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15 in 40: #12 The Buzz Around Harris

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There’s a quiet buzz building in Providence about Tyler Harris. Many of those most familiar with the program point to the 6’9 sophomore forward as the likely breakout player for the Friars this season, and if that’s the case – if Harris can add another scorer to a core that won 19 games a season ago – Providence could vault over the cluster of teams in the Big East with NCAA Tournament hopes.

The last time Harris saw the court was in the NCAA Tournament. He wrapped up a freshman season at NC State in which he played sporadically, seeing seven minutes in a season-ending loss to Kansas in 2012’s Sweet 16.

The 6’9 left hander could very well be the type of addition that rounds out an offense that returns the Big East’s leading scorer in Bryce Cotton, and Kadeem Batts, a power forward who was as productive as nearly any big man in the conference over the season’s final month last year.

Cotton is the deep threat, Batts does damage from 17 feet and in. Harris works from everywhere in between.

Harris can shoot from deep, he can score from mid-range and he’s a solid free throw shooter. So, why then, did he average just a point and a rebound in his only season at NC State? Detractors have asked: can that type of player really be that much of a difference maker a year and a half later?

There are a variety of factors to consider when looking at his production at NC State (Harris was 17 when he first enrolled in college, he initially committed to a different head coach than the one he played for, the Wolfpack leaned heavily on a veteran core in his first season, and, well, he was a freshman afterall) but none of it is pertinent to the conversation today.

It’s all speculation until he steps onto the court in November, but the positive buzz is growing and it’s not just coming internally.

Harris is at Providence now (a place he’s enjoyed success previously – he was MVP of the 2010 Providence Jamfest in a field that included Andre Drummond, Michael Carter-Williams, Ricky Ledo, Alex Murphy, Naadir Tharpe and more) and he looks to be the fit that he wasn’t at NC State.

Harris gives Ed Cooley versatility. Cooley can go long with Harris at small forward, light, but quick, with him at the four, and he potentially adds another scorer to complement Cotton and Batts – a flaw from last season’s team that crept up on more than one occasion in a year in which LaDontae Henton struggled to find his outside shot and Kris Dunn and Vincent Council found their way back from injuries.

Harris shared how his role could take shape with Friarbasketball.com’s Craig Leighton in late-September, “I’m a shooter. With my height I’ll have many mismatches throughout the game. I’m a versatile player who can play inside and out, but I mainly like to play outside so I can either shoot the ball or drive it.”

Harris had a busy summer, playing against top college competition in Houston, taking a trip to Europe to get in game action, and he surprised many scouts with strong showings at both the Lebron James and Kevin Durant skills academies going up against the top players in the country.

He steps into a terrific situation at PC. Batts and Cotton are expected to carry the offensive load, Henton and Batts are the main glass cleaners, but Harris is part of a group of players who could well determine if this is an NCAA bubble team, or one capable of winning two or three games in the Tournament. It’s a group that could offer the type of depth not seen here since the Tournament team of 2001.

How good Harris is this year could very well determine how high PC can climb.

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