YOAKUM òòò½ÊÓƵ” Gage Harrison was something of a late bloomer on the basketball court during his high school career.
As a team, Harrisonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s first two years of high school basketball did not go over as he had hoped. During his freshman and sophomore seasons, the Bulldogs compiled a combined 12-30 record, including 8-14 in district play.
Yoakumòòò½ÊÓƵ™s last two seasons, however, have been its best in over a decade. The Bulldogs won 39 games and went 22-6 in district play.
Standing at 6òòò½ÊÓƵ™5, it might have been easy for coaches to stick Harrison, a Coastal Bend College commit, in the post and let him use his height and athletic gifts closer to the basket. A turning point for Harrison and the Bulldogs came when they began to use him more on the perimeter.
Harrisonòòò½ÊÓƵ™s increased role on the perimeter saw him hit a career high in points per game with 15.2, lead the team in blocks with 1.6 per contest and finish second on the team in rebounds with 7.8 and assists with 3.3 per game.
Those numbers earned Harrison District 25-3A MVP honors. He has also been named MVP of the 2024-25 Victoria Advocate All-Area Basketball Team.
Q: Youòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve been in the program for four years. Thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s been a lot of improvement in that time. Why is that?
A: My first two years I think there was a division in the team. Everybody was friends and everybody was cool, but we just had a lot of individuals. But then my junior year, we had a coaching change and he instilled in us a different mentality. These last two years, the coaching and the team dynamic has been so much better.
Q: You won the district MVP this season and really had a breakout season. What allowed that to happen for you?
A: Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™d say first itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s about God. I wouldnòòò½ÊÓƵ™t be a portion of what I am without Him. Thereòòò½ÊÓƵ™s a lot of faith that my coaches and parents have put into me as well. Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™ve put in a lot of work during my own time, but the coaches just fueled it. They gave me the keys to the organization. I guess you could say and that faith in me from the coaches and my teammates just fueled me.
Q: You had to take on more perimeter responsibility this season and play alongside another big guy who could operate inside in Xòòò½ÊÓƵ™Zavier Barnett. Talk about the dynamic of playing with a guy who can do that work inside and how you two complimented each other.
A: Weòòò½ÊÓƵ™re two very different styles, but we compliment each other so well. When you look at my game and you look at his, yes, weòòò½ÊÓƵ™re two tall players, but I really played all the positions and he was strictly a big man. I think me knowing that kind of big man mindset helped out our dynamic a lot and, if you look at my highlights, a lot of them are assists to him because he was right where he needed to be every time.
Q: Youòòò½ÊÓƵ™re going to continue your basketball career at Coastal Bend College. What are you going to bring to the team when you arrive?
A: It is a junior college, so going over there, I want to improve. But I also want to help them improve. I need to learn how to play in the college setting because itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s very different from high school ball. Itòòò½ÊÓƵ™s going to be tough, but Iòòò½ÊÓƵ™m willing to put in the work and go prove myself.
