KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Juke Harris has not played a regular season game in orange yet, but the Southeastern Conference’s head coaches already rank him among the better players in the league. The SEC office said Thursday that the Knoxville newcomer made the coaches’ preseason All-SEC second team, giving Tennessee one of the 15 spots on the three preseason teams.
It is the second preseason conference honor for Harris, a junior from Salisbury, N.C., who transferred in from Wake Forest. Media voters had already put him on their preseason first team. This week he was also named to the top 20 preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Award.
Harris joins Florida’s Alex Condon, Kentucky’s Milan Momcilovic, Arkansas guard Jordan Smith Jr. and Texas center Matas Vokietaitis on the second team, which was chosen in voting by the 16 league coaches. Harris and Momcilovic are the only first-year transfers on that unit. Florida forward Thomas Haugh was picked as the preseason SEC Player of the Year.
The 6-foot-7 guard put up big numbers at Wake Forest last season, averaging 21.4 points and 6.5 rebounds while scoring in double figures in all 35 games. He was a second team All-ACC pick and the ACC’s most improved player.
Tennessee has had a rough preseason so far. The Vols dropped an exhibition at home to Xavier, 86-70, and then lost 103-64 at Duke. Harris scored 15 points against Xavier and 10 at Duke.
The games start to count next week. Tennessee opens the regular season Tuesday, Nov. 3, against Wofford at Food City Center, with tipoff at 6 p.m.
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