Dec. 28, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – When the subject turns to defense, Shannel Harris punctuates her speech with the same involuntary line.
“I’m in their face, moving my hands… all that good stuff.”
“We’re able to trap them… all of that good stuff.”
Good stuff? Depends on who you ask.
Harris, a 6’1″ junior from Lawrenceville, Ga., has made many a night forgettable for opposing guards this season, burnishing her reputation as Carolina’s toughest perimeter defender on a team that’s among the nation’s best defensively.
“She’s had a different look in her eyes, not just in the games but in practice,” assistant coach Tammy Holder said recently. “And she’s instilled that in her teammates. She’s stepped up as a leader.”
“Shannel is really the glue of our team,” said head coach Susan Walvius. “I think her value goes much greater than just what she can do for us defensively.”
Harris proved her worth during the Gamecocks’ pre-holiday stretch. In a span of five games, she set new career highs in every major statistical category: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. Her 4.8 points per game may rank an innocuous ninth on the team, but Harris doesn’t mind.
“I really take pride in my defensive stats,” Harris said, a machine-gun laugh never far away.
It was like that in high school, when Harris teamed with Gamecock guard Stacy Booker to win two state championships. While others sought the scoring role, Harris relished being the defensive menace for the Eagles, ballhawking dribblers and leeching them of their confidence.
Her defensive philosophy is a simple one: “Always making the player feel like, `What am I supposed to do next?'”. Ironically, Walvius has not needed to ask that same question of Harris, who in the Gamecocks’ “teams-within-the-team” concept has stood out.
“Shannel can be with our pressing group. She can press, she can play solid half-court man defense. She knows the scout [scouting report] inside and out. She’s got tremendous focus. She’s a tremendous asset, because she can play no matter what [defense] we’re in,” she said.
Still, Harris remains her team’s toughest critic defensively.
“When the season started out I’d probably give us, on a scale of 1 to 5, a 1. And now, you can see us picking it up. I’d give us about a 4. We’re not quite there, but when we get the little things done, we’ll be a 5. We’ll be stopping everybody,” she said.
Now that’s good stuff.
The Tip Drill
More Shannel: Harris’ older sister, Angelleka, played basketball at the University of Missouri for two seasons. Harris, though, assures her allegiance will be safe come the Independence Bowl. “Oh, of course Carolina,” Harris said, when asked who big sis will be rooting for December 30.
Since Somebody Asked Me: The difference between Iva Sliskovic’s hometown (Zagreb, Croatia) and Lea Fabbri’s hometown (New Zagreb, Croatia), according to Lea, is that their towns sit on opposite sides of a river.
Andy Demetra is in his third season as the voice of South Carolina women’s basketball on 1320 AM WISW. This summer, he won the South Carolina Broadcasters’ Association’s 2005 South Carolina Radio Sportscaster of the Year award.
“Beyond The Mic” will appear throughout the season.
