It wasn’t his six-foot-eight inch frame, or deep family roots in the sport that drew Josh Harris to basketball.

In fact, Harris started playing basketball because his family had no history with the sport. 

“But I got, like, kind of drawn to the sport because it was something that no one in my family had done,” Harris said. “So I was like, ok, like, let me be the first at this.”

Although Harris dabbled in basketball at age nine, his main sport during his childhood was football. He didn’t start taking basketball seriously until he was in 10th grade. Despite not playing basketball his whole life, Harris said it’s his most natural sport. 

“I started getting good at [basketball], adapting towards it, and it kind of was just the most natural to me,” Harris said. “So I stuck with that one sport.”

In between Harris’ freshman and sophomore years of high school, he grew from six-foot-two to six-foot-five. While growing in size, Harris began growing at basketball. Harris averaged a double-double at his high school, Pembroke Pines Charter, and became one of the top 40 players in the state. 

“After 10th grade, I was like, ‘I can compete with some of the guys who are, like, nationally ranked Top 100,’” Harris said. 

During his senior year, Harris started receiving offers from schools. What motivated Harris to choose UNF was the “family oriented” atmosphere brought by the UNF coaching staff. 

“The coaches were super family oriented, and they treated my family extremely well,” Harris said. “So that really, like, stood out to me.”

When deciding where to play college basketball, Harris said he didn’t make his decision solely off the campus or the basketball, but also off the people he surrounds himself with. 

“Everyone [at UNF] was a good hearted person,” Harris said. “They all want to be here, I want to surround myself with these types of people right now.”

Upon arrival at UNF, Harris made an immediate impact on the team by scoring the most points by a UNF freshman through three games, leading to upset road victories over South Carolina and Georgia Tech. 

Most of what fueled Harris’s fast start, was a competitive “spark,” as he put it.

“It was the fuel to win, that’s what really ignites me, is winning, because I love winning,” Harris said.

Harris doesn’t just want his team to win, he also wants to win a few ASUN awards himself. Last December, Harris received his first ASUN award, ASUN Newcomer of the Week, on Dec. 9. However, winning personal goals fails to top Harris’s biggest goal. 

‘The biggest goal I have is to make it to March Madness,” Harris said. “We’re gonna turn it around for sure. I’m very confident in that.”

Even in the midst of dealing with a high-ankle sprain, Harris is still second on the team in points per game with 14. 

Despite a slow conference start, Harris emphasized his desire to win.

“To be honest, I just want to win,” Harris said. 

Coach Driscoll spoke of Harris’s “simplified” approach to the game of basketball, citing the freshman’s ability to rarely look panicked. 

“What’s also unique is that he rarely looks hurried,” Driscoll told UNF Athletics.

Harris agreed with Driscoll, saying he’s mostly calm while on the court. However, there are instances where Harris will be less calm. 

“Unless like hey, 20 seconds to go, we’re down three, we’re down two, I might be a little anxious,” Harris said. “But I don’t really ever look in a hurry, because I was always taught composure.”

Composure is confidence, according to Harris. With all this composure and calmness, Harris has a pregame ritual of writing in his journal. 

“I write about not just my feelings, but my goals,” Harris said.

Harris continued to work towards his March Madness goal when the Ospreys visited Queens yesterday.

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