Raiders' Harrington hits ground running
5/29/2010 – Raiders' Harrington hits ground running
New women's hoops coach blazing the recruiting trail
By ADAM ROSENBERG
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4484 | arosenberg@nwfdailynews.com
When he speaks, newly hired Northwest Florida State College women's basketball coach Patrick Harrington speaks quickly. The administration that hired him is hoping he can have the Raiders competing for championships just as fast.
Forced to make a coaching change on the fly when Bart Walker resigned just over a month ago, NWF State tapped Harrington, a successful assistant for most of his career, to take over the program. Harrington now finds himself diving headfirst into the Panhandle Conference, which is arguably the nation's toughest junior college women's basketball conference.
His first order of business is to extend seven or eight scholarship offers to players he thinks can help the Raiders improve on their 17-8 overall record from last year, including just a 4-8 mark in conference play and a postseason absence.
"We aren't waiting around until next season to compete," Harrington said. "We have to be ready to compete immediately. But that takes players. I want kids who will work hard and play the right way, with discipline."
At his most recent job as an assistant at the University of Colorado, Harrington was a co-recruiting coordinator. His efforts helped bring the Buffaloes the nation's No. 32 recruiting class according to ESPN.com.
Harrington has recruiting contacts around the country, as he has worked as far east as Massachusetts and as far west as Oregon, with several stops in between. Those recruiting contacts played a big role in him landing the job in Niceville.
"Our players are going to come from all different avenues," Harrington said. "We might get transfers from Division-I schools or other JUCOs, and we also have contacts internationally."
The Raiders have four returning players from last year, as well as three commitments from before Walker resigned. Harrington plans on contacting those players as soon as he can to make sure they're on board in addition to using his remaining scholarships.
Although filling out his roster is obviously Harrington's first priority, mapping out a gameplan for his new players is sure to follow. However, he says the style of play that fans will see on the court depends a great deal on the types of players he's able to land through recruiting.
"It all depends on the personnel," Harrington said. "It really doesn't matter what our strategy is if we don't have players. I've always believed in stressing rebounding, limiting turnovers, forcing turnovers and making our layups and free throws. If you do all that and mix in some chemistry, we can compete."