Paul Harris (born October 15, 1986) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who last played for the

Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the com ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He played college basketball for

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

High school

Harris led Niagara Falls High School to the 2005 New York State Class AA Championship averaging 19.7 points, 12.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. He was recognized as the tournament MVP after scoring 19 points, along with eight rebounds and four assists in the championship game, overcoming a broken thumb in his shooting hand in the process. Harris was named first-team all-state in 2005 as Niagara Falls finished 28–1 and third in the national USA Today rankings. He scored 24 points to lead the West to a 110–77 victory against the East in the 2005 Niagara PAL/ACE Showcase game in April and had 16 points for the Black Jerseys in the 2006 Jordan All-American Classic. Harris found himself in trouble off the court, however, facing minor drug and domestic violence charges for which he spent 13 days in jail. Harris transferred to Notre Dame Prep in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. While at Notre Dame Prep, Harris scored 31 points against Northfield Mount Herman, 26 points and 14 rebounds versus Blair Academy and 25 points against Winchendon School. He was a second-team member of the 2006 All-USA squad selected by USA Today. He played with a number of well-known players while in high school, including future Syracuse teammate

Jonny Flynn Jonny William Flynn (born February 6, 1989) is an American former professional basketball player. A three-year National Basketball Association (NBA) veteran, he last played for the Orlandina Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A and played collegia ...

Michael Beasley Michael Paul Beasley Jr. (born January 9, 1989) is an American professional basketball player, who most recently played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for Kansas State Universi ...

and Lazar Hayward.

Team USA

Harris was a member of the USA Basketball Youth Development Festival squad that captured the gold medal at the 2005 International Sports Invitational. Harris tallied 28 points in the gold-medal game and led the seven-team field in rebounding average (9.0) and ranked fifth in scoring average (16.8). The following year, Harris played in the 2006 Nike Hoop Summit game between the USA Junior Select Team and the World Select Team. He had a team-high seven rebounds and six assists, as well as six points in the 109–91 victory.

College

2006–07

Harris was named the 2006–07

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and M ...

preseason Rookie of the Year, and made his Syracuse University debut in an exhibition victory against

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It has two colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. History Butler Ex ...

on November 1. In his first six games, Harris averaged 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds. He finished the season averaging 8.6 points and 7.1 rebounds. At the end of the season, Harris was selected to the Big East All Rookie Team.

2007–08

Harris improved his statistics across the board during his sophomore campaign and was rewarded with second-team All Big East honors. He averaged 14.5 points, 8.2

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

, 3.3 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. His shooting touch improved tremendously as his field goal percentage and free throw shooting increased 3.6 and 4.9 percentage points respectively. His mid/long range game appeared much more polished; Harris saw his 3-point percentage skyrocket from 5% to a respectable 32.4%.

2008–09

In his final season at Syracuse, Harris averaged 12 points and led the team with 8.1 rebounds. On December 30, 2008, Harris injured his finger against Seton Hall and needed six stitches. He missed the following game against South Florida. In Syracuse's 127–117 win against Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament on March 12, 2009, Harris played 56 minutes, scored 29 points and grabbed 22 rebounds.

Professional career

After the conclusion of the 2008–09 season, Harris declared himself eligible for the

2009 NBA Draft The 2009 NBA draft was held on June 25, 2009, at the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In this draft, the National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players and other el ...

. He was not drafted, but played alongside Jonny Flynn as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves' summer league team. After not being offered a spot on the Timberwolves' preseason roster, the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

invited Harris to attend their preseason training camp. However, Harris injured his ankle the week before camp began and didn't heal in time to participate and was then waived by the Jazz on October 22. On November 5, 2009, Harris was drafted by the Maine Red Claws with the eighth overall pick of the 2009 NBA Development League Draft. However, Harris didn't attend camp, instead opting for season ending ankle surgery. Harris joined the

for the 2010 Orlando Pro Summer League. On October 30, 2010, he was re-acquired by the Red Claws. In January 2011, Harris, citing a lack of playing time with the Red Claws, left the team and accepted an offer to join the

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...

of the

. The Tropang Texters won the 2011 PBA Commissioner's Cup 4–2 over the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

. In November 2011, he was again re-acquired by the Red Claws. On February 29, 2012, he was waived by the Red Claws. On March 27, 2012, he was acquired by the Iowa Energy. However, on April 12, his contract was terminated by the Energy. In December 2012, Harris was re-acquired by the

Iowa Energy Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to t ...

. In August 2013, he signed a one-year contract with

SLUC Nancy Basket Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...

of France. On June 3, 2014, he signed to play as an import for the

for the third time of the PBA. On June 12, 2014, he signed with Royal Halı Gaziantep of Turkey. On December 23, 2014, he left Gaziantep and signed with

BCM Gravelines Basket Club Maritime Gravelines-Dunkerque, commonly referred to as BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque, is a French professional basketball club based in Gravelines. They currently play in the Pro A, the highest professional league in France. The team plays ...

of the French

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league ...

. On June 1, 2015, Harris signed with Uşak Sportif of the

Turkish Basketball League Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and ...

for the 2015–16 season. In June 2016, Harris signed with

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

of the Philippines, marking his fourth time to play in the country. He replaced

Drew Crawford Andrew Eugene Crawford (born October 18, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Dolomiti Energia Trento of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats. He was the 2009–10 Big T ...

, who backed out at the last minute. However, he only played one game against GlobalPort after he suffered a hypextended thumb open fracture during the third quarter. Harris signed with the Italian team Vanoli Cremona on November 9, 2016. In 2021, Harris signed with

of the PBA. In his first game with the Fuel Masters, he recorded 24 points, 15 rebounds and 3 assists in a 103–100 victory over the

Terrafirma Dyip The Terrafirma Dyip is a professional basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The team is owned by Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation and originally played under its affiliate company Columbian Autocar Cor ...

References

External links

*
TBLStat.net Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Paul 1986 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in the Philippines American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from New York (state) BCM Gravelines players Gaziantep Basketbol players Iowa Energy players Lega Basket Serie A players ESSM Le Portel players Maine Red Claws players Philippine Basketball Association imports Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players SLUC Nancy Basket players Small forwards Sportspeople from Niagara Falls, New York Syracuse Orange men's basketball players TNT Tropang Giga players Vanoli Cremona players