Eugene Harvey seems to be flourishing under Gonzo
Hurley Visited Harvey
Eugene Harvey got a visit Monday from his old coach.
St. Benedict's coach Danny Hurley asked for permission to visit with Harvey at Seton Hall practice in preparation for tonight's Big East Tournament first-round game with Marquette. The two point guards both share the No. 15.
"We talked about how great of a player he should be right now," Hurley said. "He's gotta make the team go. He can't be out there and playing like a robot. He's not your old-school point guard that's not gonna make mistakes. He's a playmaker. You've got to let him go a little bit. When he's going and aggressive and attacking, he's real good. When he's trying to be something he isn't, he's not very good."
Hurley, like everyone else, can't help but notice the drop-off in Harvey's performance in recent weeks. Harvey is averaging 13.3 points and 4.8 assists, but last year he averaged 16.5 points and was in consideration for Rookie of the Year honors.
"He was averaging 16 and 5 assists a month ago," said Hurley, who has six former players competing today at Madison Square Garden, including Villanova frosh Corey Stokes, who lit up Syracuse for 18 points, including four 3-pointers. "They were talking about the NCAA, and a month later, he's a bum?"
Harvey lit up Rutgers for 26 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in the first meeting between the two schools, dominating in overtime, yet he managed just 2 assists and 5 points on 1-of-11 shooting in Sunday's 64-61 loss. He also made six turnovers.
"I told him to look back, a month ago at rutgers you had 28 points," Hurley said. "Has Rutgers improved that much since you last saw them?"
Hurley didn't want to call anyone else on Seton Hall, but he did point out that Jamar Nutter was 3-for-15 from the field and Brian Laing was 5-for-16.
"If you look at a lot of their guys, shooting percentages aren't particularly good," Hurley said. "He was one of a couple guys that didn't come through for them. He's gotten a lot of the focus and the blame and unfortunately from experience, guards get blamed."
After the talk, Hurley hopes Harvey comes out differently tonight.
"I'm hoping he'll just be himself, be more aggressive," Hurley said. "He's a playmaker and he needs to get back to being aggressive and attacking and making plays."