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38 GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATE VOLUME 26, ISSUE 3 KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com A freshman, Bria Harmon could have spent years being recruited, taking trips, being wooed, see- ing who wanted her most. But she didn't see a reason for any of that. All she saw were reasons to make an early commitment to Purdue. So she did in November, picking the Boilermakers to become Sharon Versyp's first commitment in the 2019 class. "It was pretty easy, because it seemed like the right decision to make," said Harmon, a point guard from Su- wanee, Ga. "There was a lot of signs that let me know that it was the right place to go." Among those: Harmon wants to major in engineer- ing; she's friends with Class of 2016 signees Miracle Gray and Dominique Oden, having played with them in her dad's AAU program; she knows former Boilermak- ers Drey Mingo and Antoinette Howard, who were also coached by Brian Harmon, and has heard about their positive feelings for Purdue; and she likes the Boiler- makers' style of play, having watched about every game of Purdue's 8-2 start this season. "I could see me fitting in with their guards," Harmon said. "The way that they play, the style, a lot of ball-han- dling, getting to the basket, a lot of jump shots. They can play their own game — it's not like a bunch of robotic stuff — it's their style. I have a style too that I can bring to the table. I think that works out." Only seven games into her high school career — Collins High School is undefeated — Bria Harmon is averaging about nine points and eight assists per game. Brian, who coaches at Collins and also for FBC South- east Elite, calls her a great ball-hander and passer, a tra- ditional point. "She'll shoot the three well and has a very high IQ," he said. "She understands playing the game inside-out, understands getting the ball to the post. Her challenge is help defense off-the-ball, that's something we talk about all the time. But it's easy to coach her." Bria has a lot of growth to do, not uncommon for a player transitioning from eighth-grade ball — "(That) was pretty much a breeze last year," she said — to var- sity. But she works at it, thanks to her own desire to improve and her dad's push. "There's a challenge every day," she said, "so I'm get- ting better and my IQ is getting better as well." But Bria will now be able to spend the next three years — her signing date isn't until early November, 2018 — focusing on basketball rather than recruiting. This early in her career, she had started to receive let- WOMEN'S BASKETBALL RECRUITING Early Catch Georgia point guard commits