A Few Minutes With Anthony Harris

Jan. 4, 2006

Q: You went from hardly playing as a freshman (four minutes a game) to starting 28-of-29 games. Can you talk a little bit about that jump in playing time?

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A: I always stayed competitive even though I didn’t play my freshman year and I think that carried over to my sophomore season. I looked back on my freshman year and realizing what I needed to do. I think coach Haith had a lot do with my improvement on the court as well.

Q: What’s it like meeting the challenge head on, finishing fifth in assists, eighth in assist-to-turnover ratio and 25th in scoring in the ACC?

A: That’s good, especially coming into the ACC the first year–being a big conference like it is–and to make to make an impact like I did is a big goal of mine. It’s a big achievement for me that definitely carries over for me and gives me confidence.

Q: This backcourt is one of the best in the county and you are considered its leader, what’s it like to hear that?

A: I look at the work we do in the off season, postseason, preseason and look at the other guards across the country–compare it with what we produce and give to our team–and you can’t do anything but be grateful that people say we’re one of the best backcourts in the nation. We put in the work; we put in the effort and put in the time.

Q: What was it like scoring 50 points in a high school game?

A: My high school coach would always to tell me to score more. He would always tell me to be very aggressive but I was always one of those guys that would try and score early and then try to get my teammates into the game. But my coach always told me, `we don’t need you to do that, we need you to score right now.’

Q: Being someone that averaged 27 points as a junior in high school and then 24.5 as a senior, what was it like transitioning from a scorer to a point guard that had to distribute more?

A: The talent level in college is higher which allows you to do more things. It’s not that hard to be a point guard when you have Guillermo Diaz and Rob Hite on the wing. All you have to do is find them.

Q: Given all the progress you had made, how frustrating was it to go down with a foot injury in preseason?

A: I think it was frustrating because of the three losses we had early in the year and knowing that I could have contributed to help the team win. But I’m also using it as a positive to get other parts of my body healed. Another positive is I get to see things from a coach’s standpoint. When you’re watching you can see everything that’s going on, everything that’s going wrong and I think that’s going to help me when I come back.

Q: Have you ever done a Google search on yourself? When was the first time?

A: Probably once or twice. The first time was in high school and it was crazy because I really wasn’t into the internet. I didn’t really know what the internet was until probably eighth grade. Someone told me about it and typed my name in. This was in eighth grade and I didn’t even know I had been featured in Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times as one of the top eighth graders coming out. They even had picture on the internet. Someone can just type your name in and pull you up–that’s big! Worldwide.

Q: What was it like growing up the son of a local playground legend, Billy “The Kid” Harris?

A: In a way it was hard and in a way it was easy. The hard part was having to follow in his footsteps, everybody is going to compare you to your father and everybody’s going to have high expectations of you. I’m a person that likes to compete and I like the attention, so I kind of fed off of that and that’s what made me the player that I am today.

Q: What’s the biggest thing you learned from your father on the basketball court?

A: Passion. He would get me on the court and you could see how much he loved the game. That really carried over to me. That’s where all my heart and my confidence comes from and that’s really something you can’t teach.

Q: It’s been reported that you two were playing one-on-one, the first to 24 points by two wins. You get up 22-0 and he comes back to beat you 24-22, what was that experience like?

A: Well…I was young and I didn’t know any better. It was one of those stages where <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Philadelphia 76ers guard Allan Iverson was big, and everyone was into the crossover move. So I just kept trying to shake him, shake him, shake him. I messed around and missed a shot and I didn’t see the ball from there. But he won’t play me again. He says I would have been the first person to beat him.

Q: Did you know that your high school recently won the city of Chicago chess championship?

A: Oh yeah, well Whitney Young is a great school. It’s not just about athletics. I think Whitney Young did a good job of preparing me for college.

Q: Can you play chess?

A: Yes. I’ve been playing chess since I was young, I had an uncle that was very good. I would watch him play a lot and before long I started playing.

Q: If not for basketball, could you have made the chess team?

A: Probably.

Q: Chicago is probably known for Bears, one well-known Bull and hot dogs. What does Anthony Harris need to do to factor into that equation?

A: I think I have to stay focused and continue to improve. If I can help the Hurricanes win a national championship then I will definitely be part of that equation. For right now, I’m in college and that’s my goal.