‘There is life after basketball’ for Tony Harris

This time around, Tony Harris wants to have a happy ending at the University of Tennessee.

Harris is back on campus to complete his degree in psychology. Since January, the former All-SEC point guard has completed more than 20 credit hours and needs 24 more to graduate in December.

“My agent told me I had an offer for about $90,000 to go play … but if I don’t finish my degree now, I’ll never do it,’’ Harris said. “There is life after basketball.’’

Harris, whose professional career included stops in the CBA, ABA, USBL and Spain, is leaning toward playing in the Pilot Rocky Top League this summer.

But, he wondered aloud Monday at Thompson-Boling Arena, “Do you really think people here would want to see me play?”

Harris regrets not leaving a better impression in Knoxville when he finished his eligibility seven years ago.

“When I was here, I made some mistakes, like a lot of young guys,” said Harris, a 29-year-old husband and father. “I don’t blame the media, but back then, I didn’t know how to handle the media when stuff happened. I was short, standoffish, and pretty much stayed to myself.”

Former UT coach Jerry Green, for whom Harris played, also had a strained relationship with the media, further adding to the animosity that once surrounded the men’s basketball program.

The situation reached its peak for Harris his senior year (2001) when he charged off the bench — in street clothes due to an ankle injury — and got involved in a team skirmish during a game with Kentucky. The incident led to former UT athletic director Doug Dickey calling a press conference to address the situation.

“I heard about how people thought I was a thug, and I really felt misunderstood,” Harris said. “I had a lot of passion for the game, and I think some people took the way I was on the court the wrong way.”

Harris shook his head when recalling the way the public’s perception of him unfolded.

“That stuff can follow you around,” said Harris, once referred to as a “punk” by former News Sentinel columnist Gary Lundy after the Kentucky incident. “I just felt people never knew me. With coach Green, I never really felt I could speak my mind.’’

Pearl plays role

UT coach Bruce Pearl has welcomed Harris back to the school to do just that while completing his degree as part of the RAC (Renewing Academic Commitment) program. The program is for former UT scholarship athletes who didn’t finish their degrees when their eligibility expired. It is funded by the athletic department. Applicants are judged on a case-by-case basis, and the powers that be determined Harris was worthy.

Pearl couldn’t agree more.

“Tony has come back and done a great job with his academics,’’ Pearl said. “He had to jump in with both feet and become a full-time student. It’s amazing what getting in the real world can do for you.’’

Harris is one of many former basketball players Pearl has called on to come back and finish their degrees.

“I let them know that even through they played for different coaches, they are part of the Tennessee family,’’ Pearl said. “I told Tony, `I don’t know what you’ll do with your degree, but I can tell you what could happen without one.’ ‘’

Dan Carlson, the director of the RAC program at UT, said Harris has grown into a role model of sorts for the athletes.

“Tony has matured so much, it’s amazing,’’ Carlson said. “I was working in athletics when he came in the first time, and he was always very nice, but his mind was on playing basketball after college.

“Now, he’s always in the Thornton Center working with tutors and using the resources. He’s a good role model for our young guys.’’

A mentor for others

Pearl likes the idea of having Harris around his players in a mentor capacity; listening to the former McDonald’s All-American recruit and All-SEC player talk, it’s easy to understand why.

“These young players here now need to realize there’s more to this than basketball,’’ Harris said. “It’s about education and how you carry yourself. How you treat people will be remembered, too.’’

Harris said he wishes he could have had the opportunity to play for Pearl.

“Jerry Green helped me in some ways, but Pearl is a people person, and he’s one of the main reasons I came back to get my degree,’’ Harris said. “We didn’t have that type of relationship with coach Green. We didn’t look at him like Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith look at coach Pearl. They know he has their back.’’

Former UT standout Ron Slay said Harris would have benefited greatly in Pearl’s system, both on and off the court.

“Tony would fit right in right now,’’ Slay said. “He was looked at by some as a hothead, and some people thought he shot too much. But he could run the team, and you look at what teams are doing now and they want point guards that can score.’’

As for the “punk’’ or “thug’’ perceptions, Slay said those who knew Harris personally knew that was not the case.

“Off the court, Tony is very mellow and relaxed,’’ Slay said. “He’s really a bit of a practical joker.’’

Back on the court?

Slay said he hopes Knoxville gets to know Harris through the Rocky Top League and has already started pushing his former teammate to play.

“I’m going to call him right now,’’ Slay said. “I’m going to make him play in the league, and I want him on my squad. People haven’t seen anyone that fast on this court.’’

Rick Campbell, a former Lincoln Memorial University basketball assistant who led Toyota of Knoxville to the Rocky Top League title last year, said Harris will be on his draft list.

“If Tony’s as quick as he was, and he’s in shape, he will be dynamite,’’ Campbell said. “Tony was a blur. People were pressing him and he’d beat it himself and go coast to coast and score.’’

Harris, who has been conducting individual basketball workouts for youth with Vision Athletics at Cumberland Estates, said he still has game.

“The only thing that’s changed is the year; I can still play,’’ Harris said with a smile. “But I might not score as much — unless someone starts talking trash and challenges me.’’

Scoring wasn’t a problem for Harris when he went to Madrid, Spain, to spend two seasons with Melilla Baloncesto in 2002. He said he averaged about 18.5 points and five assists per game despite playing on a weakened knee.

“I had (arthroscopic) surgery before I went over there, and I only had two weeks of rehab before I started playing,’’ Harris said. “You can imagine what my knee looked like after the practices and games … it was swollen pretty big.’’

After Spain, Harris returned to the U.S. for a two-year stint with the Albany Patroons of the CBA before spending a year with the ABA’s Charlotte Krunk.

Harris didn’t play last season, spending the fall back home in Memphis before getting the call from Pearl to return to UT.

While he misses playing basketball for the Vols, Harris is quick to say he’s appreciating other aspects of college life more than ever..

“The mistakes I made in college I learned from and I won’t make them again,’’ Harris said. “It took those mistakes to make me the person I am now.’’

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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