{{short description|American basketball coach and player (born 1972)}} {{Infobox basketball biography |name = Betsy Harris |image = |caption = |league = |team = |position = |birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1972|04|02}} |birth_place = Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. |height_cm = 178 |weight_kg = |number = |high_school = Decatur (Decatur, Mississippi) |college = Alabama (1990–1994) |career_start = 1994 |career_end = 1999 |coach_start = 1999 |coach_end = |career_number = |career_position = Guard |draft_league = |draft_year = |draft_round = |draft_pick = |draft_team = |years1 = 1995 |team1 = Oviedo |years2 = 1995–1996 |team2 = Breiðablik |cyears1 = 1999–2001 |cteam1 = West Alabama (assistant) |cyears2 = 2001–2002 |cteam2 = Troy (assistant) |cyears3 = 2002–2003 |cteam3 = East Central (assistant) |cyears4 = 2003–2010 |cteam4 = West Alabama (assistant) |cyears5 = 2010–2011 |cteam5 = Meridian (assistant) |cyears6 = 2011–2014 |cteam6 = Coastal Georgia |cyears7 = 2014–2022 |cteam7 = Florida Southern |cyears8 = 2022–2024 |cteam8 = East Central |highlights = '''As player:''' *Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year (1996) *Icelandic Super Cup (1995) '''As coach:''' *SSC champion (2018, 2019) * WBCA South Region Coach of the Year (2019) *3× SSC Coach of the Year | medaltemplates = }} '''Betsy Harris''' (born April 2, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. One of the first foreign professional women's players in Iceland, she was named the inaugural Úrvalsdeild Foreign Player of the Year in 1996.
==Early life== Harris was born in Jacksonville, Florida.<ref name="mbl-1995-11-14">{{cite news |author1=Skúli Unnar Sveinsson |title=Kann mjög vel við mig hérna |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1841571 |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Morgunblaðið |date=14 November 1995 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> She went to Decatur High School, in Decatur, Mississippi, where she won the state championship in 1990.<ref name="29-years">{{cite news |author1=Elton Hayes |title=29 years to the day |url=https://www.meridianstar.com/sports/decatur-alumna-betsy-harris-coaches-team-to-conference-title-on/article_d56aee22-452e-11e9-b64a-67b52ed60dc5.html |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Meridian Star |date=12 March 2019}}</ref>
==College career== Harris played college basketball for the University of Alabama from 1990 to 1994. She led Alabama to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip the NCAA Division I Final Four in 1994. She earned Second-Team All-SEC honors as a senior in 1994 and was also named the MVP of the Midwest Regional and earned a spot on the 1994 Final Four All-Tournament Team.<ref name="fscmocs-2014">{{cite news |title=Betsy Harris Named Moccasins New Womens Basketball Coach |url=http://fscmocs.com/sports/wbkb/2013-14/releases/2014-06-30_5421.html |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=fscmocs.com |date=30 June 2014}}</ref>
=== Alabama statistics === Source<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rolltide.com/documents/2016/11/30/2016_17_Alabama_WBB_Media_Guide_Web.pdf|title=2016-17 Alabama Women's Basketball Media Guide (PDF)|website=University of Alabama Athletics|language=en|access-date=2019-12-12}}</ref> {{NBA player statistics legend}} {| class="wikitable" !Year !Team !GP !GS !FG !FGA !FG% !3FG !3FGA !3PA% !FT !FTA !FT% !RBG !APG !BPG !SPG !Points !PPG |- |1990–91 |Alabama |29 |22 |105 |277 |37.9% |43 |109 |39.4% |'''83''' |'''107''' |77.6% |0.55 |'''1.86''' |0.07 |1.21 |336 |11.59 |- |1991–92 |Alabama |30 |6 |108 |289 |37.4% |49 |148 |33.1% |64 |82 |'''78.0%''' |2.53 |1.43 |0.00 |1.23 |329 |10.97 |- |1992–93 |Alabama |31 |31 |125 |292 |'''42.8%''' |89 |208 |'''42.8%''' |48 |62 |77.4% |'''3.52''' |1.29 |0.06 |'''1.42''' |387 |12.48 |- |1993–94 |Alabama |'''33''' |'''33''' |'''156''' |'''385''' |40.5% |'''91''' |'''264''' |34.5% |66 |89 |74.2% |2.97 |1.52 |0.09 |0.88 |'''470''' |'''14.24''' |- |Career | |123 |92 |494 |1243 |39.7% |272 |729 |37.3% |261 |340 |76.8% |2.43 |1.52 |0.06 |1.18 |1522 |12.37 |}
