Know Your Team: Jon Harris & Kazembe Abif
The Saint John Riptide look to strengthen their front court with the addition of two tried-and-tested big men to their roster.
Jon Harris
6'8
Forward
From Twinsburg, Ohio
As captain of the Twinsburg High School team in his senior year, Harris averaged 20.1 points and 13.0 rebounds, led the team to the conference title and was named the Northeast Ohio Conference 2010 Player of the Year.
From here, he went on to play for the Miami RedHawks. He earned a starting spot in his sophomore year, but saw his time reduced in the next. After averaging 6.3 points in three seasons for Miami, he went on to play his final NCAA season with the Cleveland State Vikings, posting 10.2 points on 53% field shooting as well as 5.8 rebounds without a single start the whole season.
Turning professional, Harris had brief stints with Indalo in Argentina and Chemnitz in Germany, as well as making the pre-season roster for the Canton Charge in the NBA G League. It wasn't until he signed with the Riptide that he came into his own - in 12 games and three starts he has averaged 6.3 points, proving to be one of the team's more reliable rotation players in the second half of the season.
Picture: CSUVikings.com
Kazembe Abif
6’7
Forward
From Elizabeth, New Jersey
A two-time county champion and 2011 Essex County Player of the Year with Lawrenceville Prep in New Jersey, Abif was recruited to the Drexel Dragons in Philadelphia, where he played for four years.
As a senior at Drexel, he started in 30 out of 31 games, averaging 9.2 points and 7.0 rebounds and reaching the quarter finals of the National Invitational Tournament, beating UCF and Northern Iowa before falling 72-70 to the UMass Minutemen.
After an inauspicious rookie season, appearing in only three games for German club Rasta Vechta, Abif joined Naestved in Denmark. Appearing in 30 games, 28 of which he started in, he averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 rebounds on the season.
He began the following season with Karhu in Finland, reaching the third round of qualifying for the Basketball Champions League. After the team lost out on a spot in competition to Nanterre, Abif moved on to the NBL Canada, signing with the Riptide early in 2019.
