Social Point Man
Harris Assists Fort Defiance In Many Ways
Posted: March 5, 2013
FORT DEFIANCE — When Clay Harris was asked about his life aspirations, his response started out dead-pan.
“Me and my coach [Larry Leonard] were talking about that yesterday,” the Fort Defiance High School junior point guard said Monday. “I told him I want to be a stay-home dad with a sugar mama, but it’s gonna be hard to do.”
Only after the words “sugar mama” rolled off his tongue did he allow himself to crack a smile. It’s that dry, goofball sense of humor that his teammates appreciate.
It’s just one of several ways that Harris is helpful to the Indians.
The 5-foot-8 Weyers Cave native doesn’t score a lot – about seven points per game, behind seniors Adam Frazier (12.7 ppg) Trevor Lam (12.4). But he also dishes out about three assists per contest compared to about half as many turnovers, and he’s the primary ball-handler and offense-initiator for Fort.
Harris and the Indians (18-10) will play in a Division 3 semifinal at 5 p.m. today against Brunswick at Virginia Commonwealth University, their first state semi appearance since 1982 – back when Dell Curry led them to a Group A state title.
In addition to listing Harris’ on-court contributions, Leonard called Harris “a good locker-room player.”
“He’s very social, very friendly, likes to talk to anybody and everybody,” Leonard said, laughing. “Anybody who’ll listen, he’ll talk.”
Or, in the words of teammate Trevor Lam, Harris “never shuts up.” It’s not a bad thing, though.
He’s got a few go-to lines. For instance, one of Harris’ favorite clichés – he says it sarcastically – is to tell a teammate, “you have ice in your veins” after he makes an important shot. At the end of the Indians’ state quarterfinal win Saturday against Abingdon, when Harris was shooting free throws to ice the victory, he blurted out, “I have ice in my veins!” after knocking one down.
Or when he’s playing videogames with his friends, he sometimes takes his shirt off. Why? Because “I’m giving the fans what they want,” he said.
In a similar vein, Harris said he enjoys going to the beach so he can “look at the babes.”
Harris apparently gets some of his humor from his parents, Randy and Rhonda. They once told Clay that, if he ever scored 15 points, they’d buy him a bow-tie.
“They gave up on me and they gave me that bow-tie for Valentine’s Day, but the day I got my bow-tie I scored 21,” Clay said, smiling. “So I deserved it.”
Leonard appreciates the humor, but he also wants more on-court selfishness from Harris, an admittedly pass-first player. Harris said he’s always been that way, attributing some of it to playing on an AAU team with current Spotswood players Tucker McCoy, Josh Lasam and Caleb Detamore, all of whom are good scoring threats. Passing, Harris said, has “always been my role.”
Leonard, though, would like Harris’ role to expand – particularly with prolific scorers Frazier and Lam graduating this year.
“We’re constantly having to get Clay to think about being more offensive-minded rather than just doing all the other things that may not be a stat,” Leonard said.
But, because of all those “other things,” Harris still plays almost every minute. He’s a generally level-headed player who knows his teammates’ tendencies. An example: Lam likes to shoot 3-pointers at the top of the key, while Frazier prefers catching the ball in places where he can get to the basket. Harris acts accordingly.
“I know my role. I’m not the main scorer,” Harris said. “I just need to take care of the ball and find the open scorers. I need to be a leader out there, keep our team under control.”
And, of course, he provides comic relief.
The Indians might especially need an injection of Harris humor today as they take on a heavily favored team from Brunswick, the two-time defending state champion. The Bulldogs are coached by Bryant Stith, the all-time leading scorer at the University of Virginia (2,516 points). Players include Stith’s two sons, B.J. – a U.Va. commit – and Brandan, who’s been offered by U.Va. and a handful of other Division I colleges.
Harris knows his team will be at a disadvantage size-wise. He also knows that the Indians will probably get dunked on a couple times – “We can’t worry about little things like that,” he said.
He’ll probably use his pre-game comedy routine to help the Indians relax.
