Hyrum Harris secured his first professional contract with the Illawarra Hawks in 2019 and is ready to show what’s learnt in the Sal’s NBL.
His performances in the League last year caught the eye of the Sydney-based ANBL side, eventuating in them offering development spot for 19/20 season.
He appeared in 16 games off the pine and held his own when thrown into the fire, only he wishes he got to spend a bit more time on the floor than off it.
Harris says a great deal of learning went on in his time across the ditch and he’s looking to carry that over to the upcoming season.
“Training and playing for the Hawks was an unreal experience and made hungrier as a player to push for more game time.
“I sort of knew going over there that a development player wasn’t going to get big minutes, but I trained hard and was fortunate to get on in a few games.
“Hopefully, I get a few more minutes in the NZNBL than what I did with the Hawks, which I’ll use to try some of the things I was going over in training.”
The forward will enter his sixth season in the Sal’s NBL when he hits the court later this month and there will be high hopes for whichever team drafts him off the back of what he produced last year.
He was a swiss army knife for the Sharks in 2019, averaging 11 points, six rebounds and three assists per outing.
Harris says he still has room to grow and wants to show he can do more on both ends.
“I’m going to look to use my time in the [NZ]NBL to work on stuff like my shooting and handle.
“Having seen what it takes to play well in the ANBL, I know I need to get better in those areas and on defence to get to that level.
“If I get enough shots up between now and when we start I shouldn’t be too rusty, but yeah, it’s going to be good to be back playing soon and I’m just going to go all out.”
Harris will find out which team he is set to ply his trade for this Thursday when the Player Draft takes place.
