Auburn’s Tyler Harris signs pro contract with Paris Levallois
AUBURN, Ala. (auburntigers.com) – Auburn’s Tyler Harris signed a professional contract with Paris Levallois in the France-Pro A Basketball League, the team announced on Friday. He reports for training camp on Aug. 8.
Harris ranked 19th in the SEC averaging 13.9 points, ranked ninth in the SEC with 7.7 rebounds and ranked sixth in offensive rebounds with 2.8 as a graduate transfer last season. He shot 45.3 percent from the floor and 65.5 percent from the foul line.
“It was really exciting, and I am very blessed to be in a great situation with this team, and I am ready to get out there and start working,” said Harris.
The Dix Hills, N.Y., native, who did not have a double-double prior to Auburn, had eight this past season, tying for fourth in the SEC. He scored his 1,000th-career point at Vanderbilt on Jan. 12, finishing with 1,196 points in his career.
Harris had his first career double-double with a career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds vs. Colorado and had 19 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds in the win vs. Tennessee in his SEC debut.
“Playing with BP helped me with a lot of things with being a leader,” said Harris about being coached by Bruce Pearl. “He really wanted to help me to show my full potential out on the court. BP giving me confidence and seeing my confidence grow throughout the year really helped me as a player, and it is going to help me going overseas because your confidence has to be high playing over there. That is really what he prepared me for.”
Harris received the most prestigious award, the Paul Lambert/Tommy Joe Eagles Memorial Trophy, at the year-end Auburn basketball awards banquet and played in the Portsmouth Invitational in April. He was an Academic Top Tiger.
This is his second trip to Paris, having played as a sophomore in high school with the Gordon Hanley All-Stars comprised of players from the state of New York against teams from France.
His brother, Tobias, who played for Pearl at Tennessee, will be beginning his sixth season in the NBA and plays for the Detroit Pistons. His cousin, Channing Frye, is entering his 11th NBA season and plays with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Harris joins former Auburn players playing professionally in KT Harrell (Turkey’s Akhisar Belediye), Malcolm Canada (Mexico’s Trigueros de Ciudad Obregon), Antoine Mason (Cypres-Div. A BC Apollon Limassol), K.C. Ross Miller (United Kingdom’s Surrey Scorchers), Kenny Gabriel (Turkey’s Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir), Chris Porter (New Zealand’s IMS Hawks), Quantez Robertson (Germany’s Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt), Tay Waller (Kosovo-Super League’s KB Bashkimi Prizren), Ian Young (Mexico’s Caballeros de Culiacan), (Quinnel Brown (Venezuela’s Gigantes de Guayana), Asauhn Dixon-Tatum (D-League’s Maine Red Claws), Josh Dollard (South Korea’s Changwon LG Sakers), Adrian Forbes (Japan’s Nagoya Diamond Dolphins), Noel Johnson (PBL’s Carolina Pee Dee Vipers), Brendan Knox (ABA’s Jacksonville Giants), Josh Langford (ABA’s West Michigan Lake Hawks), Johnnie Lett (ABA’s Atlanta Aliens), Andre Malone (Canada’s Island Storm), Brandon McGee (PBL’s Indiana Diesels), Tony Neysmith (ABA’s Atlanta Aliens), Quan Prowell (Argentina’s Villa Angela Basket), Earnest Ross (Australia’s Ballarat Miners), Boubacar Sylla (France’s Stade de Vanves) and Emanuel Willis (Iraq’s Al Nift).
