Chuck Benson interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head men's basketball coach Chuck Benson has announced the signing of his sixth men's basketball commitment for the 2014-15 season. 

Christian (Chris) Harris, a 6-0, 175-pound shooting guard, joins the Eagles out of Mesa High School and Gold Canyon, Ariz.  The long-range sniper shot 42 percent from three in his senior season.  He averaged 16.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

"He is a high level shooter," Benson said. "He's got a resume from his high school career of making tough and efficient shots. He has the potential to come in here and continue the shooting tradition established here by Antoine Davis and Ish Sanders."

He appeared on the Mesa All-District second team his sophomore and junior seasons before earning first team All-District honors as a senior.  As a senior, he was also a member of the Sports360AZ All-Academic Basketball Team.  He also was named a US Marine Corps Distinguished Athlete and a member of Arizona's Central Division One All-State Honorable Mention team. 

"He's smaller in stature than Ish and Antoine," Benson said. "But we feel he can be a diverse and multi-faceted marksman.  He can certainly shoot it off the catch, but he can also create for himself off the dribble."

Harris is also an accomplished academician.  He is a 2014 recipient of the Principal's Award and a member of the National Honors Society and Principal's Honor Roll while carrying a 4.0 GPA through all four years of his high school career. He was Mesa's Wendy's High School Heisman winner and performed 220 service learning hours. He ranked in the top 10 percent of his class.   

He is the son of Tom and Lisa Harris and plans to study business administration at Carson-Newman.  Harris comes from a family of athletes.  His uncle, John, played basketball and tennis at Nebraska Omaha and Nebraska Kearney.  Another uncle, Kevin Cartwright, wrestled at Nebraska Kearney. 

Harris joins C-N signees Charles Clark, Larry Curry, Ryan Jones, Mason Bates and Taylor Hawkins. 

"It's a young group, but it's a group that's won a lot at their previous stops," Benson said. "I think they give us a huge boost athletically on the perimeter.  They'll get out on the floor and get tested early and often."

-CN-