As Sencire Harris gears up for his first season with the Mountaineers, he was asked about his past.
Harris, like almost all of his new teammates, transferred to WVU this offseason. However, he did not come alone.
Amani Hansberry also came to West Virginia from Illinois along with associate head coach Chester Frazier. Frazier had recruited the two to Illinois and now gets to coach them in Morgantown.
When asked about why he decided to transfer to West Virginia, Harris mentioned Frazier but also said that head coach Darian DeVries, the fans and being closer to home were factors in his decision.
“It just happened. Obviously, [Frazier] is here and he was my recruiter when I was at Illinois. But I chose West Virginia (because) I think that DeVries is a great coach,” Harris said. “I think most important was like the fans here. I think they were great, lovely. Like a lot of people [were] reaching out to me, I thought that was like home. And I’m closer to home so I think that’s just way better.”
Harris is coming off a season in which he chose to redshirt at Illinois after playing as a true freshman. Harris explained his decision to redshirt in 2023-2024.
“To better myself. (I) think when I was going into my freshman year, I [thought] I was a defensive guy but I thought like to myself like I wanted to be more than just a defensive guy, (so) that I can help offensively. And I just, I think I took that time to expand my game on the scout team and just keep building myself to have more confidence in my game.”
Harris started for West Virginia in their exhibition against UCharleston (DII). In 16 minutes, he scored nine points, grabbed three rebounds, had two blocks and a steal.
The redshirt sophomore officially begins his Mountaineer career Monday, when West Virginia opens their season against Robert Morris.
