Thanksgiving is a week away: The time for seeing family, reminiscing on the things we are grateful for and eating many different kinds of food. Jamell Harris, number 32 on the Eastern Michigan University men’s basketball team, said he’s definitely going to enjoy the day.
“Food is my best friend,” he said.
Harris said he has liked basketball since he was young, but didn’t always play the sport.
“I’ve always liked it, but I didn’t begin to get serious about it until my eighth grade year in middle school,” he said.
Harris is a communications major, but still sees basketball in his future.
“I want to continue to play basketball on a professional level,” Harris said. “After that I want to get
into coaching.”
Harris was involved in two other sports before deciding to stick with basketball.
“I played little league baseball up until I was 12,” Harris said. “I also ran track in middle school.”
Harris is a big role player in the kitchen as well as on the court.
“I like to cook, or at least experiment trying to cook,” he said.
Harris’s favorite type of food is Mexican, specifically burritos from his favorite restaurant, Chipotle. Harris is also a fan of eating at DC-1, more commonly known as the Dining Commons.
“Sometimes it may be hit or miss,” Harris said. “But you can never go wrong with all you can eat.”
Harris said he likes to have fun.
“I’m a person that loves to be around other people and laugh and have a good time,” he said.
Harris’ teammate, senior guard Derek Thompson, agreed.
“[Harris] is a huge jokester,” Thompson said. “All the time, that’s his thing. He tells a lot of jokes. He’s a pretty funny guy, great personality. He’s a fun guy to be around.”
Growing up, Harris was a fan of the Nickelodeon cartoon “Rugrats.” Now, his taste in TV shows goes along with his well-established sense of humor. His current favorite is the FOX hit comedy “Family Guy.”
Harris also enjoys movies that have gotten their start in an animated way. His favorites are the “Transformers” series as well as Marvel super hero movies such as “Iron Man” and “Thor.”
Harris said that he enjoys warmer weather, not the cold that has surrounded us recently. More specifically, he said that his favorite month is May.
“That’s the month of my birthday,” Harris said. “Also the fact that it begins to get warm outside and school is let out.”
Harris also has a serious side. He said that the accomplishment that he’s most proud of so far is coming here to EMU on a scholarship to play Division 1 basketball.
Harris is also a family man and said that his mother is his biggest role model.
“She has instilled in me many things about life,” Harris said. “Because of how hard I’ve seen her work being a single mother with two children. That isn’t always easy, especially with two growing boys and the economy the way it is today.”
