Finishing strong: Utah State's Nate Harris has answered questions during his standout senior season

University of Idaho basketball coach Leonard Perry calls Utah State's Nate Harris a "blue-print" type player in the low post.

The harder Perry looks to find another player like Harris, however, the more he's realizing there may be only one player made from the print.

"It's what we've been looking for since he's gotten there," said Perry, whose Vandals take on Harris and Utah State on Saturday. "I just don't think there's a better guy in the country that finishes around the hoop."

Perry, who has coached against Harris and Utah State while a member of the Big West Conference and now the Western Athletic Conference, has witnessed Harris develop over the last four years.

"People talk about his improvement, but I thought he was very, very good when he got there," Perry said. "That's an underrated kid that's from right around that area and was a great get for them. I don't think they anticipated him being as good as he was as a true freshman."

Last Saturday, Harris scored a career-high 33 points against former BYU coach Steve Cleveland in a 99-96 double-overtime loss to Fresno State.

"He's probably the most efficient guy around the basket that I have ever coached against," Cleveland said.

Cleveland knows, too, that Harris' abilities didn't come by chance.

"I watched Nate play in high school (Sky View High near Logan), and he's developed into one of the premiere players in the WAC," he said.

In his last three games against Cleveland-coached teams, Harris is 32 of 51 from the field for 75 points. He also has 21 rebounds, and the Aggies are 2-1 in those games.

"I think he's become stronger and more physical, and he can take a bump and finish," Cleveland said.

Harris, who was named to the preseason all-WAC team, learned in a hurry that his game would need to change after shooting just 2 of 9 in the WAC opener at Hawaii on Dec. 17. In the WAC, he'll play against teams with more size and talent than any team he faced in the Big West Conference.

"You're not going to catch the ball and make one move and shoot a jump hook," Harris said.

He's developed a low-post arsenal, and like Cleveland experienced last week, uses more than one move while driving to the basket.

"He's so strong and he knows how to get angles to the basket, and that's due to their execution of the half-court offense, which is set up to get the ball into the post," Cleveland said.