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RUN IT BACK: John Harrar Returns For His Final Season

The senior earned All Big Ten honors last season.

Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Lat Mayen (11) defends as Penn State Nittany Lions forward John Harrar (21) controls the ball in the second half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

It’s official! John Harrar has decided to return to Penn State for his last season and a chance to finish what he started two years ago, when he helped the Nittany Lions earn a No. 9 ranking en route to a would-be NCAA Tournament appearance had there been one.

Harrar played an instrumental role in making the Nittany Lions competitive by becoming one of the better centers Penn State had seen in a while. Harrar averaged a near double-double, an identical 8.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, while defending 5.3 fouls per 40 minutes —the latter is 149th in the country. His most impressive stat, of course, was the incredible rate at which he logged offensive rebounds, being first in the Big Ten with 3.8 per game.

Ever since he was thrown into the fire at the end of the 2017-18 season, Harrar has been steadily improving. He handled himself admirably during the 2018 NIT run, backed up Mike Watkins for two seasons before becoming the starter himself, then had the breakout we all experienced last season. Now, Penn State is fortunate to have fought off a litany of major competition for another season with the big man.

Welcome back, John!