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Former Illinois Guard Sencire Harris Commits to Eastern Michigan
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- Former Illinois Guard Sencire Harris Commits to Eastern Michigan
PortalUpdates (@portal_updates) on X announced Friday that former Illinois guard Sencire Harris has committed to Eastern Michigan . Harris spent last season at Cincinnati but will play his final season of college basketball in the Mid-American Conference.
A native of Canton, Ohio, Harris was a four-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings when he signed with Illinois in the Class of 2021. He starred at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and helped lead the program to a state championship. Harris took an unofficial visit to Xavier in 2021 before ultimately deciding that Illinois was the right fit for his college career.
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The former four-star recruit spent two seasons with the Illini but played in just one. Harris appeared in 33 games as a freshman, averaging 3.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. He redshirted his sophomore season after it became clear his playing time would be limited before eventually entering the transfer portal in 2024.
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Harris entered the portal in April 2024 and committed to West Virginia less than a week later. Illinois assistant coach Chester Frazier accepted a position with the Mountaineers, and both Harris and Amani Hansberry followed him to Morgantown. Frazier was the lead recruiter for both players at Illinois.
Harris saw an increase in playing time at West Virginia, starting every game for the Mountaineers. Despite earning a larger role, he transferred again after just one season. Harris averaged 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for a West Virginia team that narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament.
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The Ohio native then transferred to Cincinnati for his junior season, where he appeared in 31 games and averaged 16.9 minutes per contest. With one year of eligibility remaining, transferring to the mid-major level feels like a good fit. Harris is one of the better perimeter defenders in the country, but his offensive limitations have made it difficult for him to carve out a larger role at the high-major level. His inability to consistently shoot the basketball was a major reason he likely would not have earned significant minutes under Brad Underwood.
Underwood has emphasized positional size and perimeter shooting in his recruiting over the past few seasons, and Harris simply did not fit that mold. Although he stands 6-foot-4, Harris is more of a combo guard than a true point guard. Underwood's last three point guards have all been at least 6-foot-5 and have used their size to create advantages on both ends of the floor.
Perhaps Harris' outside shot will improve at the mid-major level. He attempted fewer than two three-pointers per game over the past two seasons and shot below 20% from beyond the arc in both years. For his career, Harris is a sub-20% three-point shooter and has converted just 60.8% of his free throws.
Although things didn't work out for Harris in Champaign, Illini fans will be rooting for him as he closes out his college career at Eastern Michigan.
