Jay Harris transferring from Valparaiso

Mjj · April 24, 2012, 12:08:11 PM

Jay Harris transferring from Valparaiso
By Mark Lazerus on April 24, 2012 11:59 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
More to come. Here's the official release.
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Valparaiso men's basketball head coach Bryce Drew announced today that sophomore guard Jay Harris has been granted a release from his commitment to the Crusader men's basketball program and will be transferring.

"Jay has been a great asset to our program, helping us win 45 games over the last two years," said Drew. "We are going to miss Jay, but know he is going to be successful at his future destination. He will always be part of the Valpo family."

Harris appeared in 66 games in his two years with the Crusaders, averaging 6.9 points per game while hitting better than 90% of his free throw attempts. He posted 9.0 ppg while averaging 25 minutes per game in 2011-2012 as a sophomore, shooting 40.3% from the floor.

"I had a great two years at Valparaiso," said Harris. "We had two 20-win seasons and I got to play with a league championship team. Both the coaching staff and the team treated me great, but this decision was best for my family and me. I'm looking forward to my future."

covufan · April 24, 2012, 12:53:24 PM

I'm a little surprised by Jay's transfer. I was expecting him to play an increased role the next two years. Are we getting too many G's on our team, giving the impression that some may not have a future?

hoopfan22 · April 24, 2012, 01:12:48 PM

Not surprised.

MattCarter · April 24, 2012, 01:19:42 PM

Actually Jay was one of "rumored" transfers back before we knew it was Richie and Vuc

I am not shocked either. Jay seemed to cop a serious attitude toward the end of this past season. When he was on, he was great...but if he was off, he was TERRIBLE. There didn't seem to be an in between for him. It seemed like teams were getting into his head.

Maybe that is just me....but with Boggs, Bogan, Buggs, Dority, and Coleman all fighting for guard minutes....I can see why he looked to go somewhere to play. Not a solid enough ball handler for the 1 spot and a bit soft of defense and undersized for the 2 in Horizon League.

Again, just my opinion. Hope he can land somewhere and play for a couple years after the sit out.

hoopfan22 · April 24, 2012, 01:34:06 PM

^^^ Agreed

chef · April 24, 2012, 01:41:30 PM

Also agreed. Hard to argue, Jay's best position is the 2, although he has the body of a point.

valpotx · April 24, 2012, 01:48:22 PM

Also not surprised, and not really bothered about this transfer in addition to Edwards/Vucic. Definitely appreciate all that they did for us in the games they played, but believe we have better options available with returning/incoming players. It did seem like Harris would just disappear for about 2/3 of the games we played, and looked very disinterested when his shot was off. I don't doubt that he tried, but his body language was often one of 'I give up today,' and when he forced shots, it was terrible. Best of luck to him in his next school though!!

Valpo89 · April 24, 2012, 01:53:31 PM

At only 150-60 pounds, he gets eaten alive by bigger, quicker guards. I'm sure if we looked at the Detroit game again that would be all too evident.
I'm sure that's why the coaching staff landed Dority and Coleman, and Harris saw the writing on the wall.
Good kid, good player, can be a very good shooter and will have a good career somewhere.

wh · April 24, 2012, 01:56:44 PM

A lot of Jay's minutes were at the 1. Assuming Dority is eligible at the end of the 1st semester, Jay will have to scrape for minutes only at the 2. Added to that we will have more options to play bigger line ups than last year, which will likely squeeze more of Jay's minutes. From a team standpoint it would be nice to continue to have Jay available to come in to provide some instant offense (when he's on), but obviously that's a role he's not willing to accept.

LaPorteAveApostle · April 24, 2012, 02:40:27 PM

Given that the above is largely true...does the timing strike anyone else as strange?

Why not announce earlier (like Richie/Hrvoje) and be more "available", especially if he was so seemingly disgruntled before then? Dance cards are filling up around the country. It would seem to have more options, to declare a month ago would have been the time.

I can't help but feel there is something more to the story, something Lazerus seems to want to get at in his blog, but that Harris won't bite at...

