Ever since Iyon Harris ‘26 was a young boy, he had a basketball in his hand. Before moving to Iowa City, Harris grew up in Chicago. His love for basketball first blossomed when he took a walk to the local park in Chicago.
“I first started playing basketball when I was four years old. My mom took me to a park called Passion in Chicago. When I saw a lot of older kids playing basketball, I immediately fell in love with it,” Harris said.
Another one of his inspirations for the game of basketball was Chicago Bulls player and MVP Derrick Rose. Harris, being from Chicago, loved watching Rose on television and idolized him throughout his childhood. He would try to model his own game after Rose because of how much he inspired him and his passion for the game of basketball. Rose was a high-flying electric point guard for the Bulls, which reflects upon Harris’ game. He was dunking as early as thirteen years old, and during his sophomore year, he recorded five dunks in two games. Harris also relates to Rose in that he is recovering from a severe injury, just like Rose had to do throughout his NBA career.
“Derrick Rose has always been my favorite player in the NBA. Being from the same city as where I’m from makes it easy to look up to him. Even with all of his injuries, he never gave up on his dreams,” Harris said.
Although Harris started his life playing basketball, he has grown to love football more. He started playing tackle football in middle school and continued through his high school career. In his junior season, Harris played both cornerback and wide receiver. He led the team in yards per catch with 23.6 and was also tied for second most touchdowns amongst receivers with three. Harris also had 12 solo tackles as a cornerback and one interception. At the end of the season, Harris was named first-team all-MVC.
“My junior season was really fun. My coach expected a lot out of me, playing both offense and defense, but I loved it. One of my favorite memories was beating number one Bettendorf; that was a lot of fun,” Harris said.
Being one of the statistical leaders for the football team, Harris had high hopes for his final season as a little hawk. Unfortunately, before the first game of the season, he broke his foot, sidelining him for the entirety of the season.
“I was hurt mentally. I worked so hard every day to be the best player I could be for my teammates. I wanted so much for all the seniors and my teammates to have a winning season, and I felt that if I was on the field, I could’ve helped with that,” Harris said.
Though Harris was told he would be out for the season, he was able to return for two plays in their final game of the season and ended up catching a two-point conversion to help the team defeat Ottumwa. Harris plans on continuing his football career and playing at the collegiate level.
“He was really enjoyable to coach and was a kid who loved to be challenged. The best thing he brought as a player was his ability to show great leadership, the older he got with the younger kids. He was a big reason why our culture continued to grow this season, even though our record didn’t indicate it,” Head Football Coach Mitch Moore said.
After Harris learned he would be out for the majority of his senior football season, he became extremely focused on making the most out of his senior basketball season. As a junior, Harris was one of the most influential players on an improving City High basketball team. He played in every game for the team and started in about half of them. He averaged just under five points per game.
“I am excited for this upcoming season. On the court, I want to make my teammates better, help the team win games, and make sure we’re all focused on our goals. Last year was a step in the right direction, and this year we are going to build on it,” Harris said.
This season, the team is returning ten seniors, and with Harris as one of the leaders, he hopes to improve on a ten-win season from a year ago.
“You can tell that Iyon started playing basketball at a young age because his skills are ahead of other players his age. Iyon is very coachable. He listens, works hard, and applies what we go over in practice. He’s very supportive of his teammates and even helps coach them during our fall league,” Head Basketball Coach Bill McTaggart said.
