I'll say it again. Everyone needs to stop overlooking Manny Harris right now. I did here, here, and here.
And I regret it deeply.
But no more. Manny Harris is on my radar and should be on the radar of any college basketball fan. The sophomore guard/wing can really do everything on the floor.
The Wolverine guard has done everything right during his first year and two games in Ann Arbor. His only fault? Playing for a team that's been mediocre during his time on campus.
But Harris is going to change that and change it quickly. He averaged 16.1 points per game last year in leading Michigan to a measly 10 wins, but coaches and Big Ten pundits will both admit, the Wolverines played much better as the season wore on.
The Big Ten's leading returning scorer had a big part in that. Harris was held below double-digits just three times and eclipsed the 20-point mark five times during the Big Ten schedule.
Harris has continued to progress into a phenomenal playmaker during his second and what could be his final season in college basketball.
Former Duke star Jay Williams provided the color commentary during ESPNU's broadcast of Michigan's first two games against Michigan Tech and Northeastern. Williams couldn't stop raving about the sophomore guard's talent and NBA potential as he recounted stories of Harris matching up well against NBA players at basketball camps.
The future Big Ten Player of the Year candidate showed off his skills in the Wolverines' first two games to back up Williams' gloating.
Against Division II foe Michigan Tech, Harris repeatedly made plays that would have put points on the board against any team. He finished the game with an outstanding two points per shot ratio after scoring 30 points on just 15 field goal attempts.
Harris repeatedly got to the basket, using his shoulder to lead his way and create space on his path to the basket. He showed a strong ability to finish near the basket, but also draw fouls.
The sophomore guard made nine trips to the free throw line, sinking almost 80 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe.
The deeper three-point line also didn't scare Harris. He drained three-of-five attempts from long distance.
As great as Harris was against Michigan Tech, he outdid himself Wednesday night against Northeastern.
The Huskies are no slouch. NE was picked to finish near the top of the Colonial Athletic Association.
But Harris seemed to be unfazed by the tougher opponent. The Wolverine guard went off for 26 points on just nine field goal attempts. Harris finished six-of-nine from the floor and one-of-two from three. Harris continued to shoot well from the free throw, line hitting 13-of-14 attempts.
What Harris did to stuff the stat sheet is what made this game special. Harris was just two assists away from his first career triple-double. He finished the game with 10 rebounds and eight more assists, plus a block and a steal.
Manny Harris is quickly becoming one of the most complete players in the Big Ten and, down the road, in the country.
Remember the name Manny Harris in December when Michigan will take on Maryland and Duke on national TV in back-to-back games. The Wolverines will also be in New York City later next week for the final two rounds of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
If you missed him this week, you can't afford to miss him then.
11 comments Last one added 5 months ago — Leave a Comment
Daniel Damico 7 months ago
I did it too in my All-American picks, but not my Big-Ten First Team. I think we could win the Big-Ten POY, but Hummel has so much hype and Purdue is a better team that will compete for the conference title.
If Michigan can finish in the top half of the conference, you would have to look Harris. Good article as always.
I watched the game againist Michigan Teach and Harris is very aware of how to use his body and find his strengths that make for the right play. He went to basketball and completely out-muscled a player and then next flies by a slower defender. And at 6'5" he is a complete mismatch for most 2 guards in the Big Ten.
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Jameson Fleming 7 months ago
Yeah I was in awe of how smart offensively he is. There's very few players out there that have such a large repertoire of offensive skills.
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Johnny Da Bone 7 months ago
LOVE this kid!!
He will get lots of ink soon enough.
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Tony Bishop 7 months ago
He's pretty good, but every time I watch him play I expect a random "time out" to be called by Chris Weber.
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Scott Rieger 7 months ago
Not funny Tony and it's Webber!
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Tony Bishop 7 months ago
Sorry Scott, I wasn't sure there was another B left to type hahaha.
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Joe G 7 months ago
I thought it was funny, Tony.
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Scott Rieger 7 months ago
Very good article. Manny is a beast and is getting better as he learns more and more of the system. He's more comfortable this season and isn't rushing or trying to do to much like last year. He was certainly impressive last year as well, but he'll be leaps and bounds better this season as will the Wolverines as a whole.
The Jay Williams comments about matching up with NBA guys wasn't Manny Harris, but rather DeShawn Sims. He did say that Manny was impressive in camps too but that wasn't against NBA guys.
I just hope that Manny decides to stay in school at least one more year for his sake, and for the sake of the program. Sims and Harris were the two most high profile local kids to come to Michigan since Dion Harris about 6 years ago.
As we saw the other day, they are leading to more and more good recruits coming to Michigan. If they stay and get better, Michigan will be back to glory in no time.
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Jameson Fleming 7 months ago
I do remember Williams raving about Sims matching up against pros, but I could have swore he said something along those lines about Harris also. I could be wrong though, I was generally tuning the announcers out as they were a little annoying to listen to.
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Scott Rieger 7 months ago
Agreed, I thought it was funny that the other guy kept referring to Jay as "former Duke star", instead of at least mentioning the fact that he was a damn good NBA player too, before the accident.
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Doron Kutash 5 months ago
Hey there, love the article. Make sure to check out Sports2Debate.com in the coming days, we have a link to this because you show an expertise in everything Manny Harris.
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