Harris having breakout season
Since his infusion into the starting lineup four games ago, sophomore forward Nate Harris has put up career-high numbers in scoring three times, helping the Aggies to their best start in school history and their first Top 25 ranking in 33 years.
Born in Logan, Jan. 22, 1983, Harris is one of six children of Norene and Jeff Harris. Growing up in Cache Valley, Harris developed an affinity for basketball at a young age.
“In elementary school, I was always taller than everybody else,” Harris said. “I was able to score over kids on the playground, and I just enjoyed playing so much that I stuck with it.”
Harris first started playing organized basketball in recreation leagues when he was in the fifth grade, thanks in part to the support and influence of his father.
“My dad was always a big influence,” Harris said. “He was a truck driver, so he was gone on the road a lot. But whenever he was home, he would go out in the driveway and work with us. He always encouraged me and was a big support growing up.”
Driveway practices paid off at the high school level, where Harris was a dominant force at Sky View in Smithfield.
In his three years at Sky View, Harris’ teams went undefeated in region play and won three consecutive region championships. Sky View advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament during Harris’ sophomore year of high school and the school advanced to the tournament’s second round during both his junior and senior campaigns.
Aside from his team’s success in high school, Harris also earned a plethora of personal accolades. Averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior, Harris was a first-team all-state selection and was named Region 4 player of the year.
As a senior, he was again a first-team selection and was again named Region 4 player of the year after averaging 23 points and 13 rebounds per contest. In addition, Harris was named the Gatorade, Salt Lake Tribune and Utah Tip-Off Club Frank Layden Player of the Year in the state of Utah. Harris was also dubbed the Herald Journal Player of the Year in Cache Valley two times.
“I had a great experience in high school and a great coach in Coach [Terrell] Baldwin,” Harris said. “We were able to win a lot of games. It was just a good experience, something that really helped in moving on to the college level.”
Harris was also a high school standout in football, and was named an all-district quarterback after throwing for 1,700 yards and 10 touchdowns his senior year.
With Stew Morrill and his staff heading into their fourth year at Utah State, Harris saw a program on the rise and made what he calls an “easy choice” to stay in Logan and become an Aggie.
“It was a good fit for me,” Harris said. “We’re getting better every year, and it was close to home.”
Staying close to home and the support of his family is something that Harris saw as a definite advantage in choosing USU.
“A lot of guys come from out of state and maybe they get a little homesick,” Harris said. “I get the opportunity to go home a couple times a week and maybe get a home-cooked meal from my mom.”
Harris did not play at all during the 2001-02 season after opting to redshirt his first year at USU.
“It was a little difficult,” Harris said. “But you have to learn to take advantage of the redshirt year. I learned a lot by just watching the game and watching other the players. You see a lot of things that you need to do to get better.”
One player Harris watched during that redshirt season was then-senior Tony Brown, a player that Morrill often compares Harris to in terms of presence and knowledge of the game.
“You’re able to learn so much from a guy like [Brown], especially the mental part of the game,” Harris said. “He knew where everybody was going to be at. He was just a really smart player. It was an honor to be able to watch and learn from him for that entire year.”
Harris finally saw court time in 2003, playing an average 16.8 minutes in all 33 games that season. His 5.1 points and 3.2 rebounds per outing during his freshman season were good enough to become the ninth Aggie in 25 years to make the Big West Conference all-freshman team. Prior to Harris, Brown was the last USU player to do so, earning the recognition in 1999.
“One thing the coaches talked about was just improving every year,” Harris said. “From the redshirt year to my freshman year, to this year – just keep improving.”
In this, his sophomore season, Harris has erupted offensively for USU. Coming off the bench for most of the year, he is second on the team in both scoring and rebounds, averaging 12.5 and 6.1 a night, respectively.
Harris notched a career-high 26 points while grabbing 11 rebounds Saturday night against Long Beach State and in turn came away with his first career double-double. Harris’ 70 percent shooting from the field this season leads the nation, a statistic he attributes to the team’s system.
“This offense is designed to get people good open looks,” Harris said. “We’ve done a good job executing, being unselfish, and just knocking down the open shots.”
Harris says confidence is the most important factor in his success so far this season.
“The biggest thing is just knowing that I can play and being more comfortable playing in the Spectrum against bigger guys, stronger guys,” Harris said. “Just knowing what I need to do in order to be successful has helped a lot.”
-acf@cc.usu.edu
Nate Harris as a senior at Sky View High School. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)