Harris named top Aggie
Utah Statesman: You’ve won three straight Big West player of the week honors and this is your second straight Utah State Athlete of the Week, what are you doing that everybody else isn’t?
Nate Harris: I think the main thing is just playing hard and maintaining my focus, and just having fun playing.
US: You set your career best in scoring three of your last four games, are you eating something the rest of us aren’t getting?
NH: Maybe it’s getting a home-cooked meal every night from my mom still. Nobody else is getting that.
US: It looks like Spencer Nelson is slumping a little offensively lately. So are your teammates looking to you more than they used to?
NH: I don’t think so. Spencer is getting used to his mask and he’ll be fine once he gets used to it a little more. We’re all a little jealous he gets to wear a cool little mask and the rest of us don’t.
US: Are there any other players who you try and imitate?
NH: I don’t think there’s one player I try to imitate directly. One guy I like to watch because he is so fundamental is Tim Duncan. He can do all the little things. He rebounds, he has a lot of good post moves, maybe [I] try to imitate those a little bit.
US: Do you have a favorite move?
NH: I’ve got a little jump hook in the lane that’s been good for me, and to counter that I’ve got a little up and under move, you know, a shot fake and then step through.
US: You’re getting a lot more attention lately, have you noticed any change just around campus, maybe a little more attention from the girls in your class?
NH: No, not really. I wish something like that would happen, but no, nothing too much. I have a lot of friends from around here and I know a lot of people that compete here in the valley, so there hasn’t been much of a change.
US: If you aren’t playing basketball, what is your favorite thing to be doing?
NH: Lately I guess it’s been playing video games. I like to whoop [Aggie center] Ian McVey in a little “Madden.”
US: What gets you the most excited when you’re playing?
NH: When they’re playing one on one in the post and you know that when you get the ball, you’re going to get the chance to take it in and score it. One thing also is when our team is getting defensive stops, everybody is working hard getting rebounds and then that is just a spark for our offense.
US: Can you tell when you’re going to have a good game before the game even starts?
NH: Not really. There are sometimes in the shootaround where I think, ‘man, I can’t even hit a shot,’ and then I come out and play well. You just have to play it minute by minute.
US: What would you rather do, dunk over someone, hit a three to win a game, or block the game-winning shot?
NH: Oh, wow. I guess blocking a game-winning shot after dunking on somebody.
-kcaustin@cc.usu.edu