Article 222: Harnell a classified weapon

June 22, 2011

Lawrence Livermore National Labs is a premier research and development institution for science and technology applied to national security. As a result, the United States Department of Energy sponsored campus will see officers in camouflaged uniforms carrying AK-47s at the various entry checkpoints and roaming the campus throughout the day. Another classified weapon in Livermore that will be better known in the upcoming basketball season will be the Livermore High wing player, McKayle Harnell.
At 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, Harnell can run the 40 yard dash in 4.52 seconds, bench press 265 pounds, squat 300 pounds, and has a vertical of 35 inches that allowed him to average 17.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Despite those impressive attributes and statistics, his Cowboys finished last season 10-16 in the East Bay Athletic League (EBAL). Harnell is both a finesse and power player who considers his best basketball skill to be his off the dribble mid-range jump shot because it often catches defenders off guard.

Livermore Coach Patrick Mcknight assesses Harnell's strengths. "He's a competitor who wants to be a good player," said Mcknight. "He strikes a decent balance between passing and scoring. As a playmaker, he excels off the drive and feels he is the go to guy. When he flips it into scoring mode, he's more than capable of taking his medicine and accepting contact. His shot isn't textbook, though he's a volume shot-maker, especially off the dribble going to the paint. He's a young player for his grade. Outstanding student whose academic/basketball will make small colleges take notice. He's willing to pursue balls out of his area, has great rebounding ability. He loves the dunk and the 3point line."

During this summer, Harnell is playing for Lakeshow 17U. He plans on working on his free throw shooting and on his dribbling because free throws win games and he will have to bring the ball up more in the upcoming season. Harnell has played basketball since his third grade and has been on the varsity team since his freshman year.

As for what he needs to improve on, Coach Mcknight says, "He needs to avoid getting frustrated and knocked off task as sometimes his competitiveness works against him. His shot selection can be flighty at times while he can also be careless with the basketball when he dribbles. He is terribly un-vocal for a guard/forward and can turn off teammates when his on-court temperament leads to poor decisions."

Despite having a double double average, Harnell has not attracted any college contact yet. He wants to play college basketball in a motion offense because the screens are hard to stop and still allows the one on one situation to happen. Harnell will be travelling with Lakeshow to get some much needed exposure on the summer circuit.

Lakeshow 17U Coach Joe Fuca says, "McKayle is a strong player. He has the perfect body for basketball. He is built like a V shape. He is one of the stronger players in the program. He can rebound and play defense against the BIGS up to 6-8, but on the other end he can play many positions on offense. He has a great jump shot and he can score around the basket. McKayle is very dedicated and works hard to get better. He makes 100% of the workouts and takes it very serious. He will have a great year this coming year with Livermore High School and be their best player. He had a thunderous dunk in a big game against the Southern CA All Stars where he was up against their 6-10 center and played him toe to toe. He is a good mid major candidate or DII at the wing."

Harnell runs track but expects to play basketball at the next level. His goals next season are to make MVP of his league and make it to NCS. Livermore also will feature two other guards that are getting college looks at the Division II level in Aaron Grewal at 6-foot-3 and Brian Spiller at 6-foot-4.

Coach Mcknight sums it up about his Cowboy, "Love his instincts and aggressive play. Our take is that he's a candidate to be a late-blooming Small Forward. His toughness will open doors for him from a recruiting perspective. The kid loves to win and he's the kind of guy you trust to make a play in end of game and shot clock situations. More often than not, he's going to deliver and he'll be a mainstay for a good program. This seems like the kind of a kid a mid college scoops up and then puts it on higher level programs to help when he gets the chance. Time will tell."

The city of Livermore is best known for its lab where countless national top secret military weapons have been developed. But this upcoming season, expect Livermore to be home of another weapon that has been a secret on the hard court. Watch for Harnell to be a weapon against the EBAL in Livermore.