Ae’Rianna Harris has not only a nickname, but an entire catchphrase.
It was in eighth grade, shortly after the forward has started to menace opponents by rejecting their shots, when her dad LaJuan Harris started calling his daughter “Block Party.”
And family friend and AAU coach Casey Shirrels responded “Everybody’s invited.”
“They’ve been arguing over who made it up for the longest time,” she said. “At first, I didn’t know what he meant, but then it clicked for me and I was like, ‘OK, yeah, I like that name.”
Now, Harris has brought the Block Party to 900 John R. Wooden Drive, Mackey Arena.
When Purdue (16-11 overall, 7-6 in the Big Ten) hosts Iowa (16-10, 7-6) at noon Sunday, Harris might break Purdue’s freshman blocks record. The 6-foot-1 freshman is tied for third in the Big Ten in blocks per game, averaging 2.0 per outing (54 through 27 games), easily on pace to break Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton’s freshman record of 56. And she ranked third in the country in total blocks, behind Alabama’s Ashley Knight (59) and Oklahoma’s Nancy Mulkey (56).
Whereas the 6-2 Wisdom-Hylton used her length to reject shots — the current Purdue assistant set the program record for career blocks, with 281 from 2005-09 — Harris uses her athleticism.
“Athleticism helps, but she has great timing, great hands and she anticipates really well,” said Wisdom-Hylton, who averaged about five minutes more per game as a rookie in 2005 than Harris’ 20.3 this season. “You put all those together, you’re in for some good blocks and a good show.”
It started years ago for Harris. Toward the end of seventh grade season, when she was still playing guard, Harris came by rejections almost by accident.
Playing for Lynhurst against Southport, the Giants’ perimeter defense broke down, leaving Harris as the last line.
“One of our guards got beat, so I was like, ‘Oh, let me try to stop her,’” said Harris, who went on to attend Ben Davis and Lawrence North for high school. “But I hit the ball and I didn’t even realize that was something you could do.
“But I went for it and the crowd went wild. I was like, ‘OK, I think I can get used to this,’ so I tried it again and they didn’t call a foul: ‘OK, I think I can work with this.’”
It helped when the following summer Harris shot up three inches, then converted to a post. That eighth grade year, she earned a reputation for blocking shots and a nickname/catchphrase.
It’s stuck ever since.
Center Nora Kiesler, even at five inches taller than Harris, has felt the brunt of the freshman’s ability.
“You notice it right off the bat, anytime you play with or against her,” Kiesler said. “We knew coming in that she was a shot blocker and then in the first couple workouts we could tell that she really had this thing down.”
But Harris’ impact in her first season at Purdue has come in more than blocks. She’s become a viable offensive player, something that might not have been anticipated before. Harris, though, was pressed into service when Bree Horrocks was injured for the season. And Kiesler too missed six games in the middle of the year.
A few others have missed single games as well, pushing Harris into the starting lineup. In five starts this season, Harris has averaged 11 points, 7.4 rebounds and three blocks.
“We knew there was something there (offensively),” Wisdom-Hylton said. “Not that she wasn’t taught in high school or AAU, but the game is just different. You teach certain things differently and she’s very coachable. She picks things up quickly. When you tell her something, you don’t usually have to tell her three or four times. She gets it and adjusts, that’s been huge for her development as well.”
