Q&A with Joe Harris

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How have you adjusted over the past few weeks to playing with the cast on your left hand?

I am getting a lot more comfortable with it. Obviously it was tough to adjust to it at first, but with each game and each practice it feels better. Injuries happen and you just need to overcome them and play as best you can with them.

How has your second season at Virginia been different than your first season?

The experience from last year has really helped this year. Having that whole year under your belt, when I had a chance to play a lot, I was able to learn a lot. The experiences I had last year were really beneficial and have helped me be a better player this season. Each year you grow and mature as a player, so each year you will see those signs of improvement.

As a strong 3-point shooter, how much have you been able to learn from having a head coach who is still the NCAA’s all-time career 3-point percentage record holder?

It is a great to be able to learn from someone like that. Coach Bennett, and all of our coaches, do a great job of coaching the guards. They have us do a lot of individual work on skills and shooting. Coach is such a great shooter himself and we have all benefitted from his knowledge about shooting.

Earlier this season the team played at Seattle and there were several hundred fans from your hometown of Chelan that attended. What was that game like for you?

It was a cool experience. It was nice to see a lot of friends and family that don’t normally get a chance to see me play in person very often. It was great to get back to Washington and have a chance to play a game with all of them supporting me.

As the regular season is coming to an end, what is the key to finishing the season strong?

We have to just keep battling. We have had some injuries that we have had to overcome, but we have to continue to fight through the adversity. We have a few big regular season games left and want to be playing well to have a good run in the postseason.