Portland transfer Tyler Harris has been a spark plug for the Washington Huskies since his first game on Montlake. In Danny Sprinkle’s first game at the helm, Harris hit the shot that gave his team the lead for good late in the second half and has been suffocating on the defensive end of the floor.
With DJ Davis away from the team, the 6-foot-8 Harris stepped in and earned his first start against the Nevada Wolfpack. He was one of two Huskies that scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points and adding 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a steal.
“He’s got to get better, and a lot of it is new to him from a defensive side and offensive side,” Sprinkle said of his first start. “He’s got to just play, he’s got to play harder, he’s got to play tougher, but then he’s got to be more aggressive, he’s got to get to the offensive glass, he’s got to impose his will on the game instead of letting the game hit him. Sometimes, when he drives, he’s got to be really aggressive because he is really talented when he gets the ball into the middle of the paint, and we need him to score the basketball.”
In the two games since Sprinkle said he wanted to see more from the sophomore, Harris has responded admirably. He’s posted double digits in each, scoring 13 points against Seattle Pacific and 12 against UMass Lowell, adding 12 rebounds, 9 blocks, and 4 steals across the two wins.
That included a team-high 38 minutes against UMass Lowell, and as he continues to grow in Sprinkle’s system, he could earn more starts as other members of Washington’s backcourt have struggled to shoot the ball at the start of the year,