West Virginia transfer guard Eron Harris hasn’t traveled with the Spartans this season as he sits out due to NCAA transfer regulations.
However, he will be with the team this weekend — not to play against Duke in the Final Four, but to see his family.
Harris, who transferred to MSU last summer after averaging 17.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game during his sophomore season at West Virginia, is an Indianapolis native. He looks forward to the opportunity to be with his family, with whom he will watch the Spartans on TV.
“It’s great, I get to go home and it’s probably going to be a big gathering of people that’s going to watch the game with me,” Harris said. “I’m probably not going to watch the game because of lack of tickets but that’s OK with me because I’ve been watching the game on TV the whole year and we’ve been winning when I watch them on TV.”
Harris didn’t reveal the reason why he transferred from West Virginia, but said the decision was driven by emotional reasons.
“At this time, I would just say God took me out of there,” Harris said. “I was there, I went through some emotional things, I wanted to get closer to my family, and some other things that were going on for me. It was about me. I got out of there and I came here, and it was a good decision to come here. Leaned a lot, I get to be a part of this Final Four run, this championship run. So I’m excited.”
As a member of the scout team, Harris hasn’t been on the front line of MSU’s Final Four run. But he said the experience of being a behind-the-scenes contributor has been surreal.
Junior guard Denzel Valentine said earlier this season Harris is one of the toughest guys to defend on the team. Harris often assumes the role of the other team’s best player during practices.
“We feel like we have a huge part, and they let us know,” Harris said. “They let us know. To me, it’s all them. They’re the guys on the team. At the same time I understand my role. They told me to help make these guys better by going hard every day, and that’s what I did.”
Harris said his family has stuck with him through his decision to transfer and sit out a season. He has two remaining years of eligibility.
“They’ve helped me a lot, just emotional support, just logical support,” he said. “My dad, he’s there for me in the sense that he says, ‘you’re a grown man, you can make your own decisions, when I’m also going to tell you what’s real. And when I tell you what’s real, you can make your own decision from there.’”
Harris said he knew the Spartans had a special chemistry last summer, when he witnessed his teammates’ effort in practice.
“During the summer when I saw how we were going so hard and ... from top to bottom from the staff to the players to the managers, everybody, chemistry everywhere,” Harris said.
“It’s one of the main things. We have a very strong bond and I think that’s what’s going to take us to the top.”
