Defenders have learned to keep an eye on Sacramento State’s leading scorer, Jason Harris, but his teammates have to watch him even closer.

“Jason loves to play pranks,” said teammate, senior Jameel Pugh. “He is constantly up to a prank so you always got to keep an eye on him or something will happen to you.”

Pugh said that on the road, Harris will come into your room; jump on your bed, rip off your sheets and steal your clothes.

“That’s his little trademark,” junior Chris Lange said. “If you leave your door open for more than 30 seconds, you’re going to have your hotel room remodeled.”

Last week, when the Hornets were on the road at Idaho State, Harris and teammate/roommate Alex Bausley rampaged the rooms, challenging fellow teammates to wrestling matches. Their biggest target: 6-foot-9, 235-pound, Zane Beekman.

“I rushed (Beekman) and had him down on the bed, choking him out and Alex started hitting him in the face with a pillow,” said Harris, a junior transfer. “I had to show him who was the biggest guy on the team.”

However, most of the team already thinks of Harris as the biggest on the team. Harris’ teammates have nicknamed him “Fatboy.”

Pugh explains there isn’t much to the nickname; it’s simple. “He is, uh — fat. We constantly argue who is bigger, who is more muscular and who is fat. We sit there and evaluate.

“He goes into locker room and stands in front of locker and evaluates how many abs he has. He says eight, but everyone else says six.”

Harris, whose strong physique resembles anything but overweight, doesn’t quite understand the nickname. “I’m not fat!” Harris said. “I do really like to eat — maybe that’s it.”

It’s just one of many nicknames given to Harris. Athletic Director Terry Wanless dubbed him “The Governor,” for his ability to walk into a room, turn on a bright smile and leave having met and impressed everyone.

Head coach Jerome Jenkins dubbed Harris “Giddy.” It has stuck to the point that the Hornets run plays for Harris under the nickname.

The personality of Harris has been as much a value to the Hornets as his ability to score. “We are a loose team, we have some fun and I think it translates on the court,” Harris said.”His behavior off the court keeps the team together after tense moments or losses,” Pugh said. “His ability to make people laugh helps us loosen up and refocus.”

The 21-year-old Harris didn’t even start playing organized basketball until he moved from Texas to Southern California for his freshman year at Upland High School. Even then, Harris wasn’t exactly playing; he said he rode the bench for most of his freshman year. He first saw quality minutes in his sophomore year on junior varsity.

Harris quickly got the hang of things, starting at power forward as a senior on an Upland team that went 32-2 and was ranked ninth in the nation.

Playing for Chaffey Junior College in Southern California, Harris averaged 15.6 points and 5.9 rebounds as a freshman and 19.7 points and seven rebounds as a sophomore.

This year for Sac State, Harris has helped fill the scoring loss of former Hornets Joseth Dawson and Joel Jones, averaging 17 points and 4.6 rebounds and pushing the Hornets to the program’s third consecutive Big Sky Conference postseason appearance.

And while he respects that the team still belongs to the Hornets seniors, Harris isn’t shy that he wants to lead the team in every statistical category.

It’s part of his competitive spirit.

“I like to win at anything, playing cards, dominoes or anything,” said Harris, who is currently even reading “The Art of War” in his spare time.

“I hate to lose.”

Just ask Zane Beekman.