When he looks out at his team, Lake Clifton High coach Herman “Tree” Harried is the tallest guy in the huddle. A former collegiate standout, Harried isn?t too concerned, though.
Harried has the Lakers (8-1) focused, which he feels is key in City League play.
“Keeping focus and staying together when we face adversity,” Harried said of the team?s keys. “And overcome that adversity together.”
Lake Clifton ? which has won two state titles, the last coming in 1999 ? isn?t necessarily undersized this season, but the team has a number of athletes who are 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-4. With that in mind, Harried prefers his offense to stay active.
“All of our guards can dribble,” Harried said. “First guy gets it, everybody breaks out. They all can shoot. We just try to play to our strength. We just try to get it and go.”
Senior guard Terrence Jones, who averages 15 points per game, runs the offense. Jones played power forward last season but has stepped into the point guard role this year.
“He?s very intelligent,” Harried said. “He can play all the positions without reviewing them. He?s the key to our success. If he doesn?t go, we don?t go. I?m very hard on Terrence Jones. I don?t let up.”
That seems to be the key for Harried, who is also the school?s athletic director.
“I try to give them the skills,” Harried said. “We have to sign in to go to work. So why not have them sign in now?”
They also wear dress shirts and ties on game days.
“I do a lot of life skills through basketball,” Harried said. “They don?t see it, but the reward is when they come back years later [and realize it].”
The players may not see it now, but Harried?s fellow employees do.
“Father figure, all the way around,” Lydia Hall, a school secretary, said of Harried. “Awesome man.”
The basketball team also offers the students at Lake Clifton an activity that forces them to stay focused in the classroom.
“He?s a disciplinarian,” said instructional support teacher April Jones. “He believes the student-athletes should be students first.”
Harried has been there. He played for Syracuse in the late 1980s, including the 1987 NCAA tournament when the Orange fell to Indiana in the final seconds of the title game. He also played professionally in Europe for five years.
After all his travels, Harried has found a home.
“This is where I was meant to be. That?s what I truly believe in my soul,” Harried said. “A lot of people aren?t cut out to deal with these young men and the situations that they deal with. I love being here. My purpose of coaching is beyond. … it?s teaching life skills.”
