Explorers will have to rely on Harris

By Andrew Neumann
Collegian Staff
November 15, 2006

There will be a time this year when Darnell Harris will find himself open in the corner. He’ll get the ball and take that perfect jump shot of his without a hand in his face.

The ball will clank off the rim.

It may happen twice in one game.

It may even happen two or three games in a row.

OK, calm down. Start breathing. I use this example not to frighten Explorer fans or to shortchange Harris, but to illustrate a point: Harris must become more than a shooter this year; he must become a complete player at both ends of the floor.

Over the last two years, Harris has emerged as a sharpshooter, one part of a three-headed scoring monster that included Jermaine Thomas and Steven Smith. Smith and Thomas are gone now, leaving Harris, a junior, as the Explorers’ main scoring threat, by a large margin.

La Salle’s opponents this year will know this too, meaning they will put a lot of their defensive focus on Harris. This means that a once wide open shot will now be a heavily contested shot. However, with every extra man thrown Harris’ way, that leaves another one of his teammates open.

If a team allows its guards to pressure Harris in the corners, there will be lanes for his backcourt mates to drive to the basket. If the help comes from the frontcourt, the baseline should be open for some of the Explorers’ big men.

These are the things that Harris must recognize on the court. He will be La Salle’s most experienced guard by far this year, making him responsible for everyone else on the floor. Even though he will not play much point guard, most of the offense will still flow through him.

Whether he has to make the pass rather than taking a low-percentage shot, act as a decoy on some plays or even drive the lane to take a foul, he needs to be ready to do it to help the team.

Defensively, Harris has been solid, if not spectacular, in his two years in blue and gold. While he doesn’t need to become a first-team defender, he does need to pick it up a little. Tabby Cunningham’s departure from the team will create a drop-off in steals from the Explorer backcourt. This is an area where Harris can pick up the slack and create a lot of plays in transition.

The reason I say Harris needs to do all these things is that I know he can. He has already shown that he is a very good Atlantic 10 basketball player. As an underclassman, he carved out a niche as a deadly shooter who could take over games for periods of time.

However, this is now his team. He needs to display more maturity on the floor. He needs to make others around him better by soaking up defensive attention. He needs to become a leader on and off the court, and continue to develop an all-around game. If he does this, and I think he will, the Explorers will have another successful season.

Oh, and he needs to keep burying the threes.

neumanna1@lasalle.edu