Shawn stays on the job

Hurly-burly Shawn Daniels wasn’t the first choice as Talk ‘N’ Text’s import in the PBA Fiesta Conference. In fact, he was signed only after top pick Mike Harris of Rice University backed out for a chance to return to the NBA and second option Eric Hicks of the University of Cincinnati looked gimpy in the knee during a two-week tryout here.

That’s why Daniels is working extra hard to prove himself to coach Chot Reyes. So far, the jury’s still out on Daniels and with Talk ‘N’ Text off to a 1-2 start, he’s got a lot more proving to do.

It’s not as if Daniels, 31, doesn’t know what it takes to win in the PBA. This is his fifth Fiesta Conference, his first four with the Air21/Burger King franchise. Daniels led Air21 to third place in 2005-06 and Burger King also to third place last season. Breaking into the finals would be a dream come true for the baby-faced giant.

Reyes was all set to suit up Hicks until he showed a lack of mobility at practice.

“He came for two weeks but we didn’t like the way his knee was holding up,” said Reyes. “Then, Shawn became available so we brought him in.” Daniels had just been released by the Lawton Fort Sill Cavalry in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) and looked for another tour of duty in the PBA.

Reyes said the Texters would’ve been unstoppable if only Harris got on board. At first, Reyes didn’t want to disclose that he was in talks with Harris to avert a bidding war.

“We didn’t want to divulge his name because we were still hoping just in case but the plan now is to keep Shawn for good unless the team falters, of course,” continued Reyes.

As it turned out, Harris was signed by the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the NBA season last March 24. He had previously been inked to 10-day contracts, playing two games with the Rockets and five with the Washington Wizards. His third call-up to the NBA was for the rest of the campaign, a reward for his outstanding stats with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League. Harris averaged a league-high 27.1 points and 10.5 rebounds in 34 games, including 31 starts, with the Vipers.

With Harris lost to the NBA, Reyes said the decision is to stick with Daniels. And it might just be the motivation that will drive the former Utah State center to take Talk ‘N’ Text to the next level.

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“The Rockets signed Harris to a guaranteed contract until next season so Shawn stays for now,” said Reyes. As for the locals, Reyes said there are no plans to make mid-conference roster changes. “We’re still struggling to blend the new guys in - too many turnovers,” sighed Reyes.

Before the conference began, Reyes shipped out Yancy de Ocampo to Barangay Ginebra and RenRen Ritualo to Air21 then took in Mark Yee, Aaron Aban and J. R. Quinahan from Burger King. Yee, an undrafted free agent, has played major minutes so far as a stopper and is contributing positive results. Aban is also used for defense while Quinahan has still to play.

Harris would’ve been quite an attraction in the PBA. He’s one of only 12 Rice cagers to play in either the NBA or ABA with Ricky Pierce the most prominent of the former Owls. In 2007-08, he played 19 games for the Rockets in his NBA debut. Like Yee, Harris was undrafted as a pro.

But there’s no doubt Harris is a heckuva player. In 2007-08, he averaged 24.3 points and 11.6 rebounds in only 28 minutes a game with Dong Guan of the Chinese league. His other overseas assignments were in the Ukraine and Kuwait leagues.

Harris finished his four-year Rice varsity career as the school’s all-time leader in points (2,014) and rebounds (1,111). His high school jersey number was retired at Hillsboro, Texas. In 2008, Harris joined the Rockets relief efforts in distributing supplies to victims of Hurricane Ike.

Because of his size and 270-pound frame, Daniels isn’t able to defend against imports who attack from the outside. He’s basically a post defender. Against the likes of Ginebra’s Awvee Storey, Coca-Cola’s James Penny, Sta. Lucia Realty’s Anthony Johnson or San Miguel’s Gabe Freeman, Daniels is better off guarding somebody else at the post and letting his big local teammates take on the more versatile imports. That’s a major chink in Daniels’ armor although in a match-up against Rain or Shine’s Jai Lewis, he’s got a definite edge.

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If Talk ‘N’ Text fails to arrest its skid, Daniels may not be around for too long. As a veteran, he knows an import’s job is never secure, particularly in the PBA. If Talk ‘N’ Text isn’t able to win consistently with Daniels in the middle, expect a change sooner than later. Too bad the NBA scouts are just as sharp as Reyes – they kept Harris from travelling all the way to Manila.

“I contemplated going overseas this year but this is a better opportunity,” said Harris quoted by Austin Burton in Dime Magazine (March 2010). “It’s a better look for me. I was in a similar situation before. It’s out-of-sight, out-of-mind when you’re overseas. If an NBA team wants to get somebody immediately in the middle of the season, there’s a lot of paperwork, flights, a whole bunch of other things. Overseas, you get paid pretty well but my ultimate goal is to play in the NBA.”

Harris said now that he’s back in the NBA, he won’t make the same mistakes as before.

“I was undersized at my position,” said the 6-5, 235-pound guard-forward. “I should have been working on small-forward and power-forward skills; instead, I looked at it like I was a five. I should have worked on showing more versatility. All I did was power-up and dunk.”

Powering up and dunking are what Harris would’ve done in the PBA.