It was a cold January evening earlier this year, and Wake Forest had just lost on the road at Duke, 90-69, but head coach Steve Forbes was still his usual gregarious self after the game. Holding court in Cameron Indoor Stadium’s Bill Brill Media Room, Forbes chatted with reporters and answered questions. Toward the end of his postgame press conference, Forbes was asked about his best player, Juke Harris, who had fought through Duke’s game plan and defensive star Dame Sarr to score 23 points on just 12 field goal attempts.
The Demon Deacons were in the midst of a tough season, but Harris had emerged as a sizable bright spot. Forbes used the moment to highlight the sophomore’s scoring profile: “I just really like the way he plays. Sometimes, when guys have to score like that, they just hunt their shot. He moves it, and for the most part, we do a pretty darn good job of making sure, once he gives it up, that we try to get it back to him too.”
It was an insightful description of Harris from his head coach. As he stepped into a much larger role during his sophomore season — with his usage rate jumping from 17.3 percent to 27.1 percent — he did so without turning into a shot-chaser. Harris played within the flow of Wake Forest’s offense and tapped into his expansive off-ball repertoire, earning the ACC Most Improved Player Award and a selection to the All-ACC Second Team.
Harris became one of the biggest names to enter the transfer portal this offseason, departing the Piedmont Triad for Tennessee. There are plenty of reasons to be bullish on Harris, from his fit with the Vols to his NBA upside as a skillful shot-maker with size.
Let’s dive into Harris’s game: his evolution into one of the country's premier off-ball scorers, how Wake Forest got him open, and how he’ll fit with a new cast of characters in Knoxville.
Offensive Evolution | One-Man Wrecking Crew | Shooting Off Movement | Downhill Off Movement | Playmaking Off Movement | Fit at Tennessee | Role and Context