Betsy Harris (born April 2, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former professional player.

Betsy Harris
East Central Community College
PositionHead coach
Personal information
Born (1972-04-02) April 2, 1972 (age 52)
Jacksonville, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Career information
High schoolDecatur
(Decatur, Mississippi )
CollegeAlabama (1990–1994)
Playing career1994–1999
PositionGuard
Coaching career1999–present
Career history
As player:
1995Oviedo
1995–1996Breiðablik
As coach:
1999–2001West Alabama (assistant)
2001–2002Troy (assistant)
2002–2003East Central (assistant)
2003–2010West Alabama (assistant)
2010–2011Meridian (assistant)
2011–2014Coastal Georgia
2014–2022Florida Southern
2022–presentEast Central
Career highlights and awards
As player:

As coach:

  • SSC champion (2018, 2019)
  • WBCA South Region Coach of the Year (2019)
  • SSC Coach of the Year

Early life

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Harris was born in Jacksonville, Florida.[1] She went to Decatur High School, in Decatur, Mississippi, where she won the state championship in 1990.[2]

College career

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Harris played college basketball for the University of Alabama from 1990 to 1994. She led Alabama to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip the NCAA Division I Final Four in 1994. She earned Second-Team All-SEC honors as a senior in 1994 and was also named the MVP of the Midwest Regional and earned a spot on the 1994 Final Four All-Tournament Team.[3]

Alabama statistics

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Source[4]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP GS FG FGA FG% 3FG 3FGA 3PA% FT FTA FT% RBG APG BPG SPG Points PPG
1990–91 Alabama 29 22 105 277 37.9% 43 109 39.4% 83 107 77.6% 0.55 1.86 0.07 1.21 336 11.59
1991–92 Alabama 30 6 108 289 37.4% 49 148 33.1% 64 82 78.0% 2.53 1.43 0.00 1.23 329 10.97
1992–93 Alabama 31 31 125 292 42.8% 89 208 42.8% 48 62 77.4% 3.52 1.29 0.06 1.42 387 12.48
1993–94 Alabama 33 33 156 385 40.5% 91 264 34.5% 66 89 74.2% 2.97 1.52 0.09 0.88 470 14.24
Career 123 92 494 1243 39.7% 272 729 37.3% 261 340 76.8% 2.43 1.52 0.06 1.18 1522 12.37

Professional career

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After graduating in 1994, Harris went on to play four years professionally in Greece (Apollon), Iceland (Breiðablik), Spain (CD Universidad de Oviedo), Sweden (Ockelbo BBK), and Switzerland (ABB Baden).[3]

After starting the year playing in Spain,[1] Harris signed with reigning Icelandic champions Breiðablik in August 1995.[5] She helped Breiðablik win the Icelandic Super Cup[6] and reach the playoffs.[7] After the season, where she averaged 26.6 points per game,[8] she was named the Foreign Player of the Year.[9]

In 1998, she was invited to training camp with the WNBA's Detroit Shock.[3]

Coaching career

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In 2014, Harris was hired as the head coach of Florida Southern women's basketball team. In 2019, she won her second-consecutive Sunshine State Conference championship.[2] During her stint with Florida Southern, she was a three-time Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year and the WBCA South Region Coach of the Year in 2019. She stepped down from her post in August 2022 and took over as head coach at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Skúli Unnar Sveinsson (14 November 1995). "Kann mjög vel við mig hérna". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b Elton Hayes (12 March 2019). "29 years to the day". Meridian Star. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Betsy Harris Named Moccasins New Womens Basketball Coach". fscmocs.com. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. ^ "2016-17 Alabama Women's Basketball Media Guide (PDF)" (PDF). University of Alabama Athletics. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. ^ "Nýr erlendur leikmaður til Blika". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 25 August 1995. p. C1. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. ^ Ægir Már Kárason (25 September 1995). "Njarðvík og Breiðablik sigruðu". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). p. 27. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Verðum að vera mjög grimmar i vörninni". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 March 1996. p. 42. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ^ "1. deild kvenna - Breiðablik". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Teitur og Anna María best". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 1 May 1996. p. D1. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  10. ^ Robert Magobet (5 August 2022). "Florida Southern women's basketball coach Betsy Harris steps down". The Ledger. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  11. ^ "Betsy Harris Named ECCC Women's Basketball Head Coach". ecccathletics.com. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
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