ATHERTON, Calif. - Junior guard Julian Harris' torrid start to the season earned him California Pacific Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week honors, the conference announced Tuesday. Harris led the Oaks in scoring in all three games during their first week of play, leading the team to a 2-1 record.
Harris, a 5-foot-10-inch guard with a quick trigger, averaged 22.7 points and made 13-of-21 3-point attempts on the week. He heated up early to score 25 points while sinking five 3-pointers in a loss at NCAA Div. I Santa Clara on Monday, made four 3-pointers and totaled 22 points in a win at Willamette on Friday, and drained four more 3-pointers en route to 21 points in a victory at Pacific (Ore.) the following night. Harris made 61.9 percent of his long-range attempts and shot 54.5 percent from the field.
Thanks in large part to Harris, Menlo needed just three games to pick up its first two wins of the season. A year ago the Oaks struggled to a 2-6 start in which it took until Dec. 17 to earn their second victory. Under first-year head coach Matt Davis, Menlo has appeared a more cohesive unit through the first week of the season despite a slew of newcomers. Harris and Tim Kees, the Oaks lone senior, have led the early-season resurgence.
Menlo returns to action this weekend when it hosts the Lamont Ramsey Classic at Haynes-Prim Pavilion. Menlo plays Johnson & Wales (Colo.) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and CSU Stanislaus at the same time on Sunday. Play opens Saturday at 2 p.m. when CSU Stanislaus takes on Bethany. On Sunday, Bethany battles Johnson & Wales at 2 p.m.