Today, we continue our list of the best Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989 with a program hero who helped right the ship after the Ed Martin scandal — three-time All Big Ten honoree Manny Harris.
No. 9 – Manny Harris – Score: 113.0
Michigan went 11 years without sniffing the NCAA Tournament in part because of the NCAA sanctions, but it also was tied to a Tommy Amaker era that left a lot to be desired. In 2007-08, the Wolverines hired John Beilein away from West Virginia. Alongside him came a premier prospect out of Detroit and 2007 Michigan’s Mr. Basketball, Manny Harris.
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Harris was an immediate impact player for a team that lacked depth. In just his second career game, he scored 22 points in a non-conference win over Brown. He eclipsed 20 points an additional six times, becoming one of the most prolific scoring freshman in program history. He was just the fourth freshman in program history to eclipse 500 points in their first season.
Even though the team went 10-22 in Harris’ freshman season, the Wolverines now had the building blocks for a much improved future roster with Harris and forward Deshawn Sims. A tandem of talented true freshman — Stu Douglass and Zack Novak — entered the fold in Harris’ sophomore campaign, and Michigan and Harris got off to a hot start. Harris scored a career-high 30 points in the season opener against Michigan Tech, becoming just the 35th player in the history of the program to score 30 or more in a game.
From there on out, Harris averaged 16.9 points per game throughout his sophomore campaign playing against the second-toughest schedule in the nation. Early upset wins over No. 4 UCLA and No. 4 Duke helped the Wolverines make their first NCAA Tournament in Beilein era.
Hoping to end an 11-year drought, Michigan was a 10-seed facing the No. 7-seeded Clemson Tigers. Harris was the star of the show with 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Tigers fought back late, but with less than 40 seconds to go, Harris cut to the rim and hit a contested lay-up, earning the and-one that would seal the win:
In 2009-10, Michigan entered the season as the No. 15 team in the country as Harris returned to the program. But the team underperformed and couldn’t close out games and the Wolverines finished 15-17. Despite that, Harris had his best college season by averaging 18.1 points, six rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game. In a November win vs Northern Michigan, he recorded the second triple-double in program history with 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Harris wouldn’t return for his senior season, opting to go to the NBA Draft. It was a move that many questioned, especially as he went undrafted, signing as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers. But his legacy at Michigan was cemented, becoming the 18th player all-time to pass 1,500 career points and doing it in just three seasons. Beilein proved he could develop and create teams that were successful. Michigan earned the commitments from Darius Morris and Tim Hardaway Jr in Harris’ junior and senior seasons. Those additions shot Michigan back into the NCAA Tournament in 2011, and led the way into the Trey Burke era.
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Without Harris, the foundation Beilein built in his early days likely wouldn’t have existed. And had he played under Beilein with some of the better teams the Wolverines had, Harris was talented enough to be a star on any of those rosters too. He finished his career as a three-time All-Big Ten performer and put Michigan back on the map after a decade of mediocrity.
