Athlete of the Week: Patrick Harvey '03

At the ten-minute mark of the second half in Saturday’s men’s basketball contest against Penn, the Quakers were up 51-45—their largest lead of the game—and were on a 14-0 run. One more three-pointer might have demoralized the Crimson and put the game out of reach.

But as the Crimson brought the ball upcourt, Pat Harvey, Harvard’s starting shooting guard and top scorer, didn’t know about Penn’s run and he didn’t care. All he knew was that he had no points in the second half yet, and that he was finally open. Harvey took a three and, as is usually the case, he made it.

He made the next one, too. He would, in fact, hit four more baskets and a free throw, stringing together 15 straight Harvard points before junior forward Sam Winter hit a pair of free throws. By the time Harvey finished his run with 3:47 left in regulation, Harvard had a 60-59 lead.

“Pat was on such a roll, it was like, ‘Let’s just get the ball to Pat,’” Harvard Coach Frank Sullivan said of his team’s second-half strategy.

Harvey’s career-high 28 points against the Quakers, and his 15-point effort Friday night against Princeton, pushed his season scoring average to 18.3 points per game. His scoring output is second in the Ivy League behind only Brown’s Earl Hunt, and Harvey has led the Crimson in scoring in all but two games this year.

With numbers like that, Harvey has to be considered a leading contender for Ivy Player of the Year at this early stage in the season.

Harvey’s huge showing versus the killer P’s was not without precedent, of course, and he may have drawn some inspiration from the crowd. In the second row of the stands at Lavietes Pavilion sat former Crimson great Dan Clemente ’01, who had 29 points against Penn in last year’s 77-62 win over the Quakers.

In a guard-heavy league, Harvey’s ability to drive, and more importantly, finish, has forced teams to play a bit off him. But then he just buries teams with three-pointers.

Don’t label him a one-dimensional player either; Harvey is second in the league in steals behind only teammate Drew Gellert.

Pat Harvey has won close games before for the Crimson, but none bigger than on Saturday night against Penn.

Opposing coaches have constantly told reporters after games how hard it was to cover “24”. But now they have no reason to forget his name.