Paul Harris slammed home alley-oop passes from Jonny Flynn in high school and college. Now he hopes to do the same in an NBA-sanctioned summer league.
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 Flynn will also make his professional debut after Minnesota made him the sixth overall pick in last week’s NBA draft.
After participating in a Cleveland Cavaliers minicamp over the weekend, Harris said he called his agent, Leon Rose, and told him he was picking the Timberwolves over the Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls.
“I think it’s a great fit for me,” Harris said at Monday’s Niagara Falls City Council meeting, where Flynn was presented with a key to the city. “Me and Jonny will be reunited again. It’s a good opportunity.”
The 21-team summer league runs July 10 through 19, and will feature many of the first-round picks from the past two drafts.
Harris, a powerfully-built 6-foot-3 swingman, and Flynn, an explosive 6-foot point guard, helped Syracuse University go 49-24 over the past two seasons. Last year, Flynn led the Orange in minutes played, points, assists and steals, while Harris was the team’s top rebounder.
In 2005, Harris led Niagara Falls High School to its first state championship, and Flynn was a sophomore starter for a Wolverines team that finished the season ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today.
After Monday was proclaimed Jonny Flynn Day in Niagara County, and he was showered with several ovations, Flynn made sure the group of more than 300 supporters also showed their appreciation for Harris.
“Paul took me along to the ABCD Camp, and the Reebok Camp, when I was unheard of. He had so many guys he could’ve picked from, but he knew there was something special about me,” Flynn said.
“I have so much love for him, for doing that for me. He’s like the brother I never had, and I just want to say I love you for that.”
Harris then walked up to the podium to hug Flynn.
“Me and Jonny are always going to be close,” Harris said afterward. “I knew he was going to do that. That’s the kind of person Jonny Flynn is.”
E-mail reporter Jonah Bronstein at jonah.bronstein@niagara-gazette.com
Flynn/Harris Draft 2009
June 29, 2009
BASKETBALL: Harris to join Flynn on T-Wolves summer squad
- Flynn/Harris Draft 2009
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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.
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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.
- 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.
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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.
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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.”
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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