After two ACL tears, Oklahoma State's Chris Harris Jr. looking to 'take advantage of time'

STILLWATER — Chris Harris Jr. will never forget the date.

It was Feb. 5, 2020. Oklahoma State hosted TCU that evening. He was making his third-career start as a true freshman.

Five minutes and 55 seconds into the game, his basketball world halted.

Harris’ left knee gave out.

He suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament. His debut season was over. He was crushed but determined to quickly return.

Harris never expected it to be years before he was fully back on the court. Nobody around the Cowboys’ program expected that either.

Harris missed 69 games over the next two-plus seasons. He appeared in but suffered another tear to the same ACL in the first game of the 2020-21 season. He sat out last season with the hope he would fully recover.

Frustration more than doubt entered his mind.

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“What if I didn’t get hurt?” Harris often thought. “What if I would have just waited and came back a little later my sophomore year? What would have happened?”

Harris still shakes those feelings.

“It was a lot of ‘what if’s’ but it’s all in God’s plan,” he told The Oklahoman on Monday, a day after the anniversary.

Now fully healthy, Harris is embracing his expanding on-court role with the red-hot Cowboys as they host Texas Tech at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Gallagher-Iba Arena on ESPN+. He’s played in every game this season, finding confidence in each minute.

And with the indefinite loss of veteran point guard Avery Anderson III due to wrist surgery, Harris’ role is likely to expand.

It’s a welcome opportunity for a senior who has a new perspective on the court.

“You can be good one day,” Harris said before he snapped his fingers, “and it can be gone the next.

“You really gotta take advantage of the times you have. You never know when it’s going to stop or it’s not going to be going good for you.”

In 23 games this season, the 6-foot-2, 223-pound senior has averaged 2.5 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 13 minutes per game. The stats don’t wow, but they mean a lot.

He’s provided some needed ballhandling and timely shooting. More importantly, he’s proven to himself that he can be more than a cheerleader on the sideline.

“Chris has always been a good player,” OSU coach Mike Boynton said. “It’s just more about his confidence. It’s hard when you come in and feel pretty good about the career you’re going to have and basically two and a half years of that career you spend with a brace on your knee. It’s hard to continue to believe that you can have the success.”

“He’s been a great teammate, he’s been very coachable and because of that he’s continued to help our team get better. But he’s gotten better.”

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‘He never got too down’

Forty-two minutes remained on the pregame clock when Chris Harris Jr. dribbled to the half-court line.

Even with a giant black brace on his left leg, he let the shot fly while standing on one foot.

Then, he did it again.

Twenty-eight minutes later, Harris again threw up two half-court shots on one leg.

“Hopefully, I make one,” Harris said.

Over and over, the superstitious routine has endured for 115 games. Harris, healthy in only 46 of those, had to keep the pattern he started in his college debut going no matter what.

He’s always been a kid who loves routine.

“I like keeping things the same,” Harris said.

His father, Chris, never let him leave for school without answering a key question: You’re a leader not a what?

“Follower,” the younger Harris replied.

The two never split to go around poles when walking together. Harris always needs to return home to lie in bed for five minutes after shootaround.

When he returns to the arena, he bumps fist with the broadcast crews before taking the court to warm up.

“I’ve done it for every single game for four years, whether I was playing or not,” Harris said.

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It’s a comfort for a player who had to find joy while being unable to play.

Because there was not often joy in just watching.

He helped coach, offering his view of things as a player. He helped recruit. He rebounded shots for his teammates.

Harris was really the Cowboys’ ultimate rah-rah guy. He celebrated at every opportunity. He comforted teammates when that was needed. He was the player waving and sweeping a broom around the court after OSU swept Bedlam rival OU in back-to-back games late in the 2020-21 season.

“I was the biggest cheerleader, bigger than the OSU cheerleaders, really,” Harris said. “Doing whatever I can to help them succeed.”

In turn, his teammates helped him.

An overly positive person, Harris said his teammates kept him that way. They often checked on him. They encouraged him. Trainer Kevin Blaske was instrumental in Harris’ recovery.

His family and friends pushed and motivated him.

So, Harris never doubted that he could get back on the court.

“He was strong enough to fight and come back, especially after the second time,” Chris Harris Sr. said. “Most kids would say, ‘I’m done.’

“He had his highs and lows. He never got too down.”

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‘Exactly what I missed’

Chris Harris Jr.’s knee no longer hurt when he bent his knee.

“I could bend it bend it,” he said.

With each summer workout, Harris felt closer to returning. He started to lose weight gained during his recovery.

By August, he was back in the Dallas area working out with his best friend and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey. Almost instantly, Maxey noticed a difference in his former South Garland High teammate.

“You’re moving really well for someone who just came off two (surgeries),” Maxey told him. “You look good.”

Harris’ confidence skyrocketed.

“That’s when I knew I was gonna be fine,” Harris said.

Harris continued to wear his knee brace through fall workouts. He eventually ditched the hardware.

He’s scored nine points twice this season, hitting a trio of 3-pointers each time. He’s been a calming presence on and off the court.

“This is exactly what I missed,” Harris said.

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And he’s found himself looking to the future.

Harris has two seasons of eligibility remaining. He plans to use them with the Cowboys.

“We got a good recruiting class coming in,” he said. “I’ll be the old head of the group.”

That would allow Harris to perhaps reach his full potential he intended when he joined the program four years ago.

He believes there is untapped potential. So do others around him.

“We’re going to get to see the best version of him at OSU for the next couple of years,” Chris Harris Sr. said.

The elder Harris remembers far too well the times his son was stuck on the bench sporting the knee brace. That period lasted far too long.

Now, he’s just thankful to see his son back on the court without a knee brace.

“Every game he comes off the court healthy is an awesome game for me,” Harris Sr. said.

Jacob Unruh covers college sports for The Oklahoman. You can send your story ideas to him at junruh@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @jacobunruh. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

OSU vs. Texas Tech

TIPOFF: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater (ESPN+)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State guard Chris Harris Jr. returns after two ACL tears