Wednesday proved to be bittersweet for Wheeling Central Catholic graduate Chase Harler.
Several hours prior to Best Virginia’s Sweet 16 matchup against Team 23, Harler revealed to the media had signed a new professional contract with Jämtland Basket of the Swedish Basketball League, the country’s premier basketball league. The guard played his rookie season in Lithuania during the global pandemic.
Best Virginia then was defeated 75-67 by Team 23 in Charleston to end the club’s run in The Basketball Tournament, so the 24-year-old Harler had a decision to make. Travel abroad to continue playing or begin utilizing his master’s degree in Sports Management.
“And it was an easy decision,” Harler insisted. “After I was graduated from college, I knew I still wanted to play but it really wasn’t as clear cut as that. That’s why I started training younger players for six hours a day five days a week. It was pretty much a full-time job. But in early July of last year, I got a call from Lithuania and I signed to play there.
“I left in September and played 33 games there through March,” he continued. “That was an interesting time for me even though I really didn’t get to experience much of the culture there. I enjoyed it, but because of Covid most things were shut down there just like they were here. That’s why I think the pandemic robbed me of a lot of experiences.”
Best of the Best
After playing for WVU from 2016-20, Harler was not contacted by anyone during the NBA Draft, but he still hired an agent because he knew there are a plethora of leagues worldwide. In Lithuania, he averaged 15 points per game, and soon after he returned to the United States in March 2021, he received an invitation to be a member of the Best Virginia squad.
Following a pair of exhibition games, Harler and Best Virginia beat Woco Showtime 70-67 in the first round. In round 2, the team defeated D2 63-51, and the loss Team 23 finished the squad’s tournament. The former Maroon Knight did not score in the final two games in four minutes of court time.
“Best Virginia has been around for the last three years, and The Basketball Tournament has been around for a while now,” Harler said. “The guys on last year’s Best Virginia team didn’t get to participate because of Covid so this year was actually the second year of playing.
“The first year they made it to the second round,” he explained. “But this year we were able to play a lot of exhibition games before The Basketball Tournament began last week. The majority of the teams are alumni teams and its winner-takes-all. The winning team gets $1 million to split among them and that was our goal. We wanted to win that cash.”
For the Love of the Game
In his final year for Wheeling Central Catholic, Harler averaged 24 points, seven rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while leading the Maroon Knights to a 21-2 regular-season record. When he announced he would attend WVU and played for Huggins, however, some doubted his future because he was 6-4 and 190 pounds once graduated from the Catholic high school.
That is why, upon his arrival to Morgantown, was to transform his doubters into believers.
“I love the competitiveness of the game and being around other talented basketball players makes me better. But I hope to play for a long time because my competitive drive is very strong,” Harler said. “I know I absolutely proved some people wrong by having a solid career at WVU and playing under Coach (Bob) Huggins wasn’t an easy task. I enjoyed it there, but it was really tough.
“During my final year, I had a leadership role on the team, and I enjoyed that very much. There was a lot of hard work that went into earning that role, and I am very proud of that,” he admitted. “Coach Huggins gave me that responsibility and I embraced it. There are moments, of course, you wish you could take back, but I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. It was a dream of mine to be a Mountaineer.”
So, now it is off to Sweden to continue his career in a country located in Northern Europe. The warmest day on record for Sweden is 100 degrees while the coldest was negative-62.7. Because of its high latitude, the length of daylights varies depending on what time of year it is. But none of that matters now because the Swedish Basketball League is the premier circuit in the country.
“I really enjoy playing the game of basketball, and the game has done so much for me. I am hoping to make a career out of basketball, and I am getting paid to play,” Harler said. “I have a new team now so my goal is to keep working my way up so I can stay on the court as long as possible.
“A professional basketball player can make a really nice living playing in the European leagues so that’s what I am concentrating on. There are different levels of leagues in Europe so I hope to continue building my resume so I can keep climbing up that ladder,” he added. “I feel I have elevated my game since I finished at WVU so hopefully I can get onto a team in the future that is in a better league with bigger budgets.”
