We are into our 2nd week of our 2014 NBA Draft Evaluations which takes us to Michigan State sophomore guard, Gary Harris. Harris is leading the number 22 ranked Spartans in scoring this year at 17.5 points per game, although at an unimpressive 41.9 clip from the field; however, it must be mentioned that Harris takes quite a bit of shots for behind the 3 point line, 7.1 per game which is more than half his total shot output per game, and shoots a very respectable, 35.4 percent from 3.
Harris will be one of the many undergraduates that are expected to make themselves available for this upcoming 2014 NBA draft and as of now is projected as a lottery pick. As of the last update on 2/25/14, NBADraft.net listed Harris 8th on their mock draft board.
We will go to one of our College Basketball experts, Chris Martin, to delve into Harris’ game a little deeper.
Raining3s’ 2014 NBA Draft Evaluation: Gary Harris
Gary Harris (19 Years Old, Sophomore Guard, Michigan State University)
Physical tools:
Gary Harris is a dynamic shooting guard who is 6’4” and weighs 210 lbs. He is solidly built, has strong hands, a quick first step, and can defend bigger players.
YouTube highlights:
Athletic ability:
Gary Harris is built just like Dwayne Wade and has a tremendous vertical and super quickness that could make Harris a future NBA All Star.
Playmaking ability:
This year Harris has improved his playmaking ability and has drastically improved his assist to turnover ratio. He has improved his court vision and now passes to teammates cutting to the rim when he is double teamed.
Outside shooting ability:
An ankle injury has plagued Harris the whole year which has decreased his shooting percentage , both inside and beyond the arc. However, he still has the ability to get to the rim and is also very reliable on the free throw line.
Ability to get his own shot:
Harris can get his own shot anytime he wants. The problem is sometimes he gets passive and lost in spurts of a game. He can score 10 points in a 2 minute span and then not score the rest of the half. I think Harris needs to be more aggressive and drive to the rim rather than settling on jump shots.
Defense:
Having been taught by Tom Izzo, Harris is a great defensive player that can defend smaller guards as well as big shooting guards and wings. He is also a great rebounder, both offensively and defensively. He has an uncanny knack of getting to the ball when it hits the rim.
Basketball IQ and intangibles:
Harris is ice cold on the court. His facial reactions stay the same no matter if things are going horrible or great. I would like for Harris to become more of a leader and take charge of matters on the court but that is not in his personality.
Position in the NBA:
Harris will most likely be a 2 guard in the NBA. If he works on his ball handling skills he might be able to take on a little point guard duties as Stephon Curry does for Golden State. I believe that Harris has the ability to be an NBA All-Star but I think he will need to be paired with a Kobe, Lebron, Carmelo, or other dynamic scorer to fully live up to his potential. As we have seen this year, Harris cannot be the main focal point and scorer of a team.
Projected draft position:
Projected draft position will be a lottery pick, most likely not falling beyond number 10 depending which team is there and if they already have a shooting guard.
Comparable NBA player:
Gary Harris is built exactly like Dwayne Wade. Of course Dwayne Wade is a better shooter now that when he came into the league but they are very similar in all facets of the game (shooting, rebounding, defensively, etc.) The only difference might be that Wade has a little more aggression and drive to win than does Harris.
– Draft evaluation written by Chris Martin, aka the Duke of Martin. You can follow Chris on Facebook.
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