St. John’s star freshman recruit Maurice Harkless has been cleared by the NCAA to play for the Red Storm this season, The Post has learned.
Harkless is arguably the most important recruit in Steve Lavin’s highly ranked recruiting class because he is the elite city player the Red Storm have been unable to keep at home in recent years.
Harkless’s eligibility was called into question over a new NCAA rule that prohibits a player from playing for a school which employs a person in non-coaching capacity that coached the recruit in high school and/or AAU ball within two years.
Harkless played in three tournaments for the Gauchos, at the time run by Moe Hicks, who is now the Red Storm director of basketball operations. Hicks, however, did not coach Harkless in any of those tournaments and Harkless maintained he played mostly with the Panthers.
“For a while I was nervous because it was taking so long,’’ Harkless told The Post. “I’m glad it’s over with.”
A source told The Post that Lavin spoke with Harkless on Thursday night to relay the good news. Another source told The Post the Red Storm were confident throughout the investigation because the NCAA did not initially jump to a conclusion but diligently reviewed the facts.
Harkless had to send the NCAA his phone records from last summer. The evidence confirmed Harkless only played with the Gauchos over two weekends and that team was coached by Dwayne Mitchell.
Harkless, a 6-8 forward with a marvelous skill set, is one of the elite recruits coaches dream about getting. He is a polite young man, a polished player and a student who is fully qualified academically
“I was pretty confident it would all work out,’’ Harkless said. “It feels good. Now I can focus on just getting ready and I don’t have to worry about anything. I just can’t wait to get in there and officially get in school.”