The shot clock was turned off, and San Benito High sophomore forward Shraee Harrison had received the green light from coach David Kaplansky to take the final shot of the first half in the team’s Jan. 15 game against Christopher.
Harrison let the clock run down to six seconds, eyeing his defender the entire time. He faked to his left, then drove to his right, gaining separation along the way.
Despite having a taller defender on him, Harrison acrobatically swooped in for a layup at the buzzer, giving the Balers a 32-22 lead at halftime.
San Benito went on to win, 65-47, and Harrison was a big reason why, finishing with 13 points.
“Coach has a lot of confidence in me to take my man off the dribble,” said Harrison, who is averaging 11 points per game, which ranks in a tie for third on the team with R.J. Collins. “He’ll tell everyone to clear out and let me do my thing.”
The Balers, who entered Wednesday’s game against Salinas at 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Monterey Bay League Gabilan Division, have been energized by the play of the 6-foot-3, 175–pound Harrison, who is the son of former Olympic gold medalist Alvin Harrison.
Even though Harrison’s future sport will be in track — last year as a freshman, Harrison had the 12th best time in the 400-meter run in the entire section — basketball will always be his first love.
Harrison grew up playing the sport at age 5, always competing up an age level through elementary and middle school. While he’s still somewhat raw, Harrison has shown a knack to create off the dribble, remain active in the lane and play solid defense.
“Shraee has been doing a great job for us all year,” Kaplansky said. “He gives us great athleticism at the forward position, and does a great job of rebounding the basketball.”
In the offseason, Harrison knew he had to work on a number of aspects of his game, including ballhandling and creating off the dribble.
“You could see him developing last summer in terms of his ability to play at the varsity level,” Kaplansky said. “The speed at which he was playing at was good, and there were a lot of positive signs.”
Entering the season, Harrison simply wanted to fit in and get a feel for the varsity level. From the get-go, he’s done so much more. Whenever Harrison is on the floor, he brings a ton of energy.
Harrison swoops in for offensive rebounds and plays tenacious defense, often fronting bigger players to deny the ball into the post.
“From a mental standpoint, you have to have an attitude that you can take anyone on the court,” Harrison said. “I fight for my position.”
In terms of being able to consistently get to the basket off dribble penetration, the Balers have a tremendous 1-2 combination in Harrison and wing Robbie Skinner.
“Our offense is designed to get our two best playmakers in isolated situations, especially at the end of the shot clock,” Kaplansky said. “I like to get Shraee in 1-on-1 situations, because I feel we’ll be at a great advantage.”
Harrison loves the challenge of taking the last shot.
“Some people think it’s a lot of pressure, but I like being in those situations,” Harrison said. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
It shows. In a number of situations this season, Harrison has shown no fear.
