Sports

St. John’s Harkless goes from Knicks fan to 76ers draft pick

St. John’s freshman Maurice Harkless received his agent’s text right about when the 11th pick was being made in the NBA Draft last night. He was told to expect Philadelphia at No. 15. When that pick rolled around, Harkless indeed heard his name. He hugged his mom and received thanks from friends and supporters.

And immediately gave up his life-long membership in the Knicks’ fan club.

“Now I can’t be a fan of the Knicks,” said the Queens-born product who grew up rooting for the Orange and Blue but now places his loyalties a little under 100 miles away.

“That’s really cool to me because I’ve pretty much been close to home my whole life, going to St. John’s and being from New York and having my family close and being able to come out to games is definitely a great feeling,” said Harkless, a 19-year-old, athletic 6-foot-8 small forward with huge upside as a rebounder and defender.

And although the folks who chose the “top prospects” to sit in the green room didn’t see fit to include Harkless, the St. John’s star felt he belonged. But no biggie.

“Watching those guys, I’m definitely happy for those guys [selected out of the green room] because a lot of those guys I know,” Harkless said. “Whether I was in the green room or not, it didn’t really matter. Just grateful to have my name called and be given this opportunity.

“I mean, I felt that I should have been invited to the Green Room, but like I said, it really didn’t matter.”

What mattered most to Harkless was going to a rising team in a system he sees fit for him.

“I think I fit in well. They’re a young team, they like to get out and play fast. And that’s kind of the style I like to play as well,” said Harkless, who averaged 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Red Storm. “Philly is a young team. They play fast. They’re young. They play aggressive plus they had a really good run in the playoffs this year. I think next year, I’ll be able to help them.”

While trying to ruin life for the team he rooted for growing up.