South Carolina HC Shane Beamer explains final hours of landing 5-star Nyckoles Harbor

Five-star Washington (D.C.) Archbishop Carroll athlete Nyckoles Harbor led one of the most difficult-to-read recruitments in recent memory over the past year.

The two-sport star kept any feelings he had about certain schools close to the vest, and down to the last minutes before his decision, he kept people guessing. Ultimately, Harbor committed to South Carolina on Wednesday during National Signing Day, choosing the school that had been recruiting him for more than a year and a half.

In his Signing Day press conference, Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer revealed what the final hours of Harbor’s recruitment were like as they battled Oregon to land him.

“The last 24 hours, really the last 12 have taken years off my life I think to be honest with you,” he said. “First of all, there’s a lot that we, I shouldn’t say overcome, but there was a lot going on here with his situation and the schools that were recruiting him and the opportunities those programs presented on and off the field, the track, whatever it may be.”

The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) went back and forth between the Gamecocks and Ducks over the final 24 hours before Harbor’s decision, with South Carolina leading until late last night. At that point, the Ducks had a late FaceTime call with him, according to reports, and predictions started coming in for Oregon.

” We competed our butts off with this one, like we do with every recruit. Emotion wise, I felt good about Nyck all along, I really did,” Beamer said. I had an amazing home visit last week with him in D.C. where we didn’t walk out of there until after 11:00 at night when we visited with he and his family. He didn’t tell me was coming, but I felt great about where we stood all weekend.

… I talked to him both Monday and yesterday on FaceTime. I went to bed last night feeling good. I got an audio message from him at 2:57 a.m. from him today that wasn’t good. And obviously didn’t sleep after that trying to figure out what was going on and what not.”

Momentum shifted back to South Carolina this morning

After talking with Harbor and his family this morning, Beamer simply had to wait with baited breath until his announcement around 1:00 p.m. ET. In the end, the second-year head coach and his staff got to celebrate as they won out for the nation’s No. 21 overall recruit.

“This morning was a range of emotions back and forth trying to answer some question,” Beamer said. “And I think for Nyck — I don’t want to speak for him — but he felt most comfortable here all along and wanted to be here. There was a lot of people in his network, and everybody was trying to get on the same page. And there was a lot coming at him as a young man. The emotions were a whirlwind today, back and forth. And to see him put that hat on, I’ll be honest with you, was a pretty emotional moment for me.

… I met Nyck Harbor when I was at Oklahoma when he was a freshman in high school, and I’ve known him since then and known the family since then.”