Like many young basketball players, Ricky Harris dreamed big.

“At 18 years old, I really thought I was going to be an NBA player,” the Baltimore native said. “But I also knew that after I finished playing basketball, coaching might be something I wanted to get into.”

Harris, who starred at Calvert Hall and UMass, is diving deeper into the latter after finishing the former. After spending two seasons as director of basketball operations at his alma mater, he was named director of player personnel for Maryland on May 30.

Harris replaced Tevon Saddler, who in April was wooed by Nicholls State to become its coach.

Maryland coach Kevin Willard said he first got to know Harris during the April recruiting period. Harris made an impression with Willard, who this past season became the first coach in program history to guide a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first year.

“I wanted to see who was out there, and I wanted to talk to as many people as possible,” Willard said. “When I talked to Ricky, I loved his enthusiasm and his passion, and I loved everything about his background.”

Being employed by the Terps is a dream realized for Harris, who said he grew up watching their games on TV and avidly followed the 2002 team headlined by Juan Dixon, Steve Blake and Chris Wilcox that captured the national championship.

Harris followed his role model Dixon to the Cardinals, where he ranked third in school history in points behind Dixon and Reggie Bryant. He was the Baltimore Catholic League Co-Player of the Year in 2005 after averaging 23 points and six rebounds.

Despite that profile and his affection for Maryland though, Harris said he wasn’t recruited by the coaching staff. He initially committed to Loyola Maryland and former Terps assistant coach Jimmy Patsos before asking Patsos for his release so that he could play at UMass.

“I wasn’t really disappointed because I had other schools that were interested in me,” he said of the Terps’ lack of interest. “And I was one of those kids where I was like, ‘Go where you’re wanted.’”

After amassing 1,960 points and 276 3-point field goals made to rank third in Minutemen history in both categories, Harris was not selected in the 2010 NBA draft and dabbled one season with the Toronto Raptors’ Summer League team in 2013-14. But he embarked on an 11-year career overseas, playing in destinations such as Turkey (his favorite), Argentina, Germany, Israel, Italy and Lithuania (his least favorite).

Harris said he hopes he can encourage current and future Terps players that there is life beyond the NBA.

“If you don’t make the NBA, it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “I was blessed to be able to go overseas and make pretty good money for a while. There’s a lot of guys playing overseas and making millions of dollars and making a lot more money than even some guys on an NBA roster. Being on an NBA team is always going to be a basketball player’s dream, but being overseas opens up your mind.”

As busy as Harris was with his professional career, he usually found time to return to Mark Amatucci’s summer basketball camps at Calvert Hall. Amatucci, who retired as the school’s boys basketball coach in 2021 after 36 years, said Harris’ loyalty has few rivals.

“He would come over and talk to the kids about what you had to do in order to be successful — whether that was playing ball or going to school or getting a job,” Amatucci said. “He’s a great guest speaker. The kids loved him.”

Willard said he had “three or four” finalists in mind for the position, but liked Harris’ ties to Baltimore.

“I really wanted someone on the staff that was from Baltimore,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys out there, but I loved the fact that Ricky had played overseas, he had played at a very high level, and I thought he could really relate to the players. I thought his personality matched the rest of the staff’s personality.”

Harris said he has discussed with Willard about joining associate head coach David Cox and assistant coaches Mike Jones and Greg Manning Jr. as an on-the-bench coach but without the ability to recruit. That restriction doesn’t bother Harris.

“Whatever it takes,” he said. “I’m a no-ego kind of guy. Coach Willard has been doing this for a very long time, and he’s been successful for a very long time. So whatever he needs, whatever he wants, I’m open and willing to do it. I’m just going to be a sponge and soak up as much knowledge from the other guys on this staff.”

At Calvert Hall, Harris was a popular figure among his teammates and the go-to player for Amatucci, who predicted that Harris would develop similar bonds with the players he is tasked with mentoring.

“I just think he will be a natural at this job because he’s so personable,” Amatucci said. “He’s got a great smile, he’s very intelligent, he’s really very smooth and very knowledgeable and not just about basketball. At that position, you’ve got to wear a lot of hats, and I think Ricky is very good at wearing different hats in that job.”

With the Terps bringing back three starters in graduate student point guard Jahmir Young, fifth-year senior small forward Donta Scott and junior power forward Julian Reese, they might be poised to at least match or even exceed their second-round finish in the NCAA Tournament. Harris said he is eager to do what he can to help them improve.

“I just want to be a valuable asset,” he said. “These guys had it rockin’, and they’ll continue to have it rockin’, and I just want to come in and be as positive as possible and have a positive impact in whatever way I can.”

Season opener

Mount St. Mary’s at Maryland

Next Tuesday, 7 p.m.

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