TUCSON – Eric Harris remembers watching Chris Webber play basketball in the NBA a few years back. As a high school student-athlete in Sacramento, Calif., Harris watched Webber put on shows on the basketball court and then fundraisers for children in the community.

Harris, who attended Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, even had the chance to meet Webber a couple of times. Despite being a megastar, the former NBA player always made time for other basketball players, and he went out of his way to have a conversation with Harris.

“He always treated my brother and me like we were human beings, which is unusual for a guy who, at the time, was making (upwards of) $20 million and was one of the highest-paid players in the NBA,” Harris said.

Harris didn’t quite have the skills Webber had on the basketball court, but he wasn’t too shabby, either. As a wheelchair athlete, he was a standout basketball player at Christian Brothers. He traveled all over the nation for competitions, playing in national tournaments in Birmingham, Ala.; Philadelphia; and San Jose. Collegiate coaches took notice of his athleticism and his desire to win.

His ear-to-ear grin helped, too.

Harris, who was born with a dislocated hip that caused nerve damage in both legs, found out he was an athletic magnet, being pulled in by the forces of major universities all over the country.

The University of Arizona, University of Illinois and University of Wisconsin-Whitewater — three of the top wheelchair basketball schools in the nation — wanted him the most.

And even before he committed to play for coach Derrick Brown’s wheelchair basketball team at the UA, Harris knew he was good enough to be paid for being athlete, just like Webber, although nowhere near $20 million.

“I didn’t even know about wheelchair basketball until I was 14 or 15,” said Harris, a senior forward double majoring in political science and Africana studies. “Ten years ago I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do something like this. It’s been incredible.

“We’re all thankful we get the opportunity to get scholarships and play at these elite schools.”

Harris’ out-of-state tuition at the UA is more than $18,000 per year, plus fees. He said the university’s Disability Resource Center pays for his tuition, and his parents pay for his extra fees, such as parking, books and housing.

Harris was awarded his scholarship right before the university switched to a system in which wheelchair athletes are no longer awarded a full waiver, said Dave Herr-Cardillo, assistant director of adaptive athletics. At the time, the UA could make a full-waiver commitment for four years.

Now the current maximum scholarship is between $10,000 and $12,000 per year with a four-year commitment as long as the athlete stays active in his or her sport and maintains a 2.0 GPA.

“There are no full-rides (like Harris has) at this point,” Brown said. “We’d love to be able to offer something like that at this point, but we just don’t have the funding to do it. “Nevertheless, it doesn’t diminish the fact that we have a great deal of athletes that probably deserve a full-ride scholarship compared to what they do and what they contribute to the team.”

Brown said a student’s allotted scholarship depends on his or her recruiting class and the athlete as an individual.

Bryan Barten transferred to Arizona from Michigan State about 10 years ago and played wheelchair tennis and rugby after breaking his back in a car accident. He is now the coach of both sports at the UA.

Barten estimated that about 90 percent of the DRC’s scholarship money goes toward the wheelchair basketball program, leaving his athletes with little or no money outside of fundraising. He said so much money going to basketball “isn’t fair to the athletes that are playing tennis or wheelchair rugby.”

One example is Laurence “Laurie” Zalmanowitz, a psychology senior who has a neuromuscular disorder call dystonia, which can cause involuntary muscle spasms. The UA wheelchair tennis player said he receives a $1,000 scholarship per semester from the DRC.

“Every little bit helps,” said Zalmanowitz, an international student from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. “Now that the program’s more established, they are able to give out more scholarship money, but it’s still not much right now.”

But whether athletes are paid a full ride — like Harris — or just part of a scholarship — like Zalmanowitz — they will have at least some satisfaction knowing they are being paid for what they love to do. They are also being recognized for being real athletes.

“We heard about this all throughout elementary and middle school, that disabled kids kind of have a high level of depression,” Harris said. “If they’re able to communicate and hang out with other disabled kids growing up, they’re going to be happier and be more successful.

“It’s really important. I think it has gotten a lot more acceptance by the able-bodied community. People recognize that disabled people are athletes as well.”