“I guess I’m sociable,” Harris said. “I try to have a good time.”
“Me and my coach [Larry Leonard] were talking about that yesterday,” the Fort Defiance High School junior point guard said Monday. “I told him I want to be a stay-home dad with a sugar mama, but it’s gonna be hard to do.”
Only after the words “sugar mama” rolled off his tongue did he allow himself to crack a smile. It’s that dry, goofball sense of humor that his teammates appreciate.
It’s just one of several ways that Harris is helpful to the Indians.
The 5-foot-8 Weyers Cave native doesn’t score a lot – about seven points per game, behind seniors Adam Frazier (12.7 ppg) Trevor Lam (12.4). But he also dishes out about three assists per contest compared to about half as many turnovers, and he’s the primary ball-handler and offense-initiator for Fort.
Harris and the Indians (18-10) will play in a Division 3 semifinal at 5 p.m. today against Brunswick at Virginia Commonwealth University, their first state semi appearance since 1982 – back when Dell Curry led them to a Group A state title.
In addition to listing Harris’ on-court contributions, Leonard called Harris “a good locker-room player.”
“He’s very social, very friendly, likes to talk to anybody and everybody,” Leonard said, laughing. “Anybody who’ll listen, he’ll talk.”
Or, in the words of teammate Trevor Lam, Harris “never shuts up.” It’s not a bad thing, though.
He’s got a few go-to lines. For instance, one of Harris’ favorite clichés – he says it sarcastically – is to tell a teammate, “you have ice in your veins” after he makes an important shot. At the end of the Indians’ state quarterfinal win Saturday against Abingdon, when Harris was shooting free throws to ice the victory, he blurted out, “I have ice in my veins!” after knocking one down.
Or when he’s playing videogames with his friends, he sometimes takes his shirt off. Why? Because “I’m giving the fans what they want,” he said.
In a similar vein, Harris said he enjoys going to the beach so he can “look at the babes.”
Harris apparently gets some of his humor from his parents, Randy and Rhonda. They once told Clay that, if he ever scored 15 points, they’d buy him a bow-tie.
“They gave up on me and they gave me that bow-tie for Valentine’s Day, but the day I got my bow-tie I scored 21,” Clay said, smiling. “So I deserved it.”
Leonard appreciates the humor, but he also wants more on-court selfishness from Harris, an admittedly pass-first player. Harris said he’s always been that way, attributing some of it to playing on an AAU team with current Spotswood players Tucker McCoy, Josh Lasam and Caleb Detamore, all of whom are good scoring threats. Passing, Harris said, has “always been my role.”
Leonard, though, would like Harris’ role to expand – particularly with prolific scorers Frazier and Lam graduating this year.
“We’re constantly having to get Clay to think about being more offensive-minded rather than just doing all the other things that may not be a stat,” Leonard said.
But, because of all those “other things,” Harris still plays almost every minute. He’s a generally level-headed player who knows his teammates’ tendencies. An example: Lam likes to shoot 3-pointers at the top of the key, while Frazier prefers catching the ball in places where he can get to the basket. Harris acts accordingly.
“I know my role. I’m not the main scorer,” Harris said. “I just need to take care of the ball and find the open scorers. I need to be a leader out there, keep our team under control.”
And, of course, he provides comic relief.
The Indians might especially need an injection of Harris humor today as they take on a heavily favored team from Brunswick, the two-time defending state champion. The Bulldogs are coached by Bryant Stith, the all-time leading scorer at the University of Virginia (2,516 points). Players include Stith’s two sons, B.J. – a U.Va. commit – and Brandan, who’s been offered by U.Va. and a handful of other Division I colleges.
Harris knows his team will be at a disadvantage size-wise. He also knows that the Indians will probably get dunked on a couple times – “We can’t worry about little things like that,” he said.
He’ll probably use his pre-game comedy routine to help the Indians relax.
“I guess I’m sociable,” Harris said. “I try to have a good time.”