Moe Harkless, a Queens product who starred for one season at St. John’s, made his first local NBA appearance yesterday with the Magic against the Nets at Barclays Center. He was truly excited to be home, like any rookie. He bought 10 tickets for family and friends, like any rookie.
“If other people are coming, they bought their own tickets. I don’t have money like that,” Harkless said beforehand, like any veteran.
The game went badly for Harkless, fellow Queens rookie Kyle O’Quinn and all the Magic as the Nets beat them for the second time in three days, this one by an 82-74 score.
But for Harkless, the No. 15 pick in June by the 76ers before he moved in the Dwight Howard trade, and O’Quinn, a second-rounder from the 15th-seeded Norfolk State team that upset Missouri in the NCAA Tournament, yesterday was not so much about suffering as it was learning and having family and friends on hand.
“It’s exciting because I get to see my family, and they get to come and watch me play — that’s always a good feeling,” said Harkless, a star at Forest Hills High before he was the Big East Rookie of the Year last season. “It [the NBA] is different and like another whole game, so I’m trying to get used to it.”
Harkless, who missed the entire preseason with a sports hernia, made his debut Wednesday. Yesterday, in his third appearance, the 6-foot-8 hybrid forward played 11 minutes, missing his only two shots.
O’Quinn was born in Jamaica, Queens, not far from Harkless’ stomping grounds, but they did not know each other growing up. Harkless is 19, O’Quinn 22.
“It’s the same exact neighborhood, probably 10 minutes away. If we were closer in age we probably would have been playing some games against one another,” said O’Quinn, a 6-foot-10, 240-pound hulk who had about 30 people in the crowd supporting him, though he did not get onto the floor as the Magic’s third center. “It means a lot to come back home, play in front of your family and your mom and dad come to the game. Playing in a new arena is always exciting and actually being from here makes it even more exciting.”