David Harrison (basketball)

David Joshua Harrison (born August 15, 1982) is an American former professional basketball player. A former National Basketball Association (NBA) player for the Indiana Pacers, he was a member of the Beijing Ducks for the 2008–09 season[1] and played with the Guangdong Southern Tigers[2] for the next two years. He also played for the Tianjin Ronggang.[3] At Brentwood Academy, Harrison received TSSAA Division 2 Mr. Basketball in 2000 and 2001. He was drafted by the Indiana Pacers out of the University of Colorado at Boulder with the 29th pick of the 2004 NBA draft.

David Harrison
Personal information
Born (1982-08-15) August 15, 1982 (age 41)
Nashville, Tennessee
NationalityAmerican
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight250 lb (113 kg)
Career information
High schoolBrentwood Academy
(Brentwood, Tennessee)
CollegeColorado (2001–2004)
NBA draft2004: 1st round, 29th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Playing career2004–2014
PositionCenter
Number13, 16, 7, 3
Career history
20042008Indiana Pacers
2008–2009Beijing Ducks
2009–2011Guangdong Southern Tigers
2011–2012Tianjin Ronggang
2012Reno Bighorns
2014Metrowest Ballas
Career highlights and awards
Stats Edit this at Wikidata at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

College career edit

In college, he was named First Team All-Big 12 and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors by the Associated Press as a junior. He finished his college career as Colorado's all-time leading shot-blocker with 225 blocks.

NBA career edit

Harrison was drafted 29th overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers. Harrison was expected to be the #2 or maybe even #3 center in the Pacers' depth chart for his rookie year of 2004–05, behind Jeff Foster and Scot Pollard. However, due to injuries to Pollard and the suspensions of Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Ron Artest, he became a starter at a much earlier part of his career than most people anticipated. He ended up starting 14 of the 43 games he played in his rookie season, before missing the final two months due to injury.

Harrison was charged with one count of assault and battery for his involvement in the Pacers–Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills on November 19, 2004, though he was not penalized by the league for the incident.

In his sophomore season of 2005–06 with the Pacers, Harrison played in 67 games, starting 17 of them, playing an average of 15.4 minutes and contributing 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.

In 2008, the Pacers suspended Harrison for one game following an incident in which Harrison expressed his frustration inside the San Antonio Spurs' locker room after Spurs forward Matt Bonner hit him in the face (Bonner was called for an offensive foul).[4] In Harrison's first game back from the suspension he had 4 points, 6 rebounds and a career high 6 blocks in just 20 minutes of play.

The Indiana Pacers chose not to re-sign Harrison after his contract expired at the end of the 2007–08 season. The Minnesota Timberwolves signed him to their practice squad for the preseason, but he was waived before the 2008–09 regular season began.

Off-court struggles edit

In an interview, Harrison admitted to smoking marijuana in the offseasons. However, his habit carried into the regular season in 2007–2008, and because of this, he was suspended five games. Since leaving the NBA, Harrison has struggled with financial issues.[5]

Post-NBA career edit

After leaving the Indiana Pacers after the 2007–2008 season, Harrison played basketball in China for three seasons. In the 2011–2012 season, he played for the NBA D-League team Reno Bighorns. In 2012, he also played for the Dallas Mavericks summer league team. After struggling with financial problems, Harrison took a job at McDonald's in August 2013. However, he left his position after two weeks. Currently, Harrison trades stocks in order to provide for his family. Harrison also has a small mobile game application company, Kage Media Groups LLC, but he lacks the funding to make this a profitable means for him and his family.[5]

Return to professional basketball edit

On September 14, 2015, Harrison decided to return to basketball and signed with the Las Vegas Dealers of the upcoming AmeriLeague.[6] However, the league folded after it was discovered the founder was a con-artist.[7]

Personal life edit

Harrison currently resides in Indianapolis with his girlfriend and infant son.[5]

NBA career statistics edit

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2004–05 Indiana 43 14 17.7 .576 .000 .571 3.1 .3 .4 1.3 6.1
2005–06 Indiana 67 17 15.4 .503 .000 .511 3.8 .2 .3 .9 5.7
2006–07 Indiana 24 2 7.9 .517 .000 .500 1.8 .3 .2 .5 3.0
2007–08 Indiana 55 0 12.8 .529 .000 .510 2.1 .3 .4 1.1 4.2
Career 189 33 14.2 .530 .000 .525 2.9 .2 .3 1.0 5.0

Playoffs edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2006 Indiana 6 0 5.2 .333 .000 .583 .8 .0 .2 .2 2.2
Career 6 0 5.2 .333 .000 .583 .8 .0 .2 .2 2.2

CBA career statistics edit

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2008–09 Beijing 45 N/A 42.3 .632 .000 .578 11.2 1.2 1.3 2.4 22.0
2009–10 Guangdong 41 N/A 26.3 .705 .000 .532 8.8 .7 .6 1.2 16.7
2010–11 Guangdong
Career

References edit

  1. ^ "Nashville exports hoops stars to China". The Tennessean.
  2. ^ "China Basketball, News, Teams, Scores, Stats, Standings, Awards - asia-basket". www.asia-basket.com.
  3. ^ "Tianjin Ronggang Pioneers basketball, News, Roster, Rumors, Stats, Awards, Transactions, Details-asia-basket". Eurobasket LLC.
  4. ^ "The Morning Journal – Pacers' Harrison suspended for today".[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b c Spears, Marc (March 13, 2015). "From McDonald's All-American to McDonald's worker: How David Harrison lost his way after the NBA". Yahoo. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  6. ^ "Las Vegas Dealers Sign David Harrison". AmeriLeague.com. September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  7. ^ "AmeriLeague Founder Revealed As Con Artist". RealGM.com. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.

External links edit