Denver Nuggets: 3 Expectations for Gary Harris

Fresh off of the Nuggets Media Day it’s time to look at how we expect the Nuggets players to grow and what we think they can accomplish.

You know, as I sat down to write the five pieces that would detail expectations for the starters, I had ideas for each.  What I discovered is that while we’re very familiar with Gary Harris‘ on-court abilities and personality, we don’t know that much about the Nuggets shooting guard.

Once-in-a-generation guys like Nikola Jokic are easy.  Big pedigree players like Jamal Murray invite analysis.  Paul Millsap has a whole career to work with and Will Barton wears his personality on his sleeve.

Harris is quieter but his reticence doesn’t feel at all like submission.  Gary is brimming with confidence and competitive fire, it’s just, you know, more subdued.

Out of high school in Fishers, Indiana, Gary was rated one of the top shooting guard prospects in the nation.  He rated as high as number two (ESPN100) and posted 25.4  points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in his senior season at Hamilton Southeastern H.S.

From there, Harris was on to Michigan State University where he earned Big Ten freshman-of-the-year and second-team all Big Ten honors in his first season.  Gary would move up to first-team All Big Ten after his sophomore season and that was enough to prompt Harris to declare for the NBA draft.

Denver selected Harris 19th overall in the 2014 NBA draft and the rest, they say is history:

Harris had an uneven first two seasons in Denver before Michael Malone’s arrival.  It’s no coincidence that the pairing of Malone and Harris has brought the best out of the already accomplished guard.  The same could be said for much of the Denver roster.

So what do we want to see from Gary going forward?