By Austin Bennett
One of Eastern Washington’s finest athletes, Joe Harris Jr. has been drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Harris will be accompanied by first round pick Andrew Wiggins and arguably the NBA’s best player, LeBron James.
“It’s been a dream come true and a wild few months for our family,” Harris’ mother, Alice Harris said.
Chelan High School
Joe Harris began his career at Lake Chelan High School where he was a three-time MVP for the Caribou Trail League. He was also named the Gatorade Washington State basketball player of the year in 2010. He also holds the state record for class 1A career points with 2,399. As a senior he averaged 26.6 points, 8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 4.4 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game.
University of Virginia
At Virginia Harris averaged 16 points, four rebounds and two assists per game with 44 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent from three point range in his last season with the Cavaliers. He was also named the ACC tournament most-valuable-player.
He ranks second all-time for career three point percentage for the University of Virginia at 40.7 percent. Harris also made 40 percent of his three pointers as a freshman, the most by any ACC players since 2000. He scored a career high 36 points against Duke in the 2012-2013 season.
NBA
“Friends and family all came to our house to watch Joe get drafted, it was a thrilling moment for all of us,” Harris’ mother said.
Joe was drafted in the second round and 33rd overall by the Cleveland. Unfortunately, Joe was unavailable for an interview due to his schedule.
Joe averaged 7.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the NBA’s summer league earning his 3 year rookie scale contract which includes 2 years guaranteed.
