Sam Harris

Samuel James Harris (born 3 May 1984) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played 10 seasons in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and spent two seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). At 221 cm, he is the tallest player ever to play in the NBL. Early life Harris was born in Launceston, Tasmania, and grew up in the suburb of Newnham. He started playing basketball in the late 1990s and attended Launceston College. In 2001, Harris moved to Canberra to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) and play for the program's SEABL team. With Lake Ginninderra College at the 2001 National Schools Basketball Tournament in Ballarat, the 17-year-old Harris stood at 219 cm—4 cm taller than the previous student record. He continued on with the AIS in 2002, 2003 and 2004, playing in the SEABL each year. College career Between 2004 and 2008, Harris played college basketball for Old Dominion University in the United States. As a freshman, on 27 November 2004, he scored a career-high 14 points. In 126 games for the Monarchs over four seasons, he made 17 starts and averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.