Kupaa Harrison hit the boards running during his debut season as a junior transfer for UH-Hilo’s men’s basketball team, and as he started to spread his wings, versatility became his calling card.
And not just in regards to rebounding, passing and defense.
Little by little, he even started to shoot and – hey, what do you know – score.
“I thought I came on strong toward the end of the season and found a little more rhythm,” said Harrison, a 6-foot-5 senior, “so hopefully I can carry that over into this year.
“First couple of games I don’t think I took a shot last year, and by the end I was averaging double-digits.”
On the eve of the regular season, Vulcans coach GE Coleman would prefer that Harrison – who averaged 11 points and nearly six rebounds a contest, along with being second on the team in assists (68) and third in steals (48) – stop carrying such a handyman’s mentality and just try to become the man.
“I tell him he needs to take that alpha dog personality,” Coleman said. “For us to be good, he really needs to be aggressive at times.
“With his personality, he’s very laid back, I’ve been trying to get him to exert himself.”
For Harrison it’s about straying from his comfort zone while maintaining an equilibrium. He shot 53 percent from the field last season, but “I always grew up as more of a pass-first kind of player,” he said. “Now looking to score, but finding the balance between forcing (shots) and taking openings.”
Harrison – his teammates call him “Coop” – is the son of a coach, and Coleman considers him to be the highest-IQ player he’s had entering his seventh season at UHH.
“We’ll call plays for him, but it’s more about him going and getting the ball,” Coleman said. “He’s a great passer, and sometimes he’s a little too unselfish. We need to look for him to score first before he does anything else.”
The Vuls were dealt a setback when 6-7 forward Devin Johnson was injured on the final day of 2018 and was lost for the remainder of the season. The silver lining was that Johnson’s absence forced Harrison and 6-8 forward Tom Power to become more acclimated to playing inside in Pacific West Conference play.
Power, a sophomore, enjoyed a good preseason and has added strength, his coach said, and will bring size off the bench.
Once Harrison hit his stride last season, he was the model of consistency making 22 starts for the 12-14 Vulcans and scoring in doubles figures in 16 of his final 19 games.
If only the team as whole could have followed suit. Instead, UHH mixed signature victories against Azusa Pacific and Point Loma with debilitating home losses against Dominican and Academy of Art that ultimately cost the program its first trip to the PacWest tournament.
“Something that has motivated us and we talk about is being more consistent, because during the highs we were able to beat Point Loma, but during the lows we lost home games we should have won,” Harrison said. “We’re trying to find that no matter who we’re playing we’re always being at our best.”
Coleman doesn’t like to get too bogged down in numbers, but Harrison could realistically play any of the five positions.
While he’ll see time at power forward, there isn’t as much a need in the post thanks to the arrival of 6-foot-9 center Sasa Vuksanovic.
The Serbian’s first sport was the family favorite, water polo, but he’s been playing basketball since age 9, and Harrison already sees Vuksanovic as a go-to player to start the season.
“We’re going to be looking for him,” Harrison said. “A true post who can play with his back to the basket, and he’s a lot stronger than he looks. He looks skinny, but he’s stronger than that.”
Vuksanovic is the team’s only true center, but he said he’s also comfortable playing on the perimeter and is working on his set shot, which Coleman said is reliable from out to 15 feet.
“I really like Coop’s game,” Vuksanovic said. “We are playing pretty similar. We both can pass, see the floor and get a shot.
“I’m trying to make Tom better and he’s trying to make me better. We’re doing a great job.”