WATCH: Florida Tech Men’s Basketball Signs Highly Touted Combo Guard Niall Harris
By Daniel Supraner, Florida Tech Sports // June 21, 2019
Niall Harris from Leicester, England is Tech's second signee for the 2019 class
SPACE COAST DAILY TV: Florida Tech Men’s Basketball is thrilled to announce its second signing of this spring in Niall Harris from Leicester, England. (Charnwood Basketball video)
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech Men’s Basketball is thrilled to announce its second signing of this spring in Niall Harris from Leicester, England.
Harris, a 6-4, 195-pound combo guard, makes his way across the pond after a brilliant campaign with his Charnwood Academy squad.
This past season Harris led Charnwood to the 2019 Elite Academy Basketball League Championship (EABL), earning EABL North Conference MVP and EABL Finals MVP accolades along the way.
During the year, Harris averaged 17.3 points on 59% shooting, including 54% from three-point range, and made 88% of his free throw attempts. Showing his complete game, he also registered 7.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.5 steals per game over the season.
Additionally, Harris received MVP honors while helping Charnwood win the title at the always-competitive Haris Memorial Basketball Tournament in Manchester, England this year.
The guard was recently selected to play in the prestigious 2019 Hoopsfix All-Star Classic at the Brixton Rec Center in London, for the second year in a row, and finished as the top scorer for the South Team. Harris also played an instrumental role in his team winning the 2019 Men’s National Cup Championship.
Florida Tech head coach Billy Mims spent two years recruiting the British guard to come to the Space Coast and is well acquainted with him both as a player and a person.
“When I was a pro coach in England, I coached against Niall’s father many times,” said Mims. “His dad, Dave Harris, was one of the toughest, hardest working players in the BBL. Over the years, I have watched Niall develop into one of the top guards in the country. He is tough and hardworking like his dad but also possesses a very high basketball IQ.”
“Niall is like a coach on the floor who always seems to be in the right place and capable of making the right play. He rebounds very well for a guard and is simply a winner. Even more importantly, Niall is an outstanding student-athlete and a perfect fit for Florida Tech academically. He boasts a 4.0 GPA and plans to major in Aerospace Engineering.”
At Harris’ signing ceremony last week in England, he stated, “I chose Florida Tech for a number of reasons, one being the amount of support and trust I received from Coach Mims. I feel like Florida Tech is the best place for me to improve myself on the court and in the classroom. I look forward to joining my old teammate Sesan Russell and to being a Panther.”
Harris and current Panther guard Russell played together at Charnwood Academy in Loughborough, England during the 2017-18 season.
Currently, Harris is preparing to join Great Britain’s Under 20 National Team where he will play for another one of Coach Mims’ former professional players, Karl Brown. Harris will represent his country in the U-20 European Championships this July in Tel Aviv, Israel.
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