PORTLAND — Paul Harris started walking by Maine Red Claws coach Austin Ainge Tuesday morning during the annual media day and was smiling widely.

As he neared Ainge, he stopped for a second to let his coach know something.

“I am so excited,” Harris said. “I just want to play. I can’t wait to play. I just want to play.”

Harris’ excitement was warranted. The Red Claws selected the talented forward as their first draft pick in team history in 2009 – No. 8 overall – and hoped Harris would contribute immediately.

Injuries, however, had other plans for the big man out of Syracuse University. Harris severely injured his right ankle shortly before Utah Jazz training camp began in 2009 and couldn’t participate. The Red Claws selected him in the NBA D-League draft thinking the ankle would heal. It never did and Harris missed the entire 2009-2010 season.

“That was so frustrating,” Harris said. “I’ve never had anything like that happen to me in my basketball career. At first the doctors thought it would be all right, but it just swelled so large. One doctor actually said I would’ve been better off breaking it.”

Harris said he couldn’t play basketball for months, couldn’t workout and couldn’t do any active activities, which have been a part of his life since he was a small kid growing up in upstate New York.

“That was one of the most difficult parts,” Harris said. “I couldn’t do anything, but I think that has helped me be a better player because I appreciate the sport more.”

Ainge said he hopes that appreciation and year off will help Harris excel for the Red Claws, who open their second season on Nov. 19 at home against the Austin Toros, who are affiliated with the San Antonio Spurs.

“Last season I just felt bad for Paul,” Ainge said. “He’s a good kid and you really just wanted him to play. We expect big things from him this season and hopefully he’s one of those players that gets called up to the NBA this season.”

Harris played at Syracuse from 2006 to 2009. In 2006 the Big East selected him preseason Rookie of the Year and he landed on the Big East All Rookie Team at the end of the season after averaging 12 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.

In his sophomore season he averaged 14.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He declared for the NBA draft in 2009 after averaging 12 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a junior. He went undrafted, but the Utah Jazz invited him to training camp.

“I learned a lot from the Jazz, especially about the workout ethic,” said Harris, who didn’t get a chance to play for the Jazz after the ankle injury. “It was always a good learning experience listening to and learning from a coach like Coach (Jerry) Sloan.”

Rolling on Rolle

Ainge said he has high expectations with the Red Claws’ top pick this season, Magnum Rolle.

The Red Claws’ selected Rolle as the third overall pick in this year’s NBA D-League Draft. Rolle is a 6-11 center from Louisiana Tech, where he averaged 13.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game in his senior season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder selected Rolle with the 51st pick (second round) in the 2010 NBA Draft and traded his rights to the Indiana Pacers for Ryan Reid.

“He is a rare talent in this league,” Ainge said. “He is NBA ready right now and that’s not that common in the D-League, especially for a big man. We don’t expect to have him around here very long.”

Per NBA and D-League rules any NBA team can sign a D-League player at any time to a free agent contract unless that player is already affiliated with the parent club. Rolle is not affiliated with either the Boston Celtics nor the Charlotte Bobcats.

“I’m not really thinking about that right now,” Rolle said. “I am just focusing on my game and trying to become the player that NBA teams would want.”

Learning from the big boys

Jamar Smith learned a valuable lesson during his short-stint with the Boston Celtics at training camp: Show up and work hard or the veterans won’t like it.

During the Celtics’ first day of practice at training camp, which started at 11 a.m., Smith showed up to the facility around 10:30 a.m. On the court were Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O’Neal, who both had some surly advice for the 6-4 rookie out of Southern Indiana.

“They told me that if  I wanted to make the team that I should better start showing up an hour earlier and leaving an hour later,” Smith said. “They kind of laid into me a bit about what it takes to become an NBA player. That was an eye-opener.”

Not much time

Tuesday marked the first day of practice for the 15 Red Claws hopefuls. Ainge doesn’t have a lot of time to pick the squad as he will trim the roster from 15 to D-League-mandated 10 by the end of next week.

“That’s a quick turnaround,” Ainge said. “We have a lot of good players and we all love the guys we picked. It’s going to be hard to get to those 10 players.”

Red Claws in the NBA

Red Claws fans will see some familiar faces on NBA courts this season as four former players from last year’s team made NBA teams this season.

Maurice Ager, who averaged 15.6 points for Maine last season, is playing for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Alexis Ajinca, who averaged 14.6 points last year, is playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Bill Walker, who scored nearly 12 points per game last season, is with the New York Knicks and Lester Hudson, who averaged 14.6 points last year is playing for the Washington Wizards.

How are they fairing so far. Walker is averaging 4.7 points for New York through six games.

Ager is scoring 6 points per game through seven games for the Timberwolves, while Hudson and Ajinca have yet to score for Washington and Dallas.

— Contact Al Edwards at 282-1535, Ext. 317.