#11 Paul Harris
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6'5" 220 lbs Forward/Guard
HS: Notre Dame Prep Fitchburg, MA
HS: Niagara Falls Niagara Falls, NY
Born: 10/15/1986 Niagara Falls, NY
Season Stats
Season Cl Pos G GS Min FG FGA % FT FTA % 3Pt 3PA % Asst Reb DReb OReb Fls DQ TO ST BS Pts PPG APG RPG
2006-07 Fr F/G 35 1 758 94 217 43.3% 113 166 68.1% 1 20 5.0% 57 248 174 74 68 1 66 28 21 302 8.6 1.6 7.1
2007-08 So G/F 35 35 1264 161 343 46.9% 173 237 73.0% 11 34 32.4% 117 286 187 99 90 0 117 59 28 506 14.5 3.3 8.2
2008-09 Jr F 37 36 1130 154 312 49.4% 127 168 75.6% 10 44 22.7% 80 298 209 89 71 1 78 38 26 445 12.0 2.2 8.1
Career    
107
72
3152
409
872
46.9%
413
571
72.3%
22
98
22.4%
254
832
370
262
229
2
261
125
75
1253
11.7
2.4
7.8

Paul Harris was an explosive muscular forward for Syracuse basketball for three seasons.

Paul Harris Syracuse Orange basketballHarris came to Syracuse with extremely high expectations from Orange fans, many expecting him to be the next Carmelo Anthony. Harris had been a high school All-American at both Niagara Falls High School and Notre Dame Prep. He had a chiseled body and extremely long wingspan for a player of his size.

Harris was not the next Melo, but he had an outstanding freshman season. He was a phenomenal rebounder averaging 7+ rebounds a game despite playing about 21 minutes a game. In the Big East tournament, he had 15 rebounds and 24 points against Notre Dame in the semi-final loss. He was explosive to the hoop with thunderous dunks, and was aggressive running the court. On defense he played solid in man to man, but struggled to fit into the Jim Boeheim zone defense.

He also struggled on the offensive end of the court. Harris displayed no perimeter shooting skill. In high school he was used to having the ball in his hands all the time, and he often appeared lost on offense moving without the ball. Despite his offensive limitations, he still managed 8.6 points a game in limited playing time. Harris was named to the Big East All-Rookie Team.

Harris had developed a decent mid range jump shot by his sophomore season. He was still reckless at times on the court, and had difficulties at playing without the ball in his hands. He continued to be an outstanding rebounder, and would lead them team in rebounds. Harris would shift to shooting guard with the loss of Eric Devendorf due to injury and Scoop Jardine to a suspension. Harris would flourish offensively from this new position on the court.

Harris' recklessness on the court would cost the Orange down the stretch. In a pivotal game against Pittsburgh, with the Orange ahead, Harris was unable to handle the inbounds pass nor able to get it to a teammate, resulting in a turnover allowing Pitt to get the ball and score, winning the game.

Harris would almost exclusively play forward his junior season with Syracuse having a crowded backcourt. His junior season would be plagued by inconsistency. He was still a great rebounder, but there were games where he would disappear on the court, and have little impact on the game. The next night he would then come out with a double digit rebound effort. His scoring average would drop from his sophomore season as he almost abandoned taking the short jump shot, and his playing time decreased by almost five minutes a game. That was in part to a deeper roster, and in part to defensive struggles Harris was having with the zone defense. He was frequently missing his defensive assignments, and would find himself replaced by Kris Onganaet when defensive situations arose.

Harris still remained a vital cog in the Orange scheme, and when he had a big night, the Orange typically did very well. In the win over Kansas to win the CBE Preseason championship he had 14 rebounds. His best effort of the year was in the historic six overtime win against Connecticut in the Big East tournament. Harris would play fifty six minutes that night, scoring a career high 29 points with 22 rebounds, and a critical 13 of 14 from the free throw line.

Harris would forego his senior season, declaring early for the NBA draft after his junior season. He would go undrafted in the NBA draft.

© RLYoung 2007, 2008, 2009