Harris shoots for team, personal goals
Published 11:41 am Friday, November 20, 2015
Oak Harbor High School senior Dyllan Harris has some unfinished business.
The two-sport star, a contributor to the varsity football and basketball teams since his freshman year, has amassed an impressive list of awards and accomplishments during his Wildcat career, but one honor is missing — first-team all-conference in basketball.
Last year Harris averaged 20.7 points per game in basketball, good enough to lead the Western Conference North in scoring but not good enough to land a spot on the all-league first team. Although he averaged five points more per game than the No. 2 scorer in the division, he was relegated to the second team.
Harris was miffed by the slight but understands why it happened: Oak Harbor didn’t win enough games.
The Wildcats were 3-17 last year and finished fifth in the six-team Wesco North; the first-team honors went to players from the division’s best teams.
“I want revenge,” he said. “I feel like I was robbed last year.”
He also understands that personal glory and achievements are secondary to team success, so to reach his goal he must put the team first.
Last year’s team was undisciplined and unfocused, according to Harris.
“The players talked back to the ref and coaches,” he said. “We need to change that. It all starts with me, with the seniors, the leaders.
“Everyone thinks of Oak Harbor as a football school. I want to change the perception of the basketball team.”
Oak Harbor High School basketball coach John Weston agrees that Harris can change the program: “Dyllan is a special kind of player. He is the type of athlete that can make a huge impact on the culture of basketball in Oak Harbor. He is a natural leader through his competitiveness; if he is willing to demand excellence from himself and his teammates it can really move our program in the right direction.”
Harris was injured in the Wildcats’ last football game and missed the first few days of practice when the basketball team began turning out Monday.
When Harris returns to the lineup, it will be his fourth year as a starter. As a sophomore, he was a Wesco North honorable mention selection and named the Wildcats’ Most Valuable Offensive Player.
As a junior, along with leading the division in scoring and picking up second-team honors, he averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game and was selected as Oak Harbor’s MVP.
“He also does a lot of things that don’t show up in the box score,” Weston said. “He led our team in charges taken last year and usually covered the other team’s best player. One of the best parts about Dyllan as an athlete is that he truly wants to be coached. He really changed and expanded his game through the course of last year and throughout the off-season, putting a much bigger emphasis on the defensive end of the court and becoming more efficient on offense.”
Weston added that Harris’ teammates do “a great job of supporting him” by “sharing the ball” and “working hard at the defensive end.”
“Dyllan means a lot to our program and has an opportunity to leave a positive and lasting legacy with the rest of the guys in the senior class,” Weston added.
Harris’ football accomplishments are even more impressive.
He earned first-team, all-league honors three times as a defensive back and twice on offense after being second team selection as a sophomore.
His junior year he led the Wesco North in receiving with 34 catches for 600 yards and seven touchdowns. This year, after injuries depleted the running back pool early in the season, Harris moved to wing back.
In seven games in the backfield, he ran for 780 yards and nine touchdowns on 80 rushes, a 9.8 yard per carry average. Although primarily a back, he still led the team in receiving with 22 catches and 287 yards.
In addition, Harris was the team’s punter and primary return man.
He liked the heavy workload: “I love being on the field at all times, no matter what side of the ball or special teams.”
He attributes his success to the outstanding coaches he’s had from youth leagues through high school and to his desire to win.
“I’m really competitive,” he said. “It’s my strong point and my weak point. I like to compete; I don’t like it to be easy. Sometimes, however, I get too fired up and lose control.”
Oak Harbor High School football coach Jay Turner called Harris “an integral part” of the Wildcats’ success.
“He possesses the rare combination of being extremely athletic, a very hard worker and ultra competitive,” Turner said. “He absolutely hates to lose at anything. He will do anything possible to help the team win.”
Harris said it’s hard to believe his high school career is coming to a close.
“It has gone too fast,” he said, “but the plan is that I am not done yet.”
Harris would like to play either football or basketball in college.
“I always felt I was a better football player, but I like basketball best.”
He has generated some interest from colleges but has not received any scholarship offers yet.
A strong basketball season — one worthy of first-team, all-league — may change that.
(Dyllan Harris was named to the Wesco North all-division team five times in football. Photo by John Fisken.)
