Chaze Harris, the Sun Belt Player of the Year and given added college basketball eligibility, and the University of Washington reportedly are just talking, with the 6-foot-6 guard holding conversations with SMU and Seton Hall, too, according to 247Sports.
While he’s a certified talent, averaging 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per outing, the Huskies and the others are probably asking where’s your 3-point shot?
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An Ohio native, Harris is a prolific scorer but he can’t hit the trey. Never has. Isn’t trying to convince people otherwise.
Last season for South Alabama, he launched just 26 attempts behind the line and made only four, for a barely there 15.4 percent 3-point accuracy.
The year before, for the NAIA’s Life University in Marietta, Georgia, Harris fired up 43 3-point attempts and watched just 12 go through, for a 27.9 percent rate.
And before that, he played for NCAA Division II Shawnee State in Portsmouth, Ohio, and fired up 37 3-pointers had just eight drop, for a 21.6 percent average.
With Harris, if you want three points out of him, you need to foul while he makes a 2-pointer and then hope he drops the free throw. Even then, that’s not a sure thing. He made just 59,2 percent of his foul shots for South Alabama.
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Yet he remains an intriguing player because he repeatedly uses his great length to get to the basket and put the ball in.
He had 38-point games against Arkansas State and Louisiana, and a 30-pointer against Arkansas State.
He finished with 13 games of 20 points or more and 29 games in double figures for a 21-12 Jaguars team that finished second in the conference and advanced to the NIT postseason event.
Ah, but he just can’t hit the deep perimeter shot.
The other thing people should be mindful of is UW coach Danny Sprinkle made it an offseason mandate to go find some 3-point shooters, and obtained college marksmen such as Davidson‘s Parker Friedrichsen and Gonzaga’s Steele Venters.
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Also, the Huskies currently have a full complement of 15 players on the roster, with all but one holding a scholarship, and if the UW somehow encouraged Harris to come to Seattle, someone presumably would have to drop off.
Meantime, Harris probably is in the gym right now, likely working on that inconsistent 3-point shot of his to increase his recruitment.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/washington as UW Reportedly Talking To Sun Belt POY, Who’s Scorer Not Shooter.