LaPorteAveApostle · April 24, 2012, 03:15:03 PM

Not to answer my own questions, but--well, Paul Oren might have for me:
http://www.nwitimes.com/blogs/sports/valparaiso-university/harris-leaves-valparaiso/article_6b258e32-8e3d-11e1-9342-001a4bcf887a.html

"the fact that it took this long for the announcement to come means that either Harris didn't really want to go or that he's having a hard time finding a landing spot."

sectionee · April 24, 2012, 03:53:39 PM

Harris is another one that really isn't that big of a loss. Here is his apparent replacement?

http://valpo.streamlinetechnologies.com/mbasketball/news/2011-12/11727/chadwick-to-join-valpo-mens-basketball-program/

chipper955 · April 24, 2012, 06:14:39 PM

I for one am sad to see Jay go. Yeah he did have his moments where he took bad shots and couldn't hit anything, but I really felt like he was due to have a break out year next season (although I thought he would have a breakout season this past season after the performance last year against Iona). I think he was more of a team leader than some realize. He was the one who everyone circled around after the pregame introductions. Not to mention I will also miss seeing all of the different high fives he used to do with everyone. It seemed like he had a different one for everyone on the team (even the team assistants). Best of luck to Jay.

sectionee · April 24, 2012, 09:41:47 PM

He should've worked a bit more on that jumper instead of those high fives perhaps

chef · April 24, 2012, 10:02:32 PM

Quote from: chipper955 on April 24, 2012, 06:14:39 PMI think he was more of a team leader than some realize.

This is not a criticism of Jay, but a simple fact. He was not a team leader.

DMvalpo18 · April 24, 2012, 11:16:06 PM

Quote from: chef on April 24, 2012, 10:02:32 PM
Quote from: chipper955 on April 24, 2012, 06:14:39 PMI think he was more of a team leader than some realize.
This is not a criticism of Jay, but a simple fact. He was not a team leader.

I agree chef. Leading the dance in the huddle is not really what makes a leader. As you said, it is just a fact.

hoopfan22 · April 25, 2012, 07:58:34 AM

Quote from: sectionee on April 24, 2012, 09:41:47 PM
He should've worked a bit more on that jumper instead of those high fives perhaps

After a few games his freshman year I said this very thing here and people KILLED me for it lol.

lowposter · April 25, 2012, 08:09:14 AM

This team is quickly becoming a transfer team, players moving in, players moving out. A clearinghouse, if you will. Perhaps that is the nature of NCAA hoops these days, but if VU is to build a stable program, it seems there needs to be a certain level of stability.

Or...is it just me with too much time on my hands simply over analyzing this?

Perhaps it is just me getting older and more cynical, but are our players beginning to be pushed away? Is this the situation with Harris? It sure seems so. Look at the timing of all these arrivals and departures. Not saying there isnt something wrong with "look, we need to see progress this season or rethink your role on the team", but making the correct calls on recruits to begin with seems the more certain route. I keep thinking of the Cameron Witt situation here and his dismissal from the team.

We tend to get all excited about the new arrivals, but look at the facts...what were their results at their original schools? Most transfer simply due to a lack of playing time.

Perhaps the answer is to reduce the number of scholarships from 13 down to 12. It almost seems as if the 13th is always a transfer in waiting. If you have 12, then your margin of error is greatly reduced.

No doubt there is a tendancy for high schoolers to reach as high as possible when making a selection. The pressure heaped on players to "go D1" results in overall life decisions which are probably not in the students (or school's) best interest.

Just rambling...I hate to see this many transfers.

lowposter

chef · April 25, 2012, 08:48:24 AM

Teams would get by just fine on 12 scholarships. Valpo has done it before. Heck Duke has done it many, many seasons. Most Horizon League teams have had good success with transfers (even Bulter - Green, Campbell and Clarke to name a few). It's the nature of the mid-major.

MattCarter · April 25, 2012, 09:50:39 AM

Quote from: lowposter on April 25, 2012, 08:09:14 AMThis team is quickly becoming a transfer team, players moving in, players moving out.