==Professional career== After graduating in 1994, Harris went on to play four years professionally in Greece (Apollon), Iceland (Breiðablik), Spain (CD Universidad de Oviedo), Sweden (Ockelbo BBK), and Switzerland (ABB Baden).<ref name="fscmocs-2014"/>
After starting the year playing in Spain,<ref name="mbl-1995-11-14"/> Harris signed with reigning Icelandic champions Breiðablik in August 1995.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nýr erlendur leikmaður til Blika |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1836154 |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Morgunblaðið |date=25 August 1995 |page=C1 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> She helped Breiðablik win the Icelandic Super Cup<ref>{{cite news |author1=Ægir Már Kárason |title=Njarðvík og Breiðablik sigruðu |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2931496 |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Dagblaðið Vísir |date=25 September 1995 |page=27 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> and reach the playoffs.<ref>{{cite news |title=Verðum að vera mjög grimmar i vörninni |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=2938175 |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Dagblaðið Vísir |date=13 March 1996 |page=42 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> After the season, where she averaged 26.6 points per game,<ref>{{cite web |title=1. deild kvenna - Breiðablik |url=http://gamli.kki.is/mot/1500000221_BREIDABLIK__.htm |website=kki.is |publisher=Icelandic Basketball Association |accessdate=22 June 2019 |language=Icelandic}}</ref> she was named the Foreign Player of the Year.<ref>{{cite news |title=Teitur og Anna María best |url=http://timarit.is/view_page_init.jsp?pageId=1853010 |accessdate=21 June 2019 |work=Morgunblaðið |date=1 May 1996 |page=D1 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>
In 1998, she was invited to training camp with the WNBA's Detroit Shock.<ref name="fscmocs-2014"/>
==Coaching career== In 2014, Harris was hired as the head coach of Florida Southern women's basketball team. In 2019, she won her second-consecutive Sunshine State Conference championship.<ref name="29-years"/> During her stint with Florida Southern, she was a three-time Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year and the WBCA South Region Coach of the Year in 2019. She stepped down from her post in August 2022 and took over as head coach at East Central Community College in Decatur, Mississippi.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Robert Magobet |title=Florida Southern women's basketball coach Betsy Harris steps down |url=https://eu.theledger.com/story/sports/2022/08/05/florida-southern-womens-basketball-coach-betsy-harris-steps-down/10238258002/ |access-date=29 December 2022 |work=The Ledger |date=5 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Betsy Harris Named ECCC Women's Basketball Head Coach |url=https://www.ecccathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2022-23/releases/20220801jgl3od |access-date=29 December 2022 |work=ecccathletics.com |date=1 August 2022}}</ref>
In two years at ECCC, she led the Warriors to a 26-27 overall record.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harris Announces Departure from Lady Warrior Basketball Program |url=https://ecccathletics.com/sports/wbkb/2023-24/releases/20240318gvhfjh |access-date=13 June 2025 |work=ecccathletics.com |date=18 March 2024 |language=Icelandic}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://fscmocs.com/sports/wbkb/coaches/Harris_Betsy?view=bio Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190621232116/http://fscmocs.com/sports/wbkb/coaches/Harris_Betsy?view=bio |date=2019-06-21 }} at Florida Southern *[https://www.ecccathletics.com/sports/wbkb/coaches/Betsy_Harris?view=bio Profile] at East Central
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Betsy}} Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:Alabama Crimson Tide women's basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in Iceland Category:American women's basketball coaches Category:American women's basketball players Betsy Harris Category:Florida Southern Moccasins women's basketball coaches Category:Guards (basketball) Category:People from Decatur, Mississippi Category:Troy Trojans women's basketball coaches Betsy Harris