After breakout off-season, Gicarri Harris will be critical for Purdue in a variety of ways

A few weeks back, before Purdue’s final informal open-gym session before preseason practice began, the program’s two graduate assistant coaches switched their approach to organizing such activities.

Normally, Isaiah Thompson would have just picked the teams for that day’s pickup games; this time he and Carson Barrett decided to draft teams, in 1-2-1 selection format.

Purdue, as you know, has two likely All-America seniors on its team. But sophomore Gicarri Harris had been playing so well leading into that day.

Thompson, with the first pick, took Harris, conceding Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn to his fellow G.A.

“I think this summer his confidence has been really high and he’s embracing the challenge of guarding Braden, whether it’s in an open gym setting or practice,” Thompson said. “He’s getting that mentality that he wants to guard the best people and he’s playing with confidence. I just thought that was a day he’d be at his best.

“He’s been awesome this summer.”

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So Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn went to the other team, pacing that group to a robust early lead.

Based on numerous accounts, Harris challenged his group to respond and took matters into his own hands, “the best player on the floor” from that point on, per one account. Harris’ team rallied to win.

“They were talking a lot on defense and it was kind of intimidating coming up the floor and hearing all their voices,” Harris said of that game. “I tried to tell my team we had to do the same stuff back to them: ‘You can’t just be quiet and act like we’re not going to win this game.’ As soon as that changed, we started locking in, getting stops and pushing it. I started making a few shots, (Fletcher Loyer) made a few shots and we went on a nice little run.”

It was that session — Harris’ scoring total estimated to have been in the 30s — that reflected best the Year 1-to-Year 2 jump Harris seems to have made in the months that followed a solid, but at times trying, freshman season.

“Confidence is super-high,” said Isaiah Thompson, whose role as a G.A. involves participating in voluntary workout time at players’ behest. “You come in as a freshman and a lot of things are expected of you schematically offensively and defensively and it’s hard. You’re going to have ups and downs. Now he has a year under his belt and knows what’s going on. He’s teaching the young guys and doing a good job being a leader.”

On a team full of veterans and big personalities, Harris’ voice is carrying.

“I know what I’m doing now, and that leads to me talking more,” Harris said. “I’m in the right spots, getting my shot off quicker. There are just a lot of things I’ve been doing better this off-season. I’m trying to continue building on that going into this season, then making sure I’m consistent with it. There’s always room to grow.

“I didn’t talk as much last year because I didn’t always know what was going on. It was probably half the time I knew. Now it’s like 90-95 percent of the time. Then when I’m making shots, I feel like it gives energy to my team. It should be that way whether I’m making shots or missing shots, but I feel like it’s especially true when I’m making shots.”

More: Purdue Preseason Primer — Gicarri Harris

STRUGGLES OVERCOME

Harris’ value should go far beyond shooting, but in the big picture of his Boilermaker career, him shooting really badly during one painful stretch last season might have been a really positive thing. It had to have been agonizing for a player who’s never really struggled all that much prior to Purdue to have made only two of the 20 three-pointers he attempted during a nine-game stretch — four of them Boilermaker losses — from Nov. 19 to Dec. 29.

But for many players, adversity leads to growth. When the calendar turned, so did Harris’ shooting outcomes. He was 14-of-32 from Jan. 1 on, equaling 44 percent, settling in nicely playing off Smith, Kaufman-Renn, etc., as a catch-and-shoot threat.

“It was good to know how that struggle,” Harris said. “Now I know what it takes to be a really good shooter in college basketball. … Knowing where my spots are and being shot-ready.”

And, confident.

THE PATH TO IMPACT

A year ago, Harris and classmate CJ Cox opened the season as Purdue’s co-backup point guard before it became apparent they were probably better suited playing off the ball. They defended opposing ball-handlers full-court, in part so Smith didn’t have to. But more so because they’re both well-suited for the role.

Harris — at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, equipped with strength, length and a distinct competitive streak — is well-suited for a variety of defensive roles. It’s the reason assistant coach Brandon Brantley regularly pushes him to become “Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year,” a challenge Harris takes to heart.

“He’s been a bulldog ever since he’s gotten here,” Carson Barrett said. “He’s been that guy who wants to get better, pick up (defensively) full-court, make Braden better and be that guy for us.”

For Harris, he says, it’s about being tenacious on the ball. Dribble containment is a priority across the board for Purdue, but also when guarding off the ball.

It’s that sort of sustained tenacity where Harris can be a real competitive tone-setter for what should be an outstanding team. Harris has always prided himself on being a player who’ll do “anything it takes to win” and that may now come in the form of something as simple as communicating.

“Just being that glue guy,” Harris said.

Purdue’s got stars, but has thrived with players being “stars in their role,” a category that may be just as important as anything a few of the best players in the country do in Boilermaker uniforms this season.