Semoball

SEMO MBB veteran 'embodies what college should be about'

Southeast Missouri State graduate student Chris Harris drives past Redhawk forward Kobe Clark during a recent practice at the Show Me Center.
Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

Most sports fans want immediate gratification from the athletes and coaches that they pay money to watch perform. Heck, beat writers can be guilty of that lack of patience, as well.

The Southeast Missouri State men’s basketball program signs a player and he better be good from day one or he could be labeled a disappointment very quickly.

But the truth is, the Redhawk student-athletes are young people, who just like every one of their peers on campus, are trying to find their path in life and grow as a human being.

No one exemplifies that more so than SEMO graduate student Chris Harris.

“When you look at Chris,” third-year Redhawk coach Brad Korn said of Harris following a recent practice at the Show Me Center, “he embodies what college should be about.”

College should be about maturing into an adult, in all aspects of life, not just shooting the ball better (though Harris has done that well, also), and Harris has taken advantage of every opportunity that his circuitous journey has provided him.

Three years ago, as the SEMO men’s basketball squad ran wind sprints during practice, Harris was so abysmal with his effort and performance, he not only consistently finished last, but Redhawk assistant coaches literally ran behind him at times pushing him up and down the court as he shuffled his feet.

Fast forward to today, and Harris is the leader of this program, on and off the court.

He is exuberant in his demeanor, as HE coaches and encourages teammates, he is the voice of maturity and experience to recruits when they visit Cape Girardeau, and Harris is wrapping up his six years of college by studying for his MBA.

He’s everything a Redhawk student-athlete should be, and more.

“I just realized where I was individually,” Harris said of his growth process, “where we were as a team, and I felt like if I improved my performance, my body, my health, then being a leader, an older guy on this team, then everybody else would follow suit.”

Harris's ability ON the court was never questioned.

He began his career at NCAA Division II Missouri S&T and led his team in scoring as a freshman.

He spent his second year of college playing for one of the top junior college teams in the country at John A. Logan, before coming to SEMO for year three.

He opened his Redhawk career with productive performances in games (if not practices), as he scored 15 points against Vanderbilt and beat Purdue Fort Wayne on a last-second shot. However, he suffered a season-ending knee injury shortly thereafter, and little did he know at the time, but that injury was a tremendous blessing in disguise.

“It was a struggle to get to this point,” Korn said, “to be completely transparent.”

If Harris remained healthy for the 2019-20 season, there is a good possibility that Korn isn’t hired to replace former SEMO coach Rick Ray, and his evolution as a player, student, and person would have been different.

“Once Coach Korn got here,” Harris explained, “our talks after practice and the way that he talked to our guys, there was so much more motivation. It was about understanding your daily habits, understanding things like (improving) one percent each day when I started incorporating that into my everyday life, not just basketball…”

Longtime Redhawk assistant coach Keith Pickens has been by the side of Harris since the beginning, so no one has experienced the highs and lows with Harris more so than Pickens, and he couldn’t be prouder of where he is today.

“It’s a testament to his leadership and maturity, as he has gotten older,” Pickens said. “This is his last year, and he wants to go out on a high note. He knows that it is going to take him being in shape and being a leader if that is going to happen.”

Harris saw his minutes per game played (30 to 24) and starts (26 to 6) drop from 2020-21 to last year, though SEMO was significantly better as a team. But like his team, Harris’ shooting numbers improved (28 percent from 3-point range to 34 percent). Korn said last year wasn’t an easy one for Harris.

“It was a hard year for him,” Korn said. “He came in as a preseason All-OVC (selection) and had a great first game against Missouri State (19 points on 7 of 10 shooting).”

Harris scored in double figures in 10 of SEMO’s initial 14 games last season, but only four times in the final 18 games, three of which he missed due to COVID.

“It was just kind of an up and down year,” Korn said. “But to me, that is what coaching is, and that is what SEMO is, you see guys through, and you don’t just run them off. They find themselves along the process.”

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