I hope this works. I hope in 10 years I’m in the Garden watching Moe Harkless score and rebound the way he did this past season for St. John’s.
I hope he’s not with the Globetrotters. Honest.
Harkless, the St. John’s freshman, has decided to make himself available for the NBA Draft, several sources told The Post. There’s always a chance, after Harkless and his family do their due diligence — and I hope they will do at least that much — he will return for his sophomore season.
“Even if he gets picked at the bottom of the first round,’’ one source told The Post. “He wants to start the clock.’’
By that, the source means the sooner a player gets drafted and signs his first contract, the sooner the clock starts ticking toward his first big contract. And if a player gets to that second big contract, he gets to build one of those houses in Florida with a five-car garage and a workout room.
I hope this happens for Harkless because he is a genuinely nice kid. His mother and sister work at an Applebee’s. It is honorable work, but no one ever built their dream house off of tips.
There is no question the 6-foot-8, 209-pound forward has NBA talent and potential, and a big part of the draft is about potential.
But with his build Harkless looks more like an Olympic swimmer than an NBA small forward. And because of the NBA work stoppage, many of the 2011 elite freshmen — see Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger — are sure to come out this time.
“We haven’t had a real detailed conversation about everything,’’ his advisor, Nate Blue, told The Post in a text. “Until then, the decision hasn’t been made.’’
Hopefully, Harkless will make it and make it big. He would be a beacon to show other kids coming out of the city if you work hard and avoid trouble, great things can come.
But Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said Harkless should reconsider leaving this year.
“He needs to stay in school and get better,’’ Boeheim told The Post’s Steve Serby. “The [NBA] developmental league is littered with guys 6-7 or 6-8. You’ve got to really be good. He’s a really talented player, but he needs another year.’’