Baggage Claim Boys Set to Leave Mark on College Basketball

STILLWATER — Before Chris Harris committed to Oklahoma State, he and Isaac Likekele shared a bond.

Harris, now a freshman at OSU, and Likekele, a sophomore, were both Baggage Claim Boys. But what are the Baggage Claim Boys?

“The Baggage Claim Boys are a bunch of dudes that knows how to get a bucket, knows how to get a stop,” Harris said. “It’s just like a variety of everybody’s game. You can get a stop, you can get a bucket, you can make somebody fall, you can dime, you can do a lot of things.

“You’re getting your bag. Once you get in your bag, you claimed the bag, and it’s over.”

Harris said Kaden Archie and Caleb Jordan started the group that consists of DFW-area basketball players. Archie and Jordan played at Midlothian High School. Archie is now at UTEP, and Jordan is at St. Mary’s.

Other members include Harris (South Garland), Likekele (Timberview), Tyrese Maxey (South Garland) and Drew Timme (Pearce).

Maxey was the 10th-ranked prospect in the 2019 class and is now a freshman at Kentucky. Timme was the 43rd-ranked prospect in 2019 and is now at Gonzaga.

“Them my guys,” Likekele said. “We all still talk this and that. That was really like a high school thing a little bit, but we all, as like friends and stuff, we all still talk all the time.”

Surprisingly, OSU freshman Avery Anderson, out of Northwest High School, isn’t a part of the group despite being a highly touted prospect from the area.

“At first, I thought Avery was a Baggage Claim Boy,” Harris said. “Then come to find out he wasn’t, but he started his own thing, Headband Fam. So it’s all good.”

The group is now set to make an impact across college basketball from Spokane, Washington, to Lexington, Kentucky. Two from the crew now call Gallagher-Iba Arena home. Likekele was a key contributor for OSU in his freshman season, starting every game. Now it’s time to see whether Harris can make a similar impact.

“It wasn’t really nothing like getting in,” Likekele said. “It was just a group of friends. We work out together, play together, talk to each other. We were already in group chats together before that, so it wasn’t really just like we recruit good players. It was like, we’re a group of friends, we all play basketball, and we good.”