Auburn’s Tyler Harris to play in Portsmouth Invitational
AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – Graduate senior Tyler Harris will begin play in the 2016 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament on Thursday through Saturday.
The 64th Portsmouth Invitational, one of the top professional showcase events in the country, is a four-day, 12-game tournament-style event, which features 64 college seniors who will play in front of representatives from every NBA team as well as scouts from numerous international professional leagues.
“My workouts have been going really well,” said Harris. “I’ve been putting in a lot of work doing a couple workouts a day and working on my game. I am just going to go out there and enjoy the experience and show what I can do on the court and show my overall game and help the team win.”
Harris, who was presented prestigious Paul Lambert/Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Trophy for Leadership at the 27th annual Auburn Basketball Awards Banquet on Sunday, ranked 19th in the SEC averaging 13.9 points and ninth in the league with 7.7 rebounds. He ranked sixth in the SEC with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game.
The Dix Hills, N.Y., native transferred to Auburn prior to the season without a double-double in his career and then recorded eight double-doubles, tying for fourth in the SEC. Scoring his 1,000th point at Vanderbilt onJan. 12, Harris recorded his first career double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds vs. Colorado. He had 21 points on 3-of-3 3fgs and 11 rebounds in the win vs. No. 13 Kentucky.
“I’m very excited for Tyler as he begins his professional career,” said Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl. “The Portsmouth Invitational gives him another great opportunity to showcase his ability. Tyler’s ability to face and play with his back to the basket offensively makes him a tough cover, and he is an underrated rebounder.
“He is a quality human being with a tremendous work ethic, and I look for him to perform really well. This marks the second-straight year an Auburn Tiger has played in the prestigious event so that is very important for our program as well.”
Coming to Auburn allowed Harris to grow.
“I have matured as a player and wanted to go out there and do more and do the extra things to help the team win and try to be a leader by example on and off the court,” said Harris. “I wanted to be involved not only as a player but as a person.”
Harris will play on the K&D Rounds Landscaping team in Portsmouth with Florida’s Dorian Finney-Smith, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, Miami’s Angel Rodriquez, George Washington’s Kevin Larsen, Butler’s Roosevelt Jones and North Florida’s Beau Beech.
Harris’ opener is against Portsmouth Partnership on Thursday at 6 pm CT and the following game Friday with the winner playing at 8 pm CT in the semifinals and the loser at 2:15 pm CT. A third game will be played on Saturday.
Auburn’s KT Harrell played in the Portsmouth Invitational last year.
