April 2, 2008

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara basketball star Alex Harris, the co-Player of the Year in the Big West Conference, will take part in the 2008 National Association of Basketball Coaches-DiGiorno College All-Star game on Friday, April 4, at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The game will be played on the same floor as the NCAA Final Four for the first time in its history.

Harris, who averaged 20.2 points per game this season, led UCSB to a school record 23 wins and a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. He completed his career as the Gauchos' all-time leading scorer with 1,696 points. He also ranks highly, or at the top, of several other career lists.

The Alameda, Calif., native becomes the sixth UCSB player to take part in the game. He joins Brian Shaw, Eric McArthur, Gary Gray, Lucius Davis, and Raymond Tutt, all former Gauchos who played in the game. Tutt was the most recent to play, doing so in 1998.

"This is a great honor for Alex," said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. "He worked so hard, especially over the last two years, and this game will be a nice reward for him. I'm sure it will be a fantastic experience."

Harris will play on the American Team, coached by recently retired South Carolina coach Dave Odom. His teammates will include David Padgett (Louisville), Robbie Cowgill (Washington State), Brian Randle (Illinois), James Gist (Maryland), Brian Butch (Wisconsin), Charles Rhodes (Mississippi State), Robert McKiver (Houston), Jaycee Carroll (Utah State), Sundiata Gaines (Georgia), and Mike Green (Butler).

The National Team, which will be coached by Clemson's Oliver Purnell, will include Jonathan Wallace (Georgetown), Marcelus Kemp (Nevada), Cliff Hammonds (Clemson), DeMarcus Nelson (Duke), Ramel Bradley (Kentucky), Shan Foster (Vanderbilt), Will Daniels (Rhode Island), Aleks Maric (Nebraska), Josh Duncan (Xavier), Joe Jones (Texas A&M), and Jason Thompson (Rider).