Senior guard leaves his mark on Riverview boys basketball

The name "Josh Harris" was not listed on the roster for Sarasota School of Arts and Sciences boys basketball in 2019. As a sixth grader, he didn’t make it any further than tryouts.

He was cut. The Tigers didn’t want him. By leaving him off their squad, they sent the message that he simply wasn’t good enough. 

That’s when basketball became something more than just a game for him — a lot more.

“He decided to be serious,” said Jeff Harris, his father. “So he’s done things every day to work toward getting to this point where we’re at now, and beyond.”

It was a humbling moment for the aspiring baller. At the time, it seemed like a setback. But he dedicated himself to his hoop dreams from then onward.

Failures are in the past. Successes define the present.

Josh Harris, now a senior guard for Riverview boys basketball, has put up some of the state’s best numbers this season. He’s averaged a team-high 24.2 points per game with a 47% field-goal percentage and 36% 3-point percentage, as of Jan. 18.

The 6-foot-4 talent stands alone at the top of FHSAA Class 7A with that scoring average. He’s one of just four players in all of 7A to put up 20-plus, per MaxPreps, and ranks T-24th in the state for scoring across eight classifications.

No longer is he fighting to be on a team. In his final season at the high school level, the team runs through him.

“What’s made it most special is just my last time going around and playing with these guys and playing for the school,” Harris said. “I really try to take every game very (seriously) and take everything in, because I won’t ever have this again.”

Photo by Jack Nelson

He was an offensive force in years past, too. After making varsity as a freshman and contributing 3.3 points per game in limited minutes, he became the Rams’ leading scorer one season later.

Sophomore year was his first as a starter and resulted in 12.6 points per game. Then he pushed that mark to 20.1 as a junior — again, spearheading the scoring effort. On Nov. 17, 2025, he became the 13th player in program history to tally 1,000 career points.

“He plays on fire all the time,” said Jeff Harris, who’s also the Riverview coach. “A lot of times, players are afraid of success in the moment, and he’s just unafraid. He’s going to do whatever he has to do to be successful.”

Harris was instrumental in instilling that "whatever it takes" attitude. He grew his own love for the game in South Bend, Indiana, and played at Saginaw Valley State University from 1996 to 2000.

Before Josh Harris was even enrolled in elementary school, Jeff Harris ensured there was a ball in his son’s hands. He gradually taught him what he knew about proper training and preparation.

But it wasn’t just a father’s presence that motivated Josh Harris to stay on the hardwood.

Clifford Harris, his grandfather on his father’s side, became the biggest fan of his young career. He played basketball for Washington High (Indiana) during the 1970s before serving in the U.S. Army and was a regular attendee of Josh Harris’ games until his death in June 2024.

Basketball runs deep in Harris’ blood. It always has. As his childhood in Sarasota evolved into its teenage years, he kept his sights on one school, and one school only.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve wanted to come to (Riverview),” Harris said. “I always set goals that I was going to be one of those guys that they say, ‘He was one of the best players who ever played here.’”

Photo by Jack Nelson

With the Rams, he’s looking to polish off his high school days in a big way. The senior posted 41 points against McKeel Academy on Nov. 29, and not long afterward, set a new season high on Dec. 5 with a 42-piece against Booker.

Those sort of showings, though, put a target on his back. He’s gone from hunter to hunted — now double- and triple-teamed by opposing defenses after years of enjoying open looks.

Harris has regularly been forced to take contested shots in 2025-26, and his father-turned-coach has seen him sink a lot of them.

“He’s getting picked up full-court, full-denial,” said Jeff Harris. “Every gimmick defense that’s out there, we’ve seen, and he’s still producing at this high level. It’s pretty astounding, honestly.”

As of Jan. 16, he holds offers from a pair of NCAA Division III programs in Wabash College and the University of Southern Maine, but his recruitment is “completely open.” He prefers to play somewhere close to home at the next level, if granted the opportunity.

More college coaches have approached Jeff Harris and his staff, but even when they evaluated Josh Harris and loved what they saw, they elected not to extend offers. 

Some of them told him they weren’t taking on any 18-year-olds. Others said they would have to wait until after the season to see how many scholarship spots open up. The Harris family has now seen first-hand what recruiting in the era of name, image and likeness looks like.

Still, Harris is the No. 1 scorer in Class 7A and a standout in Southwest Florida. Has he been undervalued by coaches throughout the process?

“Yeah, you could say that,” Harris said. “It’s just something that will take time, and I’m willing to just keep working and wait for my time to come, because I know it’s going to come.”

His value to the Rams, though, speaks for itself. Their offense revolves around him.

Riverview — unlike SSAS — has no intention of cutting him anytime soon.