Devin Harris

Devin Lamar Harris (born February 27, 1983) is an American sports analyst and former professional basketball player.

He played for 15 seasons, mostly with the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets.

Harris exploded his senior season at Wauwatosa East in 2001, setting school scoring records through an undefeated regular season.

Harris was named Wisconsin's "Mr. Basketball" for 2001, edging out Travis Diener of Fond du Lac High School.

Harris finally accepted an offer to play for Dick Bennett at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Bennett retired in the midst of the upcoming season and by the time Harris arrived on campus, Bo Ryan was the head coach.

In Harris's freshman season, the 2001–02 season, he was a starter on an unheralded team.

The Badgers came into the season being predicted to finish as low as ninth in the Big Ten Conference (which had eleven teams at the time).

On a team led by seniors Charlie Wills and Travon Davis, the Badgers won an unexpected Big Ten Championship (shared with three other teams: Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio State).

Harris's sophomore season was his "breakout" year.

Harris, along with senior Kirk Penney and fellow sophomore Mike Wilkinson, led the Badgers to their second consecutive Big Ten Championship.

In the NCAA tournament, the Badgers reached the "Sweet 16".

In the Sweet 16 game against Kentucky, Harris showcased his skill before a national audience, despite an eventual Badger loss.

The 2003–04 season saw Harris establish himself as one of the top players in the nation.

Harris was the leader on the team and was considered a "coach on the floor" by Bo Ryan.

The Spurs had dominated the Mavs in recent playoff history, ending their playoff runs in 6 games in 2003 and 5 games in 2001.

Harris attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was selected with the fifth pick in the 2004 NBA draft by the Washington Wizards.

He garnered several awards, including Big Ten Player of the Year, 2004 Big Ten men's basketball tournament MOP, the Silver Basketball award, and was named a Second Team All-American.

Harris decided to leave college early after his junior year to play in the NBA.

Days prior to the draft, the Washington Wizards and Dallas Mavericks agreed to a deal that involved the Wizards' 5th overall pick going to the Mavs along with Jerry Stackhouse and Christian Laettner in exchange for Antawn Jamison.

NBA rules prevented teams from trading draft picks for two consecutive years (in addition to trade kicker details in Laettner's contract ) so the deal was momentarily delayed until the actual draft in which Washington selected Harris and subsequently traded him to the Mavericks to complete the deal.

The Mavs' plan was to bring Harris along slowly under the tutelage of all-star point guard Steve Nash but Nash ended up leaving the team through free agency and signing with the Phoenix Suns.

In Harris's rookie season, he averaged 5.7 points and 2.2 assist per game, but put up a PER of 14.69.

He ranked 2nd in the NBA in steals per 48 minutes at 3.15 (behind Larry Hughes), and in November 2004 was named the Rookie of the Month.

Although he started for much of the early portion of the season, his playing time dwindled as the season progressed.

Harris showed marked improvement in the early stages of the 2005–06 season, especially when it came to scoring; as a result, his minutes increased and he took more ball-handling responsibilities from Jason Terry.

He is known for his exceptional speed, earning comparisons to other NBA guards like the Phoenix Suns' Leandro Barbosa and his good friend, the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade.

He ended the year with averages of 9.9 points and 3.2 assists per game.

He improved his jump-shot and his ability to split defenses and get to the rim.

Midway through the year, he sustained a leg injury and missed most of the rest of the regular season.

Harris returned for the playoffs and played a huge role in toppling the Mavericks' longtime rivals, the San Antonio Spurs.

Devin Harris and the Mavericks reached the 2006 NBA Finals, where they lost to the Miami Heat 4 games to 2.

In the 2006–07 season, Harris averaged 10.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game.

Harris's number 20 jersey was retired by Wauwatosa East at ceremonies held in 2007.

He was an NBA All-Star with the Nets in 2009.

He was hired by Bally Sports Southwest following his retirement from the NBA.

Harris was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the son of Terry and Julie Harris.

Throughout high school, Harris was a superior athlete and took up basketball and volleyball at Wauwatosa East High School.

He played volleyball for only one season, a season in which he gained all-conference honors, before he set that aside to focus on basketball.

Harris was nagged by injuries after his sophomore year of high school and was unable to participate in the summer basketball camps and tournaments that are ever important in the recruiting process.