MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Chase Harler has yet to complete his personal and most important and-one.
“It’s happening next summer,” Harler said of his wedding day with fiance Lindsey Baker.
You likely remember the front end of the moment, on Harler’s Senior Day in 2020 when he got down on one knee in front of 14,000 fans at the WVU Coliseum and proposed.
It was the proposal of the year in West Virginia.
“That’s what I was going for,” he said.
His more immediate commitment is with Best Virginia, the WVU alumni team heading to Charleston on July 17 to take part in the $1 million winner-take-all The Basketball Tournament (TBT).
Harler’s role with Best Virginia won’t be much different from his days with the Mountaineers.
“I’m looking to provide a lot of energy mostly,” he said. “If I can go out there and help space the floor and maybe make a few shots, that would be nice, too.”
Best Virginia will face WOCO Showtime at 2 p.m. on July 17 at the Charleston Coliseum in the first round of TBT. WOCO Showtime is an alumni team from Wofford.
“It’s all kind of new to me, so it’s exciting to be a part of this team,” Harler said. “I’m excited to get going and see how far we can go. I’m looking forward to earning my spot on the team and doing whatever I can to help.”
Since Harler’s senior season at WVU was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he could not find himself walking away from the game.
He spent this past season playing professionally in Lithuania.
“I’m hoping to go somewhere else for next season and maybe move up a little bit in the overseas ranking,” he said. “I always wanted to play overseas ever since my junior or senior year in college.”
His rookie season as a pro had its ups and downs.
“The social aspect of it was rough, but a lot of that was because of COVID,” Harler said. “I had to spend 54 days in quarantine over different times. That was rough. We went a whole month without playing a game, so we went right into playing three games a week.”
His other pro option was in Ireland.
“Lithuania ended up being a better choice, because the league in Ireland got shut down and didn’t play,” Harler said. “The down time in Lithuania was hard, because there really isn’t anything to do there but play basketball.”
His career continues now with his opportunity with Best Virginia, comprised of many former WVU players Harler grew up watching on TV as a kid.
Former 2010 Final Four hero Da’Sean Butler is an assistant coach with Best Virginia, while John Flowers and Kevin Jones will be playing on the floor.
“Yeah, that’s kind of the weird thing is wearing the same uniform with those guys,” Harler said. “Honestly, they were all around at the practice facility while I was playing, so we would work out with them.
“The star-struck moment probably came back then. Now, I’m just looking forward to carrying my weight. The practices are probably something I’m looking forward to most, just being around all of those guys working for something that could maybe lead us to a million dollars. That would be pretty cool.”
And maybe a nice wedding present to boot.
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