The Windsor Express can only wonder what would have happened if Paul Harrison had arrived on time.
The first-year centre was actually supposed to join the Express for a playoff run last season.
“I was meant to come last year, but I got COVID and ended up playing in the TBL,” Harrison, 34, said of the Basketball League.
The Express went all the way in a Canadian NBL final before running out of fuel and may have used a spark like Harrison. Instead, Harrison, a six-foot-nine, 270-pound Atlanta native, opted to stay closer to home and play. for TBL in Oklahoma for the Potawatomi Fire.
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“We signed him toward the end of last season for a playoff appearance,” Express head coach Bill Jones said. “He stayed in Tunisia to gather the rest of his funding. When he got home, he was gone a long time ago and wanted to stay. “close to his wife and children and plays in the TBL.
With a new season and the new Basketball Super League, Harrison traveled to Canada with the Express and gave every indication that he can be the difference in the club’s season-opening victory over the Montreal Tundra.
“I felt it was a smart resolution for my family,” Harrison said of his arrival in Windsor. “Now I’m here and I’m happy. I think there’s a lot of room to grow. “
With Harrison in the fold, Potawatomi earned the TBL name last year and helped the Shreveport Mavericks earn the name last season.
“We kept in touch and his agent reached out to us,” Jones said. “He was looking to play for us.
“I know he’s a great player, he’s been given a top basketball IQ and a smart veteran player comes out on top. “
In the Express’ first game, Harrison scored a game-high 29 points and shared the team lead with 8 rebounds and added two blocked shots.
“When they brought me in here, they told me to do what I do,” said Harrison, who has also played in Germany, Finland, Uruguay, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. “I put the ball in the basket.”
And when he goes to basketball and shoots a tough shot, Harrison isn’t afraid to excite the crowd at the time, either.
“I’m kind of a fan favourite,” Harrison said. “I’m very animated when I play. I do a lot of theatrics.”
One game is a small sample, however, Express quarterback Latin Davis believes Harrison’s inside play will go a long way toward unleashing the team’s outside game.
“We complete others well,” Davis said. Paul has a wonderful presence on the inside, which makes it a lot less difficult for us guards. We are so much more wonderful this year.
It’s still early in the season and things are going to look up for the Express with five of the club’s next six games away from home, starting with Saturday’s game in Kitchener against the KW Titans.
“We’re still working on our chemistry,” Harrison said. “We still have a lot of work to do. Every day we’re going to combine, work out and combine and until the end of the season we can put something special in combination.
If that happens, you can be sure Harrison will play a role in it.
“Paul is a champion,” Express associate coach Aaron McDonald said. “Paul is and he will compete until the end. It will be a problem in the future.
“I don’t think we played our most productive basketball (in Game 1), but there’s still more to come. We’re going to improve defensively and offensively.
jpparker@postmedia. com
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