Valpo has ALWAYS had this problem and always will. Check the transfer lists, other HL teams had 2,3, or even 4 transfers out...and so do the high majors. What REALLY matters is the starting 5...which we return every single one of them...plus we gain, arguably, 2 possibly 3 starting quality players. I see this as Bryce getting the program more on par with his goals and vision. Personally, I see nothing but an upgrade and more aggressive recruiting and more athletic players coming in...makes me excited, not worried. If Rowdy and KVW both transfer, then we can worry

valpo95 · April 25, 2012, 12:11:50 PM

Quote from: MattCarter on April 25, 2012, 09:50:39 AM
Quote from: lowposter on April 25, 2012, 08:09:14 AMThis team is quickly becoming a transfer team, players moving in, players moving out.
Valpo has ALWAYS had this problem and always will. Check the transfer lists, other HL teams had 2,3, or even 4 transfers out...and so do the high majors. What REALLY matters is the starting 5...which we return every single one of them...plus we gain, arguably, 2 possibly 3 starting quality players. I see this as Bryce getting the program more on par with his goals and vision. Personally, I see nothing but an upgrade and more aggressive recruiting and more athletic players coming in...makes me excited, not worried. If Rowdy and KVW both transfer, then we can worry

Before anyone goes off the deep end, according to this article by Seth Davis on SI.com, 40% of D1 players will transfer by the end of their sophomore seasons. (I'm guessing that also includes junior college players as well.)

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/seth_davis/04/20/bo-ryan-transfer/index.html

It is probably a good thing for VU that the talent is getting so much better that even good players are worried about their playing time. Would we like to have them stay, even at reduced minutes? Sure, but leaving for more minutes is a reasonable choice.

LaPorteAveApostle · April 25, 2012, 12:51:36 PM

Quote from: valpo95 on April 25, 2012, 12:11:50 PMIt is probably a good thing for VU that the talent is getting so much better that even good players are worried about their playing time. Would we like to have them stay, even at reduced minutes? Sure, but leaving for more minutes is a reasonable choice.

Good point--let's take a minute to let the fact sink in that VALPO had a player transfer to the PAC TWELVE in search of MORE PLAYING TIME. So there.

lowposter · April 25, 2012, 01:00:53 PM

If 40% of D1 basketball players transfer before the end of their sophomore year....then something is wrong with the system.

vu72 · April 25, 2012, 01:12:02 PM

It is always difficult to see players leave and I certainly believe the transfer situation has changed over the last several years. My point is that is the past players left because they clearly couldn't cut it and either didn't want to work hard enought to get playing time or they wanted to play more and that meant in general, a lateral move and in some cases a move to a non-D1 school. Chris Halvorsen falls inot this category. He clearly saw that his best place to play was the same spot that Rowdy occupies and they were in the same class. Why he ended up walking on at Minnesota is unclear because clearly it wasn't to get more playing time. Most likely just homesickness or a girl friend--who knows. Another player in this category would be Arden Skoglund as would Vucic.

Now things have changed and I think it probably started with Bryan Bouchie although I'm sure they are others. Here's the difference: guys are now leaving who were getting LOTS of minutes and want to get more! Richie Edwards, Jay Harris, Brandon Wood, DeAndre Haskins and others, I'm sure.

Most recently these changes have allowed other kids who are facing the same issues to transfer in to Valpo and it has been all good. Witness Cory Johnson, Brandon Wood, Bobby Capobianco and the new guards. Valpo95 hit it on the head. The talent level has gotten so much better that the regular rotation is constantly in flux or simply improving. Next year's team will open a lot of eyes. It will be a fun year to be a Crusader fan.

valpopal · April 25, 2012, 01:29:46 PM

Quote from: lowposter on April 25, 2012, 01:00:53 PM
If 40% of D1 basketball players transfer before the end of their sophomore year....then something is wrong with the system.

Not really. All players who are recruited at D1 schools were most likely starters, if not stars, on their high school teams and conferences, some were all-state. When they get to college, they all hope to be starters there as well. However, many do not become starters and realize by their sophomore year they might not start the next two years either. Some even find their game minutes as bench players are somewhat limited since most teams have 8-man rotations at best.

Add to that the off-court discoveries at a college during one's first couple of years--which could include difficulties in the classroom or in community circles or merely dealing with the climate, geography, social life (or lack of) and homesickness in some cases--as well as the fact that we're talking about 20-year-old kids who might be impatient or curious about other places.

Moreover, there is some excitement and ego boosting about going through the transfer process, being courted by other schools and wanted all over again. These kids even see this in the NBA stars, their role models, who regularly explore free agency or demand trades. You can even add some college coaches who look to get out of contracts with their schools to go elsewhere.

Given all that, I would expect a fair number of disappointments and changed minds leading to curiosity and seeking something new, especially in an electronic age which daily includes so many quick shifts and searches for immediate gratification. Consequently, I am not surprised at all by the transfer rate.