterling career at Campus Magnet, where Hargrave was an all-city talent, he took the junior college route. He spent a year apiece at Chaffey (Calif.) Junior College and then Sullivan County Community College. He landed at Sacramento State, where he led the team in scoring as a senior, played a year for the Albany Patroons in the CBA before finding a home, albeit briefly, in Romania.
Hargrave isn’t sure where he’ll end up this fall — he is mulling offers to play in Italy and Greece. He is more concerned with Thursday night. Hargrave didn’t make the final in any of the other leagues.
“This is important to me, it means a lot,” he said. “I want to go to the Tournament of Champions.”
