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GOLD & BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 25, ISSUE 4 71 it has improved, especially when we work one-on-one with her in practice. She understands (the need to im- prove), is a very bright young lady." For Lawrence North, however, Harris isn't needed to score a lot. The 6-foot-1 forward averages about 11 points per game, while shooting 54 percent from the floor, and 10 rebounds to provide an inside complement for the loaded Wildcats. In late February, Lawrence North was 25-1 and ranked fourth in the state overall (in the coaches poll) as it advanced through the Class 4A state tournament, being led by guards Lamina Cooper, a Purdue signee, and Jordan Hankins, who is headed to Northwestern. That she has a couple more experi- enced teammates, and is a newcomer to Lawrence North, has led Harris to frequently defer. "She's a really, almost to a fault, unselfish player, and I mean with that with great respect," Giffin said. "She's been an unbelievable addition as a teammate and person. … Offensively, she's capable. Even this year, we have some really good pieces around her, but she can at times get a little more involved. And that's partially our issue and partially her issue too, because of that unselfishness. "We definitely need her because she's pretty advanced in terms of her athleticism with that size and so that's always a mismatch potentially for the teams we face." So it's been imperative that Harris embrace the mechanical changes, and she has. Late last summer, when she arrived at Lawrence North, she start- ed to work on post moves, getting her footwork corrected on step-throughs and pivots, and adding in a hook shot. "My hook has gotten a lot better," said Harris, who committed to Purdue in November 2013. "I no longer palm the ball when I go up, so that helps with my right and left hand. I'm start- ing to actually go in more (aggres- sively), rather than passing it out. I used to pass it out a lot, but now not as much. "We've progressed to more and more post moves, but the hook shot has become my main go-to move." But it's a work in progress. Harris admits that she'll revert to the bad habits in the heat of the game; only at the free throw line, where she has time to think, is she more comfort- able, as evidenced by her 74-percent shooting. "If I'm going up for a shot, it doesn't come as naturally in a game," she said, "but the free throws are good." Harris has more time to work out the kinks. It'll be this fall before she signs with the Boilermakers, then she has another year to work on her offen- sive game. The next step, Giffin says, is for Harris to develop better perim- eter ability, getting her comfortable shooting 10- to 15-foot jumpers in games. She'll do so occasionally now, but it doesn't come naturally. "We've got to give our best effort to rebuild several of those flawed pieces of her shot," Giffin said. "I don't know that there is a perfect shot — every- one has an individual technique — but we'll do our best. Once we have that, the thing we'd like to see, which she could probably do already, is put it on the floor, one dribble and get to the rim. She has the athleticism and quickness and needs to be able to incorporate that into her game. It's something we'll be stressing. "Ideally, at the end of her senior year, she'll be a little more versatile and be able to mix it up on the offen- sive end." The defense is already there. It's that aspect of her game that drew the attention of the Boilermak- ers a couple years ago, and still has them excited now. Harris is an excellent shot-block- er, averaging about four per game, and says she can get them a variety of ways: Defending one-on-one in the post, helping from the weak-side or chasing from behind on a fastbreak. "It started when I was young," she said. "So when I first did it, it was kind of a lot of hype, but now that I'm more experienced and my timing is good, it's become my thing." Giffin calls Harris a defensive "dif- ference-maker," a player who can cov- er up others' mistakes. "I know it's a cliché but she really is," he said. "When she's not in the game, it really opens up for opposing teams to drive and cut to the bucket. And when she's in there, she's just an intimidator. She has incredible tim- ing, she has a knack for being around the bucket and knowing when to help over. And she has the athleticism to make it come together. She deters so many more shots than even she gets credit for blocking." j