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Press Conference Audio: Press Conference | Manny Harris | John Beilein | DeShawn Sims

It’s finally official. Harris announced at his press conference today that he will enter the NBA draft and has no plans of returning to Michigan. Harris has not yet hired an agent but plans to do so in the near future.

Here are the quotes from the U-M Athletic Department press release:

“After long discussions with the U-M staff and my family and friends, I have decided to pursue my dream of professional basketball and leave U-M early for the NBA,” said Harris. “It is important for me to thank the University of Michigan, Coach Beilein and his staff, my teammates, my professors, as well as all those in the athletic department who have helped me over the last three years. My growth as a person and player wouldn’t have been possible without them.

“I will always appreciate the college game and what it has done for me, but playing professional basketball has always been a goal and I feel it is the best time to pursue that. I will always be a Michigan Wolverine at heart and bleed Maize and Blue forever.”

“Manny believes it is his time to move on to the NBA and we fully support him,” said U-M coach John Beilein. “It was a tough decision for him and we are prepared to assist him in every way we can as he begins this new chapter in his life. Manny has assured us he plans on successfully finishing this semester, which would put him in a position to graduate from Michigan with just one more academic year.”

“In three short years, Manny has compiled outstanding career numbers in points, rebounds, assists and steals — milestones many very good players do not reach during a four-year career. I have many fond memories of Manny’s time at Michigan. He has been clutch in so many big wins we certainly will miss him however we wish him nothing but the best in his professional basketball career and beyond.”

Draft Express has Harris projected as a late second round pick but NBADraft.net has him going undrafted. Tim has more notes from the presser over at MGoBlog.

This amplifies the importance of landing at least one more wing player in the class of 2010. The two targets remaining on Michigan’s board for 2010 are Mt. Pleasant guard Trey Zeigler and Detroit Denby’s Isaiah Sykes. Looking at the scholarship breakdown you can see that Harris’ departure has little effect on the situation because any scholarships used in 2010 will count against the 2011 class.

Rumors have been swirling that Manny Harris has decided to enter the NBA draft. At this point nothing is official however Harris gave this quote to Terry Foster of the Detroit News when asked if he was declaring:

“How did you find that out?” he said. “I will get back to you later on that.”

He told the Michigan Daily that he would make his decision on Monday:

“I’m going to make my decision on Monday,” Harris told The Daily this afternoon in a phone interview.

Obviously most signs point toward Harris entering the draft. The real question, is whether he plans to sign an agent. Signing an agent would rule out any potential withdrawal from the draft.

DraftExpress has Harris slotted as a late second round pick, they also have a lengthy scouting report that is very well done.

I’ve been routinely pointing out Manny Harris’ struggles over the last several weeks. Michigan put the ball in his hands down the stretch in Madison and he let them down. He’s shooting just 23 of 68 (33.8%) over his last five games. He was suspended for an incident in practice. In short, it hasn’t been the best stretch for Manny Fresh and many, myself included, have been wondering “What’s wrong with Manny Harris?”

There are plenty of potential explanations for Harris’ struggles. First, he has been nursing a hamstring injury all season. It’s clear that he lacks that extra explosive burst that separates truly elite players from the rest of the pack. It’s also apparent that Manny is starting to let some of the frustration from the disappointing season catch up to him. Over the last month, it’s been easy to spot the angst on Harris’ face as things just don’t go his way.

Despite the mental and physical ailments affecting Harris, there is also something else to consider. Manny Harris has never been particularly efficient in Big Ten play. Most players see a drop in production from non-conference play (cupcake city) to conference play. In the case of Manny Harris, this drop is amplified by the drastic differences in style of play.
Continue reading ‘A Closer Look at Manny Harris’

After tonight’s game, reports began surfacing that Manny Harris planned on returning for his senior year. Here are the quotes from after the game:

“You know, you want to get better as a person, as a player,” Harris said after the game. “A lot of these guys have to come back, like myself, got to come back and play next year. “Just got to keep fighting and work hard. The season (isn’t) over. Anything still can happen so we’ve still got to believe and fight hard.”

Harris was asked if he was confident returning to Michigan would be his final decision.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Harris, who entered the Northwestern game averaging a Big Ten-best 19.1 points.

Harris was hesitant to go into much detail about his thought process.

“I’m not going to get too much into that,” Harris said. “I’m definitely not thinking about (the future). I’m just thinking about getting better as a team.”

Harris’ Facebook status from after the game tells you just about everything you need to know about the situation.

This really doesn’t strike me as the right time to press Manny about his decision to stay or go. He will make that decision when the time comes and it’s clear that he hasn’t made the decision one way or another at this point.

The quote started off with Harris stressing the need to continue to work, fight, and get better every day. Those are all the things that he’s supposed to say. There’s no need to jump a kid after one of Michigan’s worst losses of the season about his draft status. That can wait until the season is over.

Neither Harris or Sims looked like NBA players today. But I suppose my interview with Aran Smith, of NBADraft.net, becomes a little more relevant with all the draft talk.

Aran Smith, president of NBADraft.net, agreed to answer a couple quick questions about Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims’s draft stock. NBADraft.net is one of the top draft websites on the internet and definitely worth a read if you need to get your NBA Draft fix. There are obviously a thousand opinions on how different players should be evaluated for the NBA and this certainly shouldn’t be taken as gospel, however I thought it would be good to bring in an opinion from someone who follows the draft religiously.

You recently dropped Manny Harris down your draft board from late first round 2010 to mid-second round in 2011. What were your reasons for this and how would you evaluate Manny’s draft stock at this point?

Harris is one of the best college shooting guard in the country, but scouts question his ability to hit outside shots. He’s not an overwhelming athlete and doesn’t do anything well enough to offset his subpar outside shooting. He’ll have a chance to get drafted, but scouts are no longer mentioning him as a potential first rounder.

If you were advising him, would you recommend that he leaves early? What can players gain from coming back for their senior year? How often does a player reach their potential and at a certain point “he is what he is”?

I am on the fence on him leaving this year. Harris could be reaching that point where leaving could be in his best interest. He has to weigh the benefits of earning a degree or whether he feels ready to take his game to the next level. We always get bombarded by the pro-college, don’t leave early sentiment, but there are plenty of players that actually wait too long and get exposed for not having the perceived upside they once possessed. I don’t think his game or stock would be damaged too severely by returning, but you never know. He is playing at a very high level and any dropoff from that could hurt.

DeShawn Sims has been putting up phenomenal statistics in conference play but he is a bit of a tweener going forward. How would you evaluate his draft stock?

Yeah I think he’s a European level power forward, and a tweener for the NBA. He has a good shot from outside for a big forward but I don’t see him having a role in the NBA.

What does each player need to improve on to raise their value?

Sims must gain more perimeter skills, although I think he’s best to focus on being a big man playing overseas. Harris needs to become a better outside shooter.

Top 5 NBA prospects in the Big Ten?

1. Evan Turner
2. Kalin Lucas
3. William Buford
4. JaJuan Johnson
5. Manny Harris

Favorite NBA prospect that no one is talking about?

Love the question. The “other” forward at Iowa State Marquis Gilstrap doesn’t get much ink, but he’s a nice prospect. I think he has a chance to make it in the NBA.