December 27, 2010 1:35 PM

Former Michigan standout Manny Harris takes in last Thursday's game between the Wolverines and Bryant at Crisler Arena.
Lon Horwedel | AnnArbor.com
Manny Harris isn’t a guy who relishes moments all that much. Usually, he’ll take a game, or an accomplishment, for what it's worth and move on to the next thing.
So it isn’t a surprise when Harris views playing in the NBA as just “another level of basketball.”
Still, there are moments when the Cleveland Cavaliers rookie says the NBA has been eye-opening.
He guarded Derrick Rose and logged a career-high 21 minutes when Cleveland played against Chicago. And he had a front row seat for LeBron James' much-anticipated return to Cleveland.
“This is my first year playing in the NBA. I’d think NBA arenas were like that every game but, of course, that was something crazy,” Harris said from his seat in the front row of Crisler Arena before Michigan played Bryant last Thursday. “I was a witness to that and I saw it. But it was crazy.
“The atmosphere was crazy.”
In many ways, James' departure from Cleveland created an ideal situation for Harris.
The Cavaliers are a team searching for an identity after James left town. There are minutes available on a young team with a new head coach in Byron Scott. And Cleveland is close enough to his hometown of Detroit that he can visit family and friends on the rare occasions he can slip home.
More after the jump…