Former LSW star Shaquille Harrison capitalizing on NBA career after three-year wait
Two weeks ago a group of middle-aged men participated in a weekly pickup game at the Chicago Bulls practice facility, normally dead this time of year.
As men in their 40s and 50s played on one court, a 6-foot-4 point guard in the far corner of the next court over worked on his three-point shooting. He was the last guy the men planned to ask to play: They knew none of them could take him.
Shaquille Harrison, the former Lee’s Summit West and Tulsa star, waited three years to play a full NBA season and wasn’t going to give it up easily after riding the bus for two years in the NBA G-League. He was spending the morning working on his three-point shot, which he has struggled with most of his career.
But after spending the whole season with the Bulls, Harrison appears to be a part of the team’s rebuilding plans under new coach Jim Boylen.
“I always thought Shaq could play in the league,” Tulsa coach Frank Haith said. “His coachability, his work ethic and his athletic ability: Those things I felt like Shaq had going for him.”
An all-conference player at Tulsa, Harrison faced a typical dilemma in 2016 as his college career was coming to a close: go play in Europe or take his chances stateside. Plenty of European teams offered Harrison lucrative deals that come with perks NBA teams and G-League teams can’t offer. They tend to pick up the tab on housing, transportation and even food.
Haith, who previously coached at Missouri, compared Harrison’s situation to another Kansas City guard, Hogan Prep and MU’s Marcus Denmon, who was good enough to play in the NBA but didn’t have a good roster situation immediately present itself. Harrison elected to go the G-League route, signing with the Northern Arizona Suns after going undrafted.
Harrison, a one-time Kansas football signee, spent two years riding the bus and staying in small towns and hotels while making a fraction of what his European salary would have been. In February 2018, he finally got his shot at the NBA when the Phoenix Suns signed him to a 10-day contract.
“It helped me grow,” Harrison said of his G-League career. “It made me more hungry. When you go down there, you realize life ain’t as sweet as you think it is.”
He made his NBA debut against the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring four points and collecting four assists. Harrison said he didn’t know how much he’d play on such a short contract and tried to do a bit of everything and prove his worth.
His first defensive assignment in the NBA? Clippers star Lou Williams, who would win the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award a few months later.
“You think you have him down pat,” Harrison said of Williams. “And then…”
Harrison did enough to get a second 10-day contract with the Suns, but wasn’t signed for the rest of the season. He joined the Suns’ summer league team and was one of the team’s best players, but was waived in the preseason. He signed with the Bulls shortly before the start of the season.
This past year, Harrison played in 73 games for Chicago and averaged 6.5 points and three rebounds for a team that was never in playoff contention. Once considered more of an athlete than a pro prospect, Harrison showed flashes of being a floor general for Chicago.
“He really learned how to play the point guard position and be a facilitator,” Haith said. “He’s learned how to play in the pick and roll, which is what 90 percent of the NBA is. Ball screen, learning how to read it and attack or roll off. I saw Shaq grow where he became a terrific passer and reading the ball screen. People really had to change how they defended him.”
Harrison’s summer plans are a bit up in the air because he’s unsure if he’ll play in summer league for the Bulls, but he does plan to host a youth camp at Lee’s Summit West on June 21 and 22.
Harrison described his past season as “treading water” after having to learn the playbook so quickly before the season after signing with Chicago. He’s tried to make defense his main calling card in the league.
His 109.7 defensive rating was among the highest on the team for players who appeared in as many games or more for Chicago. Haith has stressed to Harrison that defense can help forge a long career. He would know: He recruited and coached Rockets star P.J. Tucker when he was an assistant at Texas. Tucker is entering his 10th NBA season and is considered one of the league’s best defenders.
“He can guard anybody,” Haith said. “The NBA is so full of guys with point guard play so they need someone to guard that position. I think Shaq does that tremendously. P.J. has been able to last in the NBA because he can guard anybody on the court. So if you’re willing to hang your hat on that there’s a place for you in the league.”