The Daily Orange

Media Credit: Kris Wilson

It became a common sight in practice this season. During an especially difficult defensive drill, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman would shrilly blow his whistle and storm onto the court, his fiery eyes angrily fixated atop the 2-3 zone that had just broken down.

Usually, Tasha Harris knew she did something wrong before Hillsman got to her, and she would sullenly saunter over to the sideline. If she didn't, Harris figured it out when she was at the front of the sprinting groups assigned as punishment for the mistake.

And when she was at her lowest point, completely out of breath with her head down, disappointed because she once again forgot which way to slide, that's when Cintia Johnson would step in.

Hillsman compares the relationship between Johnson and Harris to that of a mother and daughter. There's Johnson, the junior point guard who started every game last season, willingly accepting a bench role for the freshman Harris, one of the highlights of Hillsman's touted recruiting class.

Johnson is a defensive specialist; Harris came into college more concerned with making flashy passes. Johnson dives on the floor for loose balls more than anybody on the team; Harris is still learning she's allowed to get her uniform dirty. But with Harris' raw talent and Johnson's mentoring and coaching, Harris has quietly become a competent floor general capable of leading the Orange to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

The freshman leads the team in assists, with 3.83 per game, and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team.

"I knew for myself she's new to the program, and that she doesn't know as much as me being a veteran here for two years," Johnson said. "I just wanted to help her with certain things, with plays, with how to do things on the court. I would just take her aside after she did something wrong and say, 'You have to do this.'"

For Harris, running an offense was never a problem, and she stepped in right away by starting all 30 games at point guard. Hillsman has entrusted her all year with much of the ball-handling duties, and she's rewarded him with almost four assists a night, including an 11-assist performance against Seton Hall on Feb. 16.

But defense was another story altogether. During her impressive high school career for St. Michael Academy in the Bronx, Harris didn't worry too much about the defensive end. Her team was so good it would just outscore its opponents, so everyone could take a collective breather on defense.

Continued...

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