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The Daily Times' boys basketball blog

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

GLEN MILLS' HARVEY GETTING LOOKS FROM TEMPLE, AMONG OTHER PROGRAMS

Here's what you already knew: Raheem Harvey is pretty darned good. Here's what you probably didn't know: The Glen Mills senior is getting Division I recruiting interest.

Harvey, a 6-9 forward/center, and Glen Mills coach Tony Bacon told me Tuesday night that the senior is receiving recruiting interest from Temple, as well as Division II programs West Chester, Kutztown and Lincoln.

While that might seem like quite a spread, it isn't. Why, you ask? Well, a guy like Harvey is absolutely a Division I recruit, and a program like Temple's can see that.

Bacon