1/20/2016 basketball Edit

D.J. Harvey talks early leaders

Krysten Peek • Basketball Recruiting

Staff

Krysten is a former DII basketball player but sometimes tells top recruits she played at UConn to see the look on their face. She's also completed a marathon on every continent (yes, even Antarctica).

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – One of the best games of the HoopHall Classic ended in overtime with DeMatha Catholic (Md.) edging out Chaminade (Mo.) 72-69. Class of 2017 small forward D.J. Harvey finished with a double-double for DeMatha, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Although he was not personally assigned to guard Duke-bound Jayson Tatum, he had great help-side defense when Tatum drove the lane and created second chances for his teammates with his offensive boards on the other end of the court.

IN HIS OWN WORDS: On the recruiting front, the five-star small forward cut his list to a top 16 last week.

Out of the 16 schools that made the cut, Harvey has the best relationship with the Duke and Arizona coaching staff and both schools appear to be the unspoken leaders.

“Duke doesn’t offer a lot of players and I know going in you have to produce right away or you sit. With Arizona it’s more like a family. I respect both programs.”

The junior combo guard also said he wants to take officials to Oklahoma and Alabama.

“With coach Avery (Johnson at Alabama), I know he can get me ready for the league since he’s been through the process already. At Oklahoma the coaches there make good players great players and I really like the tempo of their offense.”

WHAT'S NEXT: The only school that’s in his top 16 that hasn’t offered yet is North Carolina. Harvey expects an offer very soon and says once the offer comes they’ll be high in the mix.

RIVALS REACTION: Harvey said he would trim his list once again when the EYBL kicks off this spring. He promised to cut his list to single digits, so we should all be anticipating a top nine around April 15.