DAYTON, Ohio - University of Dayton women's basketball head coach Jim Jabir has announced the hiring of Simon Harris to fill the assistant coach opening on his staff. Harris has spent the last three seasons as a graduate assistant for the Dayton men's basketball team, working under head coach Archie Miller.
"We are very excited to have Simon join our staff," commented Jabir about adding Harris to his staff. "He brings exceptional knowledge and enthusiasm. Simon has a great personality and will be a strong recruiter. The time he spent with coach Miller will prove invaluable as he settles into our program and begins working with our players."
Harris replaces Adeniyi Amadou who recently departed Dayton for a new opportunity.
"I am extremely grateful to have to opportunity to stay in the Dayton basketball family which has embraced me since day one when I arrived to work with coach Miller," said Harris. "Coach Jabir has now given me an opportunity to develop my skills as a full-time assistant and to achieve my lifetime pursuit. I cannot wait to get started and aid in this quality program that coach has built here at UD."
In his three seasons with the UD men's team, Harris helped with the development of front-court players with on-court and individual instruction. He also worked on advanced scouting for the coaching staff, putting together scouting reports, game analysis and film breakdown and was an integral part of the team's film exchange program. Harris was involved with the underclassmen recruiting process working with high school freshmen and sophomores.
Prior to joining Archie Miller's staff for the 2011-12 season, Harris had stints at Tryon Title, GoTickets.com and with the Dallas Cowboys during 2010-11. As a marketing executive at Tryon, he was the point of contact with both new and current customers. Harris managed client concerns and helped them navigate race-day issues at GoTickets.com, NASCAR's exclusive ticket provider. He also gave professional football a shot with the Dallas Cowboys, despite not playing the sport in high school or college. Harris practiced under the instruction of the Cowboys' coaching staff.
Harris was a two-year letter-winner for the NC State men's basketball after sitting out one season following his transfer from Elon. He graduated from NC State in 2008 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. Harris then played one season of professional basketball during 2009-10 in Ireland following his collegiate career at NC State. He played for An Cearnog Nua Moycullen near Galway, Ireland.
Originally from Pittsburgh, Harris spent two years at Central Catholic High School before relocating to Raleigh, N.C. Under the direction of coach Scott McInnes, he spent his junior and senior seasons at Millbrook High School. Harris played AAU ball with the Kappa Magic, winning an AAU National Championship with his 2002 squad that included Chris Paul and Reyshawn Terry.
Harris is the son of Larry Harris, a collegiate basketball coach for 27 years with stops at Duquesne, Oregon State, Washington State, NC State and Rhode Island, and Stacey Harris. He has two sisters in Raquel, a junior at UNCG, and Mercedes, a sophomore on the women's basketball team at LIU Brooklyn.
