Joe Harris has game. Serious game. During Virginia’s resurgent ’13-14 season, many players sacrificed individual success for the team. Now, it’s Harris’ time to shine.
Training for the NBA Draft in Chicago with Tim Anderson (Will Bynum’s bro), we were able to see a lot more than when Joe was rocking a Cavaliers jersey. For one, he’s a lot taller than he looks when you’re standing right next to him. At a legit 6-6, he’s got the size to defend either perimeter position at spurts in the League. UVA’s team defense scheme didn’t necessarily showcase this, but watching him g up against Nik Stauskas, Sean Kilpatrick, Taylor Braun and Co., you could see he had some serious clamps and is going to surprise people on that end of the hardwood.
Offensively, everyone knows the senior’s bread and butter is his silky smooth jumper. Able to pull it from well beyond the NBA line, Harris has no problem shooting the ball from deep with his feet set or on the move. If you lock and trail on him, he can put it on the deck a couple of times and raise up from mid-range. To top it off, Harris is a coach’s son who has been playing and learning the game at a high level for a long time, enabling him to play the game with an incredibly high basketball IQ. He’s not going to blow by you off of the bounce, nor is he going to hit you with an AI-esque crossover at the top of the key in an isolation situation. You know what you’re getting in Joe Harris, making him one of the safer prospects for NBA executives to evaluate.
With the Draft less than three weeks away, things are looking pretty good for the sturdy 225-pounder. With workouts scheduled for over half of the League, there will be no shortage of NBA teams getting a look at what Harris can do. Given his blend of size, ability to stretch the D, and court savvy, expect Harris to follow Mike Scott’s footsteps as UVA’s next up in the League.
