JimBob
03-03-2009, 09:25 AM
Loyalty, maturity displayed by Harris
The Cowboy senior stuck with OSU even through turbulent times.
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 3/3/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 3/3/2009 4:09 AM
STILLWATER — Terrel Harris may have experienced more change than any player in college basketball the last four seasons.
Three head coaches.
Twenty-four scholarship teammates, including 10 who left before exhausting eligibility.
Oklahoma State's culture changed from NCAA to NIT (though OSU is flirting with a return to Bracketville.)
Then there's the biggest change of all: Boy to man.
Harris and seniors Byron Eaton and Anthony Brown will play the final home game of their careers Tuesday against Kansas State.
Eaton and Harris are the sole survivors of a nine-player recruiting class that included six high school signees.
Eaton said he's still the same fun-loving guy he's always been. Harris often wears a smile, too. But he said his story — and it's one he hopes fans will embrace — is about mistakes and growth that occurred because of them.
"I have become more mature," he said. "I can tell it in myself and just in my game and my thoughts. The way I think is so much different."
Harris' uncle and mentor, ex-OSU football player Windell Yancy, said, "I have been with Terrel since day one as far as trying to help him develop and grow and do all the things I could to help him be successful. I'm pretty proud of where he is right now."
Harris visited dark places on his way to Senior Night and almost didn't get a senior season. Travis Ford's first act as head coach last spring was to suspend Harris for violating team rules.
"I had a few habits I had to overcome," Harris said. "I'm not ashamed to say it, but it was something I had to get rid of this year — for one thing to get back on the team and then to be a better player."
Eaton said Harris "changed his life" and became a different person after spending the summer with John Lucas, who aids troubled athletes.
But the suspension wasn't the low point, according to Harris. The darkest moment was getting punched on a New Year's Eve outing two years ago. Hurt was his face (he had to wear a protective mask) and his conscience. He regrets not being truthful about what transpired. The suspension and the mask — right there for everyone to see — were public. But Harris also hurt privately in his career, mostly because it bothers him to let people down. Himself. Family. Fans.
Harris became depressed after seasons ended without NCAA Tournament appearances. He wishes he could have a do-over of his sophomore year, when the Cowboys started 14-1 and fizzled.
"I wish instead of getting a little relaxed that we had gotten a little hungrier," he said.
Harris wonders what his OSU legacy will be. He doesn't think he will be viewed as a winner unless he gets to an NCAA Tournament. He hopes fans respect that he and Eaton stuck around through good and bad.
"We could have left and bailed out when stuff was going hard," Harris said. "We just tried to work it out."
Harris is close to his mother and cherishes relationships with his little brother and little sister. When he plays poorly, he fears his mom worries too much that something is wrong. And, said Harris, "If I play bad, if we get blown out or something, if my brother goes to school the next day and he was bragging about me, what do you think (other kids) are going to say to him if they saw the game?"
Yancy thinks Harris carries too much of a burden at times. Yancy said he has delivered man-to-man talks to Harris, when necessary. Now the talks aren't just between an uncle and a nephew who liked to learn things on his own, never mind advice from others. The talks are between one man and another.
"Even in the last year, he has grown up quite a bit," Yancy said. "It has been a transformation. He really has turned into a great young man."
The Cowboy senior stuck with OSU even through turbulent times.
By JIMMIE TRAMEL World Sports Writer
Published: 3/3/2009 2:22 AM
Last Modified: 3/3/2009 4:09 AM
STILLWATER — Terrel Harris may have experienced more change than any player in college basketball the last four seasons.
Three head coaches.
Twenty-four scholarship teammates, including 10 who left before exhausting eligibility.
Oklahoma State's culture changed from NCAA to NIT (though OSU is flirting with a return to Bracketville.)
Then there's the biggest change of all: Boy to man.
Harris and seniors Byron Eaton and Anthony Brown will play the final home game of their careers Tuesday against Kansas State.
Eaton and Harris are the sole survivors of a nine-player recruiting class that included six high school signees.
Eaton said he's still the same fun-loving guy he's always been. Harris often wears a smile, too. But he said his story — and it's one he hopes fans will embrace — is about mistakes and growth that occurred because of them.
"I have become more mature," he said. "I can tell it in myself and just in my game and my thoughts. The way I think is so much different."
Harris' uncle and mentor, ex-OSU football player Windell Yancy, said, "I have been with Terrel since day one as far as trying to help him develop and grow and do all the things I could to help him be successful. I'm pretty proud of where he is right now."
Harris visited dark places on his way to Senior Night and almost didn't get a senior season. Travis Ford's first act as head coach last spring was to suspend Harris for violating team rules.
"I had a few habits I had to overcome," Harris said. "I'm not ashamed to say it, but it was something I had to get rid of this year — for one thing to get back on the team and then to be a better player."
Eaton said Harris "changed his life" and became a different person after spending the summer with John Lucas, who aids troubled athletes.
But the suspension wasn't the low point, according to Harris. The darkest moment was getting punched on a New Year's Eve outing two years ago. Hurt was his face (he had to wear a protective mask) and his conscience. He regrets not being truthful about what transpired. The suspension and the mask — right there for everyone to see — were public. But Harris also hurt privately in his career, mostly because it bothers him to let people down. Himself. Family. Fans.
Harris became depressed after seasons ended without NCAA Tournament appearances. He wishes he could have a do-over of his sophomore year, when the Cowboys started 14-1 and fizzled.
"I wish instead of getting a little relaxed that we had gotten a little hungrier," he said.
Harris wonders what his OSU legacy will be. He doesn't think he will be viewed as a winner unless he gets to an NCAA Tournament. He hopes fans respect that he and Eaton stuck around through good and bad.
"We could have left and bailed out when stuff was going hard," Harris said. "We just tried to work it out."
Harris is close to his mother and cherishes relationships with his little brother and little sister. When he plays poorly, he fears his mom worries too much that something is wrong. And, said Harris, "If I play bad, if we get blown out or something, if my brother goes to school the next day and he was bragging about me, what do you think (other kids) are going to say to him if they saw the game?"
Yancy thinks Harris carries too much of a burden at times. Yancy said he has delivered man-to-man talks to Harris, when necessary. Now the talks aren't just between an uncle and a nephew who liked to learn things on his own, never mind advice from others. The talks are between one man and another.
"Even in the last year, he has grown up quite a bit," Yancy said. "It has been a transformation. He really has turned into a great young man."