The first in a nine-part series reviewing Arkansas basketball in 2018-19.
JALEN HARRIS
Position: Guard
Class: Redshirt sophomore
Height: 6-2
Weight: 166
Stats: 7.6 points, 5.4 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals
34.1 percent FG, 42.8 percent 2-point FG, 11.6 percent 3-point FG, 69 percent free throws
Per 40: 9.9 points, 7.0 assists, 2.5 turnovers, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals
SEC stats: 6.9 points, 4.7 assists, 2.1 turnovers, 2.8 rebounds, .7 steals
Best month: December - 9.3 points, 7.3 assists, 1.1 turnovers, 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals
39 percent FG, 49 percent 2-point FG, 78.3 percent free throws
Worst month: February - 6.5 points, 3.8 assists, 2.2 turnovers, 2.9 rebounds, .6 steals
28.3 percent FG, 36.4 percent 2-point FG, 6.2 percent 3-point FG, 60.7 percent free throws
Strengths
• Jalen Harris made it known well before he played his first game in an Arkansas uniform that speed is a major part of his game, and, for the most part, it translated well with the Razorbacks. Mike Anderson compared Harris in the preseason to Kareem Reid, the program's all-time assists leader, because of that speed, their ability to find teammates in advantageous positions and at-times wild passes.
Harris' speed made an impact in his first season on the court and Arkansas averaged 70.3 possessions per game in 2018-19, good for second-most in Anderson's tenure behind his 2013-14 team (70.7).
• Harris' willingness to share the basketball was a key component to Arkansas' 6-1 start this season. The Razorbacks had not had a guard on its roster since Jabril Durham who truly fit the pass-first mold, and Harris was that. It was evident early on. In those first seven games, Harris totaled 10-plus assists three times and finished with a career-high 12 in Arkansas' rout of Colorado State on the road. He recorded an 11-point, 11-assist double-double against Montana State as well. Harris' unselfishness rubbed off on the team that night as Arkansas assisted on 29 of its 37 buckets.
Harris finished the season with an assist rate of 31.7 percent, which is good for top-60 nationally. In SEC play, that figure was 28.0 - seventh-best in the league.
This season, Arkansas assisted on 60.8 percent of its scores, which ranks 11th in the country. That figure is third-best in Anderson's career behind only his Sweet 16 team at UAB and his Elite 8 team at Missouri. Harris led the charge with 189 assists versus 66 turnovers - a ratio of 2.86:1. Arkansas turned the ball over on 17.4 percent of offensive possessions with Harris on the floor and 21.4 percent when he sat.
• Better defensive player than often given credit for. Harris (38) finished second on the team in steals behind Isaiah Joe (51) and totaled nine steals and two blocked shots over the Razorbacks' last four games. His quickness at times allowed him to sneak up behind offensive players and poke the ball away and ignite the break. His lateral quickness made him a tough matchup for some guards to take off the dribble as well. Arkansas had a defensive turnover rate of 22.2 percent over his 1,839 defensive possessions, per HoopLens.
• Arguably the most aggressive player on the roster. Anderson wants guards on his team who attack and consistently apply pressure offensively and are fiesty defensively. He was that - outside of when he settled for perimeter jumpers. When Harris was aggressive and under control, he was a nightmare for opponents and opposing coaches.
• While Arkansas didn't always get what it wanted offensively late in the shot clock, he did a fairly solid job using his quickness to penetrate, get a shot up, get fouled or find teammates. I think he had a good understanding in those situations that if he could get to the middle of the defense/floor, his options became many. We saw this improve as the season wore on, and Dan Dakich pointed it out in Arkansas' loss at Indiana.
Weaknesses
• No threat as a perimeter shooter. Arkansas associate head coach Melvin Watkins said after the Razorbacks' 63-60 SEC Tournament loss to Florida it was unfortunate the Gators were able to essentially sit in Daniel Gafford's lap defensively for much of the game, and it was partially due to Harris struggling so mightily from 3-point range. Opponents would live with a Harris jumper - whether it be midrange or a 3 - 10 out of 10 times. He finished the season 8-of-69 from distance - 14.7 percent on the left side of the floor.
His best month shooting the 3 came in January when he hit 4-of-21 attempts, and one make was a last-second heave to beat the first-half buzzer at Texas Tech. He was 2-of-13 from deep in November, 1-of-14 in December and 1-of-16 in February. Harris finished the season missing 20 of his final 21 3-point attempts. According to HoopLens, he erased 83 percent of his positive scoring value by taking 2-point and 3-point jumpshots.
• His aggressiveness had a downside. While Harris' speed is one thing Anderson loves about Harris, it also got him in trouble a number of times and he tended to play too fast for stretches. A portion of Arkansas' success definitely depended on Harris having a strong game. In the team's 18 wins, he averaged 6.2 assists and 1.2 turnovers. In its 16 losses, 4.5 assists and 2.8 turnovers. He also shot under 30 percent in losses and close to 40 percent in wins.
• Finishing in the lane and around the rim. Per shot chart data collected throughout the season with the exception of the UT-San Antonio game in North Little Rock, Harris shot less than 47 percent in the painted area on better than 100 attempts and finished 60 percent of his shots at the rim. He can become better here with some added strength, and I suspect he will.
Extra points
On floor: Offense - 1.05 PPP, 17.4 percent TO rate; Defense - 1.01 PPP, 22.2 percent TO rate
Off floor: Offense - 1.01 PPP, 21.4 percent TO rate; Defense - 0.99 PPP, 23.9 percent TO rate
Best Harris quote: "In practice I will try different things to see if it works. If it works against my guys then I know it'll work in a game because they know what I like to do and they read basically what I read."
Best quote on Harris: "Playing with a point guard like Jalen, I wish I would have had him in high school. He's my dream point guard. He's the point guard I always wanted." - Adrio Bailey