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Sports

Barat Coach Shares Final Four Connection

Dave German has an indirect connection to the NCAA Final Four.

Dave German, the Athletic Director and boys basketball coach at , has an indirect connection to this weekend’s NCAA Final Four.

German recently worked with Hall of Fame coach Gary Wacker at Barat’s Champions Basketball Academy until Wacker moved to Texas last year. Wacker coached Kentucky senior center Josh Harrellson at St. Charles High from 2002-2006.

German often discussed Harrellson’s game and potential development with Wacker and other coaches during Harrelson’s high school years. He is not nearly as surprised as most about Harellson’s success in this year’s NCAA Tournament, which has been a national story the past couple of weeks. German shared his thoughts with Patch on Friday

“We always knew what Josh was capable of if he was dedicated and had the chance. Now he has that chance at Kentucky,” German said. “He is now comfortable with himself, and can just play strong, determined, relentless basketball,” German said.

“I know Gary is really happy for Josh, and we’ve talked a lot about it. He thinks it’s unbelievable.”

Harrellson has gone from riding the University of Kentucky bench last season to becoming one of the biggest national sports stories during the past two weeks. Harrellson and the fourth-seeded Wildcats (29-8) will play the University of Connecticut (30-9) in the national semifinals on Saturday at 8:49 p.m.

No one can claim to know more about Harrellson’s basketball sojourn than Wacker, a member of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

“We are really proud of him, and the whole city of St. Charles should be just so proud of him,” Wacker said. “The people that know Josh well could not be any more proud, and has helped put the town on the map. You can’t turn on ESPN right now without seeing him.”

In 24 years at Bowling Green and St. Charles, Wacker won 412 games and eight district titles. He spoke to Patch on Friday while taking a break from Final Four events in Houston. He will be on hand to watch Harrellson on Saturday, though he does not plan to talk with him beforehand.

“I just text him before and after the games to let him know we are there for him. I don’t give him any coaching advice other than to just play hard,” Wacker said.

The 6-foot-10, 265-pound center graduated from St. Charles in 2006. In his senior season, Harrelson averaged 18.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks for the Pirates. He led St. Charles to a 23-8 record and the Class 4 state semifinals.

“He seems to be feeling really good about himself, and feels good about his role. He can relax and just play,” German said. “In high school, he had a nice perimeter touch. But for Kentucky he is down on the block being physical, determined, relentless and rebounding great.”

In the NCAA Tournament, Harrellson is averaging 12.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while shooting 76 percent. He more than held his own inside against Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller.

“Josh is a really good, big-hearted kid. We got him as a freshman, and in all honesty he had not really been exposed to basketball,” Wacker said. “Most of his interest had been in baseball and football. So we get this big ‘ol kid and he was already 6-4 or 6-5.

Harrellson led the Southeastern Conference this season with 8.8 rebounds per game and in field goal percentage at 61.4. He averaged 6.8 points in the regular season. He seldom played last season, but the Wildcats lost five players to the 2010 NBA Draft, which created more available minutes this season.

Wacker said he has been to about 20 Final Fours.

“I saw Magic Johnson play Larry Bird, saw Michael Jordan hit that game-winning shot, saw (Jim) Valvano win it. I also saw Villanova win it. I’ve been very lucky. But this is already the best one for me.”

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