Chester E. "Chipper" Harris Jr. (August 30, 1962 – May 26, 2018) was an American basketball player, best known for his college career at

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the mericanrevolution." It enrolls nearly 5,000 students and offers 60 b ...

in Pennsylvania, where he was the ECAC Metro Conference co-Player of the Year for the 1983–84 season. Harris came to Robert Morris (RMU) in 1980 after a high school career at Valley High School in his native New Kensington, Pennsylvania. He led the school to the 1979 Pennsylvania state championship. At Robert Morris, Harris teamed with backcourt mate Forest Grant to lead the Colonials from a 3–17 record in their freshman years to back-to back NCAA tournament appearances the next two seasons. Harris, a defensive standout, unofficially led the nation in steals in his junior and senior seasons (the NCAA began officially recording the statistic two years later). Harris was the Most Valuable Player of the 1984 ECAC Metro tournament (now the Northeast Conference) and in his senior season was named first-team all-conference and co-player of the year with Robert Jackson of St. Francis and

Carey Scurry Carey Scurry (born December 4, 1962) is an American professional basketball player. A forward from Long Island University, Scurry played three seasons (1985–1988) in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Utah Jazz and ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. He left RMU as the school's all-time leader in points and steals (although his scoring mark was eclipsed ten years later). He an inaugural member of the Robert Morris Ring of Honor. Following the close of his college career, Harris was drafted by the

Kansas City Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

in the seventh round (148th pick) of the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

, but did not play in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

. He played a season for the

New Jersey Jammers The New Jersey Jammers, known also as the Jersey Jammers, was a professional basketball in the United States Basketball League (USBL). The team was a charter franchise of the USBL in 1985. In 1985, the Jammers played home games at Lakewood High ...

in the

United States Basketball League The United States Basketball League (USBL) was a professional men's spring basketball league. The league was formed in 1985 and ceased operations in 2008. The USBL started in 1985 as one of the first basketball leagues to play a late-spring to ...

(USBL), and spent some time playing overseas. Harris died on May 26, 2018, of complications from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

at the age of 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Chipper 1962 births 2018 deaths 20th-century African-American sportspeople American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Deaths from diabetes Kansas City Kings draft picks People from New Kensington, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Point guards Robert Morris Colonials men's basketball players Shooting guards