Harris puts team first at UMass
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At some point Ricky Harris had to have been tempted to go it alone.
The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team was struggling. An NCAA Tournament bid or an Atlantic 10 championship were long shots and his young teammates were talented but inconsistent.
So many players in his shoes would have tried to amass statistics to make up for the lack of wins. An A-10 scoring title was possible, and 2,000 career points wasn't out of reach. Maybe one or both would look good to the European scouts who might offer him a contract after the season.
But if he was tempted it never showed. Other than briefly expressing disappointment at being named to just the Atlantic 10 all-conference third team, Harris has kept whatever personal aspirations he might have to himself.
He buried any alpha dog fantasies and embraced being a role model and big brother to his younger teammates.
And while Derek Kellogg didn't recruit him, Harris still bought in to the young coach's building plan even though he'll graduate before its fruits are truly realized.
Harris even changed positions. When neither David Gibbs nor Gary Correia were suited to taking on most of the work at point guard, Harris, a lifelong shooting guard, moved over and played the point, adding to his leadership responsibilities.
When the Minutemen struggled through some difficult losses, Harris took far more than his share of the blame, even if his teammates' growing pains deserved more culpability.
At the high points, Harris praised their development. He'd tell a room full of media in press conferences and anyone who followed his Twitter posts how proud he was of his "little brothers."
Those little brothers have been devoted to him. Prior to the regular-season finale against Rhode Island on Saturday, Terrell Vinson said he wanted "to win the game for Ricky" and afterward Javorn Farrell said the Minutemen wanted to make a run in the Atlantic 10 Tournament for Harris.
Even Kellogg wanted to win the game against the Rams for his senior. "From the bottom of my heart I wanted to win this for Ricky," Kellogg said on Saturday.
The Minutemen beat Rhode Island largely because of Harris, who not only hit the game-winning shot, but made several huge plays down the stretch.. He was equally important in Tuesday's 59-56 win over Charlotte in the opening round of the A-10 Tournament.
So far this March has been "Ricky's Run."
He knows the end of college career is coming. Harris was nostalgic going into the senior day win over Rhode Island and plenty sentimental afterward.
He had the presence of mind to realize he was in the middle of a moment he'd never forget and raced into the stands to hug his mother following his game-winning shot.
Maybe the ride ends at 9 p.m. Friday when the Minutemen match up in Atlantic City against a Richmond team that's bound for the NCAA Tournament no matter what happens.
If it does, Harris will have left his mark as the school's No. 3 all-time scorer and one of the program's most likable players.
He'll have played a big part in helping UMass get to the National Invitation Tournament final as a sophomore and helped snap the eight-game Atlantic 10 Tournament losing streak as a senior.
And he'll have had a hand in the development of his young teammates who could be the cornerstone of the program's future.
But Harris, who pumped his fist and smiled as he walked out of Halton Arena on Tuesday, will worry about his legacy later.
He's hoping to make his final chapter last a little longer.
Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.
