Sanders Picks Michael Jarvis to Assist With Harvard Basketball Program

Michael D. Jarvis, an assistant coach for five years at Northeastern University and a Cambridge native, has been named assistant basketball coach at Harvard.

Chosen by new Crimson mentor Tom Sanders, Jarvis replaces Ernest Hardy, who last year was an assistant to Bob Harrison.

Jarvis will run the freshman program and at the varsity level will coach the backcourt men. He will also work part-time scouting opposing teams and checking out high school talent for Harvard.

"I'm very stimulated by basketball," Jarvis said Monday. "When coaching, I get deeply involved with it. Sometimes I can get very emotional," said the man who in his five years at Northeastern built a reputation as a fiery sideline competitor.

Jarvis first became interested in coaching at Harvard when the University was searching for an interim coach to replace Harrison. When Harvard decided to hire a full-time mentor and brought in Sanders, Jarvis entered the picture as a prospect for the assistant's job.

Jarvis Headed List

After examining the list of people who had applied for the interim job, Sanders was impressed enough with Jarvis to request that he get the assistant's position.

Jarvis is a strong believer in hard work, and wants his players to feel the same way. "Since I had to work so hard to become a player and coach, I believe in everyone giving more than 100 per cent," Jarvis said. "I think I work hard when I'm coaching, and I want everyone else to work just as hard."

Jarvis's coaching record is sound. In his first three years at Northeastern, Huskie teams he helped coach compiled a 55-17 record. The next two seasons, coaching on his own at the freshman and sub-varsity level, he was 21-9.

Before becoming a coach, Jarvis played for the Huskies. "I was never a star, by any means," he said. "I was there at a time when we had a lot of backcourt talent. I was a playmaking guard, and I only played eight to ten minutes a game. But I guess at Northeastern I was preparing to be a coach, because I spent a lot of time on the bench," he said.

Summer Planning

Over the summer Sanders and Jarvis have spent much time plotting their program. "We'll be a little different type of Harvard team, than you are used to," he said.

"We'll be sound defensively, and we'll run when we can. But when we can't, we're going to have a set offense that we can go to. You won't see too many 30-foot jumpshots this year," Jarvis said.

Jarvis does not believe that the Harvard atmosphere and basketball are incompatible. "I don't see why we can't establish a competitive program," he said. "People are people. They'll work hard if they think something is going to come their way from it."