BASKETBALL: Harris keeps his head in the game

Flynn/Harris Draft 2009

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June 26, 2009

By Jonah Bronstein The Niagara Gazette Fri Jun 26, 2009, 10:48 PM EDT

Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris may be teammates again soon.

Harris said Friday that the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of three NBA teams that have invited him to join their summer league roster. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls have also made contact with his agent, Harris said.

Minnesota, which used the sixth overall pick in Thursday’s draft on Flynn, will play in the 21-team NBA Summer League beginning July 11 in Las Vegas.

“I’ve got an opportunity to play with Jonny Flynn again — that would be insane,” Harris said prior to a two-and-a-half-hour workout at Niagara Falls High School where he and Flynn teamed up to win a state championship in 2005, before reuniting at Syracuse University.

“Somebody told me before the draft, ‘What if Jonny goes in the first round, and you go in the second round to the same team?’ I said that would definitely be crazy for this city, and ourselves.”

Harris was in good spirits Friday after not being one of the 60 players drafted into the NBA the night before.

“Honestly, before the draft, I was prepared for the worst and hoping for the best. I didn’t even watch the draft with my family because I’m thinking in my mind, if (going undrafted) does happen, I don’t want to see them get upset.

“I can take it. I’ve been through way worse things than not being drafted.”

Harris said Leon Rose, the Creative Artists Association basketball agent who represents him and Flynn, called after the draft and told him, “It’s not over. Stay focused and keep your phone ready.”

“A lot of people don’t understand how the draft is,” Harris said. “They think if you get drafted in the second round, it’s guaranteed you’ll play in the league. They don’t know it’s (picks No.) 1 through 30 guaranteed. And 31 through 60 still have to make the team.

“I’m in that same situation. I have to go and make the team. This just makes the chip on my shoulder a little bit bigger.”

Harris traveled to Cleveland today for a three-day tryout camp, and hopes to find a summer league team soon after.

Thursday night was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster for Harris. The disappointment of not hearing his name called in the second round came after the thrill of watching one of his closest friends drafted early.

“As a fan and a friend of Jonny Flynn, that was amazing,” Harris said. “That’s my little brother, man. I’m so proud of him. I know all the hard work he put in, right in this gym.”

Harris said Friday was the first time he had played basketball at Niagara Falls High School since an all-star game shortly after the 2005 season.

E-mail reporter Jonah Bronstein at jonah.bronstein@niagara-gazette.com

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Flynn/Harris Draft 2009

BASKETBALL: 3-on-3 tourney in Falls to honor Jonny Flynn Mayor Paul Dyster announced this week plans to move forward with an outdoor basketball competition, similar in style to the popular Gus Macker three-on-three tournament held in Buffalo each year.
June 30, 2009 1 Photo
BASKETBALL: Jonny Flynn given key to Niagara Falls Niagara County legislator Renae Kimble proclaimed Monday as Jonny Flynn Day in the county before bestowing large expectations on the two-time Niagara Gazette Player of Year.
June 29, 2009 1 Photo
BASKETBALL: Harris to join Flynn on T-Wolves summer squad Paul Harris said Monday that he will accept an offer to play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the upcoming NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where Jonny Flynn will also make his professional debut after Minnesota made him the sixth overall pick in last week’s NBA draft.
June 29, 2009
BASKETBALL: Harris keeps his head in the game Paul Harris returned to the Niagara Falls High School Wolverena to workout Friday, determined to pursue an NBA career despite going undrafted the night before. Harris said the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Chicago Bulls have extended summer league invitations so far.
June 26, 2009 1 Photo
BASKETBALL: Timberwolves say Flynn, Rubio will make dynamic backcourt Timberwolves president David Kahn told jittery supporters he believes Ricky Rubio, the fifth overall pick, and Niagara Falls' Jonny Flynn, the sixth pick, will play off of each other extremely well and “together, we will have one of the most dynamic defensive backcourts in the NBA over time.”
June 26, 2009 1 Photo
BASKETBALL: Flynn selection is Falls' finest hour A team that first dominated the Niagara Frontier League, then a power-packed independent schedule got its ultimate validation on Thursday at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater when former Niagara Falls High School point guard Jonny Flynn was among the first names called off by National Basketball Association commissioner David Stern at the 2009 Draft.
June 26, 2009
SCHMITT: Destiny plays trick on Flynn Jonny Flynn has talent. Always has. Tim Winn talked about it years ago, saying he’d be the best of the Niagara Falls bunch. He was right, as Thursday’s events can attest.
June 25, 2009
BASKETBALL: With assist from Flynn, Harris looking to NBA Draft Of all the times Jonny Flynn set up Paul Harris on the court over the years, Harris holds the most gratitude for the latest assist off the floor.
June 24, 2009 1 Photo
JONNY FLYNN, part 3: What does the future have in store? Where does the Niagara Falls senior see himself after his time as a Wolverine is done?
June 24, 2009 1 Photo
BASKETBALL: NBA sizes up Jonny Flynn Reports out of Chicago, where the NBA just concluded its pre-draft scouting combine, indicated the Niagara Falls native measured out as one of the shortest players in attendance, but his performance in competitive drills solidified his status as a potential top 10 pick.
May 30, 2009 1 Photo
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