Keeper: Manny Harris, Michigan

Aids
On Friday, March 6, 2009 at 10:00am, Aids elected to keep Manny Harris, Michigan. The Wolverines had a breakthrough season in year two of the John Beilein era. A surprising NCAA tournament berth ended a ten-year drought. Their upset win over #7 Clemson in round one, and a hard-fought battle against #2 Oklahoma should provide some momentum heading into next season.

Michigan's game plan relies heavily upon their motion offense. This attack is successful only when you have 4 players on the court that can hit outside jump shots. Manny Harris is the perfect player for this scheme. He can score in a variety of ways, is unselfish with the ball in hands, but willing to take over the game when the pressure is on. Only a sophomore, Harris has improved dramatically from his first season in Ann Arbor. Look for Harris to lead the Wolverines to an even better finish next year.

Aids had to be pleased that Manny Harris did not consider declaring for this year's NBA draft. He is a surefire first round pick to build a team around. Though he struggled to score at times, Harris became a complete player: averaging 17pts, 7reb, 4ast and 1stl last season.

This season was quite a roller coaster for Harris, being ejected for a flagrant foul on Purdue's Chris Kramer, and getting benched in an overtime loss at Iowa. But Harris responded to these obstacles in a positive way. He could have pouted or pointed fingers, but he took responsibility for his actions. This tough love helped Harris learn from his mistakes and transformed him into a leader.

Harris has an excellent first step with unmatched quickness. He is sneaky with the ball in his hands and tough enough to finish in the paint, after adding 15 pounds of much needed muscle last summer. An excellent free throw shooter at 86%, Harris is simply a natural scorer.

On the defensive end, Harris dramatically improved, wrecking havoc in the passing lanes with his long reach. He also raised his rebounds-per-game by 2.5, and showed tenacity on the boards as well. Although Harris is a legitimate NBA prospect, he desperately needs to improve his 3-point shooting percentage (32.7%) and turnovers. If so, Harris will be an elite fantasy college hoops player next year.