I don’t know which was prettier: Paul Harter or his jump shot.

Who was Paul Harter? Well, let me tell you two things about Paul Harter: there’s what I remember about him as a player/persona and what I remember about him as someone I’ve talked about and thought about for almost 40 years.

First off, Paul Harter was a hell of a player. He was a 6-foot-3 shooting guard who could get stuff off the dribble or catch-and-shoot … kind of whatever he wanted. He was one of the greatest perimeter shooters Reading/Berks has ever seen, and any mythical 3-point shooting contest among the greatest shooters in that area must include him.

And, yes, I know, there wasn’t a 3-point shot when Paul Harter played. That’s my point. He had that kind of range. He was like a white Ray Allen … at least that’s the way I remember him from back then in the mid- to late 1970s at Wyomissing High School.

And here’s the other thing about Paul Harter: He was good-looking, I mean, really good looking, and the kind of guy who everyone knew was good looking. You know how they say … “every cheerleader on the squad would have a crush on Paul?” It was more than that. Let me tell you who had a crush on Paul Harter. Every cheerleader in Paul’s class at Wyomissing; any cheerleader who wasn’t in Paul’s class at Wyomissing but was older or younger; every cheerleader at every high school in the county where Paul played; every cheerleader whose team ever played against Wyomissing and Paul Harter; every mom who ever came to the game, and hell, any gal who ever held a pom-pom.

All right, enough about that. But, damn, I e-mailed my mom about a detail or two about Paul Harter and she replied: “He was gorgeous.”

He was also really good at hoops. Paul Harter received a full ride to La Salle University, where he received a free education and played four seasons. He is, was and always will be someone who received a Division I basketball scholarship. And that makes you legit in any league. So what if he didn’t get a ton of playing time?

It’s a question that countless players ask themselves: Would you rather play at a Division II or III school or sit on the bench at a Division I school? I would have gone the Paul Harter route. But I never got a scholarship … and I never had Paul Harter’s looks, either!

Here’s to Paul Harter! Make a list of all the Berks/Reading players who were Division I, and it’s a small, small percentage of athletes. Paul Harter: Division I.