Athletes - Devin Harris

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	Athletes - Devin Harris

Devin Harris (born February 27, 1983 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks. Harris attended the University of Wisconsin and gained national notoriety for his play at the collegiate level.

Early life

Devin Harris grew up in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a first ring suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the child to Terry and Julie Harris and has a brother named Bruce and a sister named Tanisha. Throughout high school, Harris was a superior athlete and took up basketball and volleyball at Wauwatosa East. He only played volleyball for one season, a season in which he gained all-conference honors, before he set that aside to focus on basketball. Harris was nagged by injuries after his sophomore year of high school and was unable to participate in the summer basketball camps and tournaments that are ever important in the recruiting process. Thus, Harris flew somewhat under the radar. Harris exploded his senior season at Wauwatosa East setting school scoring records through an undefeated regular season. Harris was named Wisconsin's "Mr. Basketball" for 2001, edging out Travis Diener of Fond Du Lac. Harris finally accepted an offer to play for Dick Bennett at the University of Wisconsin. Bennett retired in the midst of the upcoming season and by the time Harris arrived on campus, Bo Ryan was the head coach.

Playing career

In Harris' freshman season, the 2001-2002 season, Harris was already a starter on a relatively unheralded team. The Badgers came into the season being predicted to finish as low as ninth in the Big Ten Conference (which has eleven teams). On a team lead by seniors Charlie Wills and Travon Davis, the Badgers won an unexpected Big Ten Championship (shared with three other teams: Indiana University, University of Illinois, and Michigan State University).

Harris' sophomore season was his "breakout" year. Harris, along with senior Kirk Penney and fellow sophomore Mike Wilkinson, led the Badgers to their second consecutive Big Ten Championship. In the NCAA Tournament, the Badgers reached the "Sweet 16". In the "Sweet 16" game against the University of Kentucky, Harris showed a national audience his skill although the team lost.

The 2003-2004 season had Harris establishing himself as one of the top players in the nation. Harris was the leader on the team and was considered a "coach on the floor" by Bo Ryan. He received Big Ten Player of the Year and the Silver Basketball award, and was named a Second Team All-American. Harris decided to leave college early after his junior year to play in the NBA.

Harris was selected fifth overall by the Washington Wizards and subsequently traded to the Dallas Mavericks in a deal in which the Wizards obtained Antawn Jamison and the Mavericks obtained Harris, Jerry Stackhouse, and Christian Laettner. In Harris' rookie season, he averaged 5.7 ppg and 2.2 apg, but put up a respectable (especially for a rookie) PER of 14.69. Also, he ranked 2nd in the NBA in Steals per 48 Minutes at 3.15 (behind only Larry Hughes), and in November 2004 was named the got milk? Rookie of the Month. Although he started for much of the early portion of the season, his playing time dwindled as the season progressed. This could be due in part to the Mavericks coaching change from Don Nelson to Avery Johnson in March, but also because of Harris' need to add strength to compete more efficiently at the NBA level, particularly at the defensive end. Predictably, Harris has shown marked improvement in the early stages of the 2005-06 season, especially when it comes to scoring; as a result, his minutes have also increased as he has taken more of the ballhandling responsibilities from Jason Terry.

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Athletes - Devin Harris

Early life

Playing career

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