Devin Harris Journal

[MavsFanFinley]

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Like all NBA rookies, Mavericks 21-year-old point guard Devin Harris, the fifth pick in the 2004 draft, who left Wisconsin before his senior season, is getting a crash course in the pro life. Over the next few months he'll share his experiences, on and off the court, in SI PLAYERS.

I'm in the NBA! This has been my dream ever since I was 10 years old, playing pickup games in Milwaukee. My first day of training camp in October, I was so anxious I showed up two hours early. I knew there would be a lot of pressure on me because Dallas had lost All-Star point guard Steve Nash and I was one of the guys brought in to replace him. I also knew Steve and forward Dirk Nowitzki were good friends, and in the beginning Dirk was a little closed off and kind of picked on me in practice. It wasn't until the fourth preseason game that he started to come around, working with me more in practice, trying to get a feel for what the two of us could do.

I was a little surprised when Coach Nelson named me the starter after training camp. I'm not the type of guy who gets nervous before games, and I was confident I could do the job, but being a starting point guard is a lot of responsibility. To prepare myself before I head to the arena for every home game, I go up to the roof of my town house and sit quietly for 15 to 20 minutes and just relax and try to clear my head.

Early in the season things were going great. The team was winning, and I was playing about 20 minutes a game. But after the first month things started to go downhill. I struggled a bit and lost my starting job in early December. During a five-game stretch, Coach Nelson didn't play me much, which was difficult because I'm not used to sitting on the bench. I started wondering if I'd made the right decision by leaving school early. I called Tony Bennett, a former assistant at Wisconsin who played in the NBA. He told me every rookie has expectations put on him, but that mine were greater because I was on a team that was supposed to win. After reflecting, I decided I'd made the right decision. I was able to use my lack of playing time as motivation, and I had some of my best practices. I think that showed the coaches I deserved to play more.

I don't really believe in hitting the so-called rookie wall, but it's tough when two months into the NBA schedule you have already played more games than you did in a college season. It felt good to play well [11 points in 15 minutes] last week against the Lakers. That's the type of game I hope will get me back into the starting lineup.

[V]

nice feather

[bloodyhell]

Is this the gay journal from snl?? j/k

He seems pretty well grounded.

[jibikao]

Did he really write that??

Devin has a blog?

Jimmy

[FilthyFinMavs]

[FilthyFinMavs]

Yea he really wrote it. I was wondering did anyone else read this in SI today because it is in this weeks issue. In the NBA section they also had a tidbit which was sort of nice to here. Here it is:

Don't forget about the Mavericks. Their vastly improved defense--they were holding opponents to 43.0% shooting through Sunday, sixth lowest in the league-- could make Dallas the Spurs' top challenger in the West.

[ames7]

His new entry is up. Saw the mention at db.com. It's all just kinda adorable, w/the "we get our our jet!" [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

In his previous diary entry, Mavericks 21-year-old point guard Devin Harris wrote about his early struggles and of riding the bench for the first time in his career.

It didn't didn't take me long to adjust to Dallas because I've surrounded myself with friends and family and developed a routine. When I first moved here, I would just drive around getting lost and eventually finding my way back home. A family friend set me up in a new town house downtown that's three floors and about the size of the house I grew up in. I never had a lot of money, so being able to afford basically anything I want is a great feeling. [Harris signed a three-year, $7 million contract.] But I don't take it for granted. Every time I get in my car to drive to practice, I think of how blessed I am and how hard I have to work to stay in the NBA.

Last month my parents moved to Addison, a suburb 12 miles north of Dallas. Having them around has been fantastic. They come to every home game, and my mom, Julie, takes care of everything around my house from my laundry to walking my rottweiler. She also makes sure I get good home-cooked meals (I love her breakfast potatoes). My dad, Terry, is retired and takes care of my finances. I like to keep my friends in a tight circle, and a few of my boys from back home in Milwaukee fly down every so often and we hang out and hit the clubs.

As much as I like Dallas, traveling with the team has been amazing. We have our own jet! It's unreal. It has a seat with my name on it, and I get my own TV. Getting to visit a lot of different cities has been great. If we have an off-day on the road, I'll wake up around 8:30 a.m. and order room service before heading to practice. After that I'll usually bounce around the city with Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, my two best friends on the team. Sometimes, on game days, I just need to take a nap because we might not get into a city until two or three in the morning and have to get up and play that day.

I'm still adapting to being a point guard in the NBA. The toughest part has been trying to direct an offense of grown men who are bigger and more experienced than me. But slowly I'm getting more comfortable, and I'm earning their respect. This is a big stretch for us. [The Mavericks are 27-12, and Harris is averaging 5.9 points in 16.6 minutes.] Coach Nelson had rotator cuff surgery and is going to be out for at least two weeks, and [assistant] Avery Johnson has taken over. Being a former point guard, Avery has been a tremendous help to me, telling me to use both of my hands and playing me one-on-one in practice. (I usually beat him but sometimes I have to let him win because he's the coach.) Of course he's also harder on me than he is on most of the other guys. I know he will do well as a coach, and I hope I'll be able to continue to improve while he's running the show.

Issue date: January 31, 2005

[Bookit]

Thanks for posting Ames. Good read.

[JLEEHASMUCHGAME]

"Every time I get in my car to drive to practice, I think of how blessed I am and how hard I have to work to stay in the NBA. "

This is what I like to hear.

[fin4life]

It pretty cool to read about how kids adjust to the NBA.

[shaw-xx]

Cute kid.

[G-Man]

Interesting how nothing in this article reminds me of the last hot rookie point guard the Mavs drafted. It took Kidd about 5 years to recover from his rookie year here.I hope Devin's great attitude and family circle pay off as well as Kidd's bad vibe and crew. If the Mavs were bad and he'd been allowed to play 38 minutes a game, I bet he'd have numbers as good as Kidd did. This team is just too good to be able to afford him enough on the job training. But every time he's in, I see some flashes and great passes, enough to convince me he'll be the real deal. Lets just find a way to get him some more minutes. Seems like he hasn't played in the second half much for quite a few games.

[Julius]

[i] After that I'll usually bounce around the city with Josh Howard and Marquis Daniels, my two best friends on the team.

Good to know that the three guys who are a big part of the Mavs future are on the same page. It would be nice to see them develop together along with Dirk.
If you add some shooters and shotblocking, rebounding, defending forwards/centers (maybe DJ and Pavel). This could become a very good team.
To say it short: I like the future of this team.

[V2M]

"I usually beat him but sometimes I have to let him win because he's the coach."

That's funny. I wonder how AJ reacts to that public taunt. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

I also liked the part where he says Josh & Quis are two of his best friends on the team. Hope all three stay for several more years along with Dirk and DJ/PPod. May be Terry could stay here as the 6th man, when Harris takes over as starting point.

I agree Julius, future is indeed bright for this team.

[EricaLubarsky]

thats a fine young core.

I get the idea though that DJ isn't really part of that group- he seems to be a little more connected with Dirk.

Still fine with me.