SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Will Dontae Harris be the next walk on for the Syracuse basketball team? He surely hopes so.
Ever since Harris arrived at Syracuse University last month, he has been spending most of his evenings at the Archbold Gymnasium, eagerly trying to make an immediate impact. He says playing against preferred walk-ons has helped with his confidence as he hopes to gain the attention of Syracuse Basketball Head Coach Jim Boheim in a few months when tryouts are conducted. The 6'2", 225 pound Harris played forward for Peekskill High School, which lies about 45 minutes north of New York City. He was the starting forward during his freshman year, but ultimately decided to pursue baseball for the remainder of his high school career. Being at Syracuse University has rekindled his passion for the sport that he grew up playing.
"I'm in better shape than I was in high school," Harris said in a recent interview.
During the day, Harris is pursuing his Master’s Degree in Broadcast and Digital Journalism. He credits his work ethic to his mother. "The only times I would see her is when she got her day off," he said.
Harris's mother worked as a corrections officer during his childhood. Being raised by a single parent wasn’t easy for Harris, but he says he never held any grudges. He even reached out to his father, and eventually established a solid relationship with him.
The focus is now on succeeding at school. Harris hopes to one day become a play-by-play announcer for his favorite team, the New York Knicks. But that’s not all. His ultimate goal is to be the owner of BET, and help develop a sports-driven branch for the network.
Harris's mother worked as a corrections officer during his childhood. Being raised by a single parent wasn’t easy for Harris, but he says he never held any grudges. He even reached out to his father, and eventually established a solid relationship with him.
The focus is now on succeeding at school. Harris hopes to one day become a play-by-play announcer for his favorite team, the New York Knicks. But that’s not all. His ultimate goal is to be the owner of BET, and help develop a sports-driven branch for the network.
This is Robert Schiff. I’m here with Dontae Harris.
Robert: Dontae, I know you grew up in Peekskill, New York. Who was your biggest influence growing up when you were a kid?
Dontae: My biggest influence would have to be my mother. She's my biggest influence because she raised me by herself. And in order to make sure that I had a great living she sacrificed her time and became a correction officer. When she first started out, she used to work the 3-11 shift, and there'd be nights and days where I’d go without seeing her. The only times I would see her is when she got her day off. And it would rotate. Sometimes she would get three days off, sometimes she would get four, depending on the week. So it was very…It made me wanna go even harder in life because if she’s doing this for me, then I can definitely do it for myself, and my family.
Robert: Did you grow up with your dad too?
Dontae: Um. I didn't grow up with my dad in my life. He actually lived in the same town as me, but he didn't uphold to the father responsibilities. But even to this day my mom always told me to never hold grudges. So after I graduated undergrad I extended my hand out to him, because he’s still my father and I still wanna seek his knowledge to become a better man.
Robert: I was in a similar boat too. I didn’t meet my father. Um, I never met my father actually. Do you feel like having one parent…Did you feel positive about that? Do you feel like it made you better, or did you feel like there were any setbacks for you?
Dontae: Um. I definitely think it helped me out a lot, as far as just having that personal strength and grind, ‘cause I always had a little grudge towards people who had both parents, so I always thought, you know, if there’s two people parents and they’re doing well then I’m gonna do well with just one and make my story even better, and just to see my mom’s face happy knowing that she’s by herself just makes me even happier.
Robert: What was your favorite sport growing up?
Dontae: My favorite sport growing up was baseball, because that was the best sport I was at. I actually, when I was in little league I wasn't very good, but one of my closest friends now till this day he used to make fun of me every time during summer league, like You’re terrible. Like, why you keep playing? Like, just stop playing, you’re making us lose. And I spoke to my mom about it after. Im like, you know, I wanna quit because my friend said that. She was like, ‘Don’t ever let anybody deter you from doing something,’ and there that day, I just kept playing and surprisingly got really good at it and won the county championship when I was 18.
Robert: That’s great. I’ve seen you playing basketball in the Archbold Gymnasium. Do you have any hopes to maybe walk on the team?
Dontae: Yeah, I actually plan on trying out, because, you know, I’m at Syracuse University, a D1 college. It’s like, why not? Like, sports is my passion, and I’m in better shape than I was in high school. And I’m like, I play with two preferred walk ons, and I’ve actually won both games. Scored, played great defense. So, and I’m 23 years old, so I feel that I can definitely outplay a 17 or 18-year-old for a spot.
Robert: Do you feel like your experience here so far has been positive? And what do you hope to achieve once you graduate?
Dontae: My experience here so far has been positive. I won’t like, honestly. I feel like I haven’t really learned anything that I haven’t known since, after working for a year, I feel like it’s kind of the same concept. You know, you come to class and do your work. Um, but I feel once the boot camp is over and everything is done being crammed that a lot more will be done. Um, I wanna, once I’m done with this program, I definitely wanna do play-by-play, and I hope, I hope to see myself in a few years as a main play-by-play for a big TV network. And once I achieve that, I wanna own BET, and make my own sports branch of BET.
Robert: Which sport would you prefer to cover?
Dontae: I would prefer to cover basketball, just because, such the fast pace, and the change of the game, and there’s just so many more aspects, like being from New York, the mecca of basketball. I just wanna see because I feel soon the Knicks will get a championship and being a part of New York and seeing that as a community. Like I can be a fan and also a journalist and a analyst at the same time, because even if you look at Stephen A. [Smith], he says he’s a fan of the Knicks, and I feel like now there’s nothing wrong with as a analyst to say who your favorite team is.
Robert: Thank you, Dontae, and I wish you the best of luck during your experience here at Syracuse.
Dontae: Thank you.
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