Somebody Take Paul Harris' Shoelaces And Belts
by Sean Keeley on Feb 18, 2009 3:21 PM EST
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PrintThe most jarring thing about the Sports Illustrated article chronicling a week for Syracuse in the brutal Big East...how beaten down Paul Harris seemed to be. Boeheim's walking pet project seems to be carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes. For example:
It had been a rough week for Syracuse junior forward Paul Harris, one of many tough ones in the meat grinder known as the Big East Conference...
One-on-one powwows during the week with his coach, Jim Boeheim, had not exactly lifted his spirits and certainly didn't take place at Harris's instigation. On perhaps a dozen occasions, on the court or in the locker room, Boeheim had gone after Harris for hanging his head after bad plays and, as the coach saw it, disregarding instructions.
"To be honest with you, having Coach Boeheim on me all the time is hard," said Harris, whose full-court inbounds pass to junior guard Eric Devendorf all but sealed the game with 18 seconds left in OT after the Orange had blown a 16-point lead in the final eight minutes of regulation. "It doesn't do any good debating with him, because you can't win. He gets me thinking too much about mistakes." Harris paused. "But I'm going to keep going because that's what you gotta do. This is the Big East, right?"
Um...chin up, Paul? Then there's this after the UConn loss:
Syracuse is now 18-7 and skidding fast, and Boeheim decides that it's time to "talk big picture for a minute" as he addresses his team in a graveyardlike locker room after the game. "We're 6-6 in the league. We'd all like to be better. But our whole purpose this year is... what? Paul?"
"Get to the NCAA tournament," mumbles Harris.
Ugh for Paul. He's like the kid in class who can't shake the teacher's attention no matter how much he tries. All he wants to do is draw Star Wars characters in his spiral notebook but the teacher keeps pulling him back into the discussion on the Franco-Prussian War.
There's no doubt, Paul's in a bad funk. Harris has only grabbed double-digit boards in one of the last seven games. He scored 14 points against Villanova in spite of himself, thanks to 8-10 shooting from the free-throw line. Otherwise he hasn't made more than field goals in a game since West Virginia (2/4). And all of this is to say nothing of his strange decision-making, bad timing and yet another infamous in-bounding moment against Georgetown. Thankfully for him, it didn't cost SU the game. Had it...they'd still be finding pieces of Paul in Jimmy B's backyard.
The question is...is Paul struggling because he's so inside his head due to Boeheim or is he struggling in spite of Boeheim? Is all of the constant badgering making Paul a better player or is it just making him think too much? Obviously, Jim wouldn't be on Paul if he didn't care about him and want to make him a better player. For Paul's sake, I hope it's the right course of action. He's not going pro anytime soon and that means one more year under Jimmy's wing, whether he likes it or not.
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all ph needs..
is another rap video to hit the internet. clearly his first video shook his game a lil bit. he should lip synch a new song perhaps to REALLY get himself and his team going! maybe notorious big this time?
he is struggling
because he is playing against better competition.
Does anyone remember what happened at the end of the first half against Villanova? With 8 seconds left, Flynn was standing next to Harris. Harris doesn’t give him the ball, takes 5 dribbles which go nowhere, and shots a three with as much chance to go in as an AO free throw. The Waffle picks up a dumb foul on the rebound, and all that momentum they built up at the end of the half was gone.
I think Boeheim showed some self control by not killing him.
by The Dome Ranger on Feb 18, 2009 3:40 PM EST reply actions
by "share" I meant he needs to talk about his feelings less.
Just wanted to make sure that was clear.
he should share more
instead of taking stupid threes
by The Dome Ranger on Feb 18, 2009 4:24 PM EST reply actions
I agree
I think he has got to realize he is not an offensive option…he cleans up and fills the other stat categories. Does the dirty work.
He should look to be like Shawn Marion was for the Suns ( NO he is not Lebron James). They never ran plays for him and he rarely ever created for himself unless he was wide the heck open. He just filled up the stat sheet. Defines the cliche let the game to come to him. That is what Harris needs to do.
harris is very comparrable to kueth duany
if you remember duany was jimmy b’s whipping boy………at some point it clcick with paul and he will be unstoppable, i hope
dome ranger is right
what was paul harris thinking trying to take the last shot of the half, and a 3 pointer at that.. couldn’t believe KO foul either! just one unreal mind fuck after another with this group..
What was Harris'
inbounding moment on Saturday? The only one I remember is him throwing the deep pass to Devendorf. Did I miss one?
But I felt the same way reading that article. He is just beaten down.
just before the pass to devo....
he had to burn a time out because he couldn’t find an open man. or move around on the baseline.
No
During regulation, he tried to inbound it to Devo but basically passed it right to Gtown. Easy layup, cut the lead to 2 at the time, I believe. It was almost the exact same play as the Pitt game last season.
I agree with pretty much everyone here
Paul Harris is not, and should not be, any sort of offensive option for this team. He needs to play defense and rebound. If he’s got a layup or a dunk, or a put back, that should be the extent of his offensive contribution. Honestly, how many of you quiver whenever he dribbles? Or is it just me? He’s never been a shooter, and he’s certainly never been a good ball handler. I don’t see Jeff Adrien of UConn stepping outside taking threes… he sticks to his game and uses his size to his advantage. Now, I know Harris isn’t as big as Adrien, but he is a very good rebounder for his size and has the athleticism and strength to be a lock down defender. He tries to do too much, which usually ends up with him taking a bad shot or turning it over. The Orange need Harris to be successful. But they need his rebounding and his hustle, not his 3 point shooting.
by TheSaltineWarrior on Feb 18, 2009 5:49 PM EST reply actions
as far as Jimmy B being on him so much
perhaps it wears Paul down. But I think I’d be on one of my junior leaders and most experienced players if he kept making the dumb mistakes Harris makes. I think people (no one here, read the comments on the Post-Standard articles sometimes concerning Boeheim. People find a way to bitch and moan no matter what Jimmy B does) find a way to complain about Boeheim no matter what he does.
by TheSaltineWarrior on Feb 18, 2009 5:53 PM EST reply actions
I don't
blame JB at all for this. At some point these kids need to learn. But you’re right, I’m sure people are spinning this as anti-Boeheim. The anti-Boeheim guys say in one breath “he’s too old and doesn’t care anymore or relate” and in the next breath say “he’s too hard on these kids”
So which one is it? He cares too much or not enough. Drives me crazy.
I don't mind
him as an offensive option, he just needs to understand what his limitations are. He just forces things too much.
by The Dome Ranger on Feb 18, 2009 6:49 PM EST reply actions
re: harris
something to remember about Harris. this kid was a top 5 recruit coming out of high school. I’m sure he has always been “the man”. It has to be hard for him mentally to be struggling against superior competition. His first year was a disaster. he would run around out around the top of the arc at full speed, obviously having no concept of Boeheim’s system (whatever that may mean). His second year, he made tremendous strides, looked comfortable and confident, and now his third year he has regressed. It has to be partially mental, but at the same time, he really doesn’t have a role…Flynn adn Devo and Rautin play around the top of the key, and harris is forced to come out and try to force his shot. He needs to develop a little post game, not the “get the ball at the top of the arc, dribble with the right hand to the corner and try and go baseline” move. Doesn’t work in the big east. I wonder if part of the conflict with Boeheim the fact that Boeheim is trying to “change his game” and Harris still wants to take people off the ball like in high school. I am not familiar what offense if any they ran in high school with Flynn, but i guarentee it was fast and a large majority of his baskets were on the break. He is a very talented athlete, but more of a project than originally anticipated i’m sure, He needs to go back to being “the bouncer” that every team needs. What do you think?
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