Wheelchair athletics sidebar: Academics

UA students on wheelchair athletic teams must maintain a minimum 2.0 grade-point average to remain academically eligible, which is the same for able-bodied athletes.

To ensure the student-athletes stay up on their school work, the Disability Resource Center offers many services to aid them in the classroom.
Because of senior Laurie Zalmanowitz’s neuromuscular disorder, his muscles get fatigued easily, and the disability runs through his right arm.
The DRC program helps him far beyond the tennis court.

“I can’t write,” he said. “I use my laptop to take all my notes and everything, but when it comes to taking an exam, I can’t sit there and write in class, nor can I take my laptop and write in the class with everyone else.”

Zalmanowitz is able to take exams in the DRC.

Wheelchair tennis and rugby coach Bryan Barten called the DRC the most comprehensive program in the country, both for athletics and academics. Students — not just those in wheelchairs — with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder, hearing or vision impairments benefit from the center.

But for those who are in wheelchairs and play sports, the DRC offers a place of belonging.

“Even if it’s just being able to hang out with other students who are just like me, you know, it’s a great place and a great program,” said wheelchair basketball player Eric Harris.

Wheelchair athletics sidebar: Playing Pro Teams

Because of the small number of colleges that feature wheelchair athletic programs, Arizona teams often compete against professional or community teams.

Arizona’s wheelchair rugby team, for example, is the only one of its kind in the nation. The UA wheelchair tennis team is one of three in the country, and the only one on the West Coast.
“We are actually playing pro teams,” said Bryan Barten, UA tennis and rugby coach.

There are about 30 pro teams in any given season, Barten said. The closest teams are in Phoenix, San Diego and Northridge, Calif. The Wildcats finished this past season ranked fourth in the nation.

Occasionally, the basketball team will play pro teams as well.

“What is actually happening now is we have about 15 collegiate teams and they are actually setting the bar higher,” said Tom Vandever, the coach for the Charlottesville, Va., community wheelchair basketball team and the secretary of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association. “The top three or four college teams in the nation can pretty much compete with the national level every year.”

But even with the availability of professional and community teams, Barten said it would be nice if there was more collegiate competition for his tennis and rugby teams.

“That would improve our young, disabled athletes and encourage their academics,” he added. “It would also create competition, which would hopefully build up scholarship money for them.”

Wheelchair athletics sidebar: Recruiting

Recruiting plays a big part in the UA’s wheelchair athletic program.

There are 15 wheelchair athletic programs in the nation that allow high school athletes to continue their athletic careers in college, according to Tom Vandever, secretary of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association, which is based in Colorado Springs, Colo.

At the high school level, wheelchair sports are essentially club teams that travel around the nation. The better the team is, the more it and its members get noticed.

When Eric Harris of Sacramento, Calif., was a sophomore, his team went to the national championship in Birmingham, Ala. In his junior year, the championship was in Philadelphia, and he went to San Jose his senior season.

Having his team stand out on the national level allowed him to stand out individually, allowing coach Derrick Brown to spot him and sell him on the idea of attending the UA.

“It was one of the new programs,” Harris said. “One of my teammates in high school ended up coming here, and I loved the idea of being at a West Coast school.”

Brown, who has coached the University of Arizona women’s wheelchair team for nine years and the men’s team for five, said the recruiting process is similar to the able-bodied sports. Currently there are many junior programs around the nation that allow the coach to scout the players as they mature.

“You start talking to them and try to get them to come out to your university through various camps and clinics,” Brown said. “I don’t know how to quantify it, but it’s a substantial part of my job.”

Laurie Zalmanowitz, a UA wheelchair tennis player from Canada, said that when he competed in different tournaments around the world in high school, he was able to explore different colleges in the U.S.

Zalmanowitz was discovered by a former UA coach at the Florida Open.

“I didn’t know of any other programs in North America,” he said. “There are none in Canada; I checked that out.”

Local recruiting and self-recruiting also play a part in filling out Arizona’s rosters for its various sports.

Brown said he is often approached by students who want to become part of his team.

“People want to go to school in Arizona,” he added. “They like the atmosphere, which is part of the reason that I’m here.

“I think a lot of people are in a position here at the University of Arizona that they really bought into the program and what it’s offering.”