Washington Huskies yet again receive unfortunate transfer portal news

Washington forward  is entering the transfer portal, as reported by CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein. Harris will have two years of eligibility left at his next destination. He becomes the sixth scholarship player from the Huskies to announce plans to transfer, joining G Jase Butler, G Mekhi Mason, F Christian King, F Wilhelm Breidenbach, and C KC Ibekwe.

The 6’8 Tyler Harris transferred to Washington from Portland last offseason and quickly emerged as one of the team’s bright spots, enjoying a breakout shooting season. He finished second in the nation with a 49.5% shooting percentage from beyond the arc. Overall, Harris averaged 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, starting in 27 games. While his scoring and rebounding numbers were lower than his freshman season at Portland, he played 3 fewer minutes per game and faced a much tougher schedule.

 

 

Harris had been seen as a potential key building block for Coach Sprinkle, who is hoping to make a leap in his second year at the helm of the Huskies. Harris not only excelled from deep but also displayed a strong mid-range game, resulting in a true shooting percentage nearing 60%.

However, Harris was not without his flaws. His assist rate was a low 2.5%, one of the lowest in the country for someone with his shot volume, trailing only Franck Kepnang (who had zero assists) on the Washington roster, despite playing nearly 700 more minutes. Some of the team’s +/- numbers suggested that Harris’ shooting might have inflated his overall impact. According to Evanmiya’s BPR (Box Plus-Minus) stat, which measures team performance based on a player’s presence on the court, Harris ranked 9th out of 11 UW players who played at least 200 possessions, ahead of only Wilhelm Breidenbach and Tyree Ihenacho.

Despite these shortcomings, players with Harris’ length and shooting ability are highly sought after. With two years of eligibility remaining, Washington had a player with considerable potential on their roster. The hope was that a strong coach could help develop his game and raise his basketball IQ to put him in better positions to succeed. Unfortunately, we won’t get to see whether Coach Sprinkle could have achieved that long-term.