©2009 NCSU Student Media
The dining porch of Sammy’s Tap and Grill Wednesday resembled how the restaurant looks on a Saturday afternoon as N.C. State students and fans alike crowded in to watch the action.
But, for Wolfpack basketball fans, the action wasn’t on the big screen; it was at the table at the front of the room as Ryan Harrow signed his letter of intent, becoming coach Sidney Lowe’s second recruit to sign this November after Lorenzo Brown re-committed to join the program.
Harrow, a senior at Walton High School in Marietta, Ga., traveled with his family and high school coach to Raleigh to publicly declare he’ll suit up for Lowe, whose 2010-11 recruiting class is ranked 12th in the nation by ESPN.com.
The 6 foot point guard said Lowe was the first Division 1 coach to visit him, and though he had offers this summer from Auburn and Chattanooga, he said he likes the position he’ll be in with the Pack as he’s convinced he and the rest of the recruiting class will help the program turn the corner next season.
“We’ll be able to make an impact,” Harrow said. “We’ll turn a lot of heads.”
Harrow, whose first contact with the coaching staff began in his freshman year when Monte Towe visited, said the welcome at Sammy’s was one of the reasons he wanted to come to State.
“It makes me feel like a big deal,” he said.
And fans let him know it. Harrow took a victory lap, of sorts, around the restaurant, posing for photos with fans, signing autographs and talking basketball as half the LCD TVs in the bar played highlights from his high school career on loop.
Grayson Joyner, a senior in sport management, posed for a photo with Harrow, who, according to Joyner, has brought excitement the likes of which State fans haven’t had in years.
“This is a monumental step for our basketball program,” Joyner said. “I haven’t seen [this enthusiasm] in years, and I’ve followed the program since I was 12 years old.”