SPORTS BRIEF: Touted Northern Calif. Recruit Commits to the Crimson, Passing up Portland, Seattle, San Diego

Score another recruit for Harvard men’s basketball coach Tommy Amaker and his staff. Earlier last week, 6’8, 215 lb forward James Moore committed to joining the Crimson next fall. The Jesuit High School (Sacramento, Calif.) senior chose Harvard over a number of West Coast programs, including Seattle, Portland, and San Diego. Cal, Stanford, and USC also reportedly showed interest.

According to Moore, a personal emphasis on education led him to focus on Ivy League schools. He said that his final decision came down to either Cornell or Harvard, two basketball programs “headed in the right direction.” In addition to Harvard’s location and name recognition, Moore cited the chance to “win the Ivy League for the first time in Harvard’s history, to do something that had never been done before,” as a major factor in his choice.

Moore was ranked by Rivals.com the top prospect in Northern California earlier this summer and is currently rated at an 89 by ESPN, which describes him as “a solid ‘four-man’ prospect for the mid-major level.” He averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in his junior season. According to his high school coach Greg Harcos, Moore’s greatest strength lies in his shooting ability, which he called “unbelievable.” “Three-pointers are layups for him,” Harcos said. “I’ve had some really good shooters, and he’s the best I’ve had.”

Moore is the fourth recruit in Harvard’s future class of 2014. He joins Montverde Academy (Florida) forward Ugo Okam in bolstering the Crimson frontcourt, in addition to Northfield-Mount Hermon (Mass.) guards Matt Brown and Laurent Rivard.

—DENNIS J. ZHENG