With one free throw, Devin Harris officially earned the respect of everyone on campus, including myself.
Prior to his game-winning shot, the sophomore guard held a special place in my heart not far from Illinois, which I love to hate. My feelings for Devin go back to high school. I attended Rufus King in Milwaukee and Harris played ball for neighboring Wauwatosa East. Both schools frequently met on the road to the state tournament, and frequently Tosa East ended our season.
It was my senior year of high school that Harris lit us up, hitting shot after shot after shot. He couldn’t be stopped, no matter how vehemently the defense tried. That day in UW-Milwaukee’s Klotsche Center I cheered louder then I ever have at a high school basketball game, and it ended in a disappointing defeat. The reason for defeat was the Journal Sentinel’s Mr. Basketball, who averaged over 25 points per game that season and who had led his team to a 21-1 record — but not to respect.
Flashing forward to my freshman year at UW, I was less then pleased to see my friends cheering for number 34. It felt like the whole world was against me, and although I knew this kid could play, I didn’t want to admit it to anyone.
He started all 32 games for the Badgers his freshman year, leading the team in minutes while setting freshman records in 3-pointers (59) and free-throw percentage (.777 percent). He scored double-figure point totals in 22 games including eight of nine games to end the season, and his 12.3 points per game were the second best on the team, but there was still those lingering feelings in the back of my mind. It was like seeing an ex-girlfriend a year after you broke up. I knew his play was beautiful, but I still remembered the pain he had caused me.
Back at the Klotsche Center to play UW-Milwaukee, Harris stepped up his game once more. He made a steal and converted on a layup to give the Badgers the win. I was impressed but still not respectful. Harris had skill, but still made freshmen mistakes.
Mistakes that in his sophomore year he had worked on and corrected. Harris was averaging 12.7 points per game this season, and his defense was nothing less than spectacular. It was, in fact, his defense that had me praising Devin’s playing ability throughout the season. How can you not appreciate someone who works that hard to shut down the opposition?
I found myself waiting for that moment in each Badger game where Harris would step into the opposing passing lane and run the length of the court for a dunk. Suddenly I began to agree that Harris was a stud, but every time he slipped up in the least and people began to dis his abilities, I was definitely not going to get his back.
As I watched the game Wednesday night with a group of friends, my friends applauded as Harris hit back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Badger lead. I applauded his efforts along with them, but when he took a deep 3-pointer and missed off the back of the rim a comment was made that he still does that too often. I didn’t refute the statement, because I didn’t truly respect all aspects of his game.
With time running down and the score tied, people began to shout at Harris as he dribbled the ball beyond the 3-point arch. For the first time I felt comfortable with the fact that Harris was the one with the ball and the game in his hands. I told my friends that Harris knew what he was doing as the clock ticked below five seconds. I had Devin’s back on this one. He drove the lane and was hacked leaving me with one thought: “Brilliant.”
Harris and the Badgers knew exactly what they were doing. As he came to the line and the camera panned out to show the fans I couldn’t even imagine what he was thinking about. When he missed that free throw I was still confident he would sink the second one. As we all watched in silence a huge relief came over us when the ball swished through the net.
Respect is his, and no naysayer can ever take away the fact that he plays with grit, intensity and skill. From now on when people talk trash about Devin Harris, I won’t be thinking about how he crushed my high school team’s state championship hopes — I’ll be thinking about how he is a great player and how everyone should respect his playing ability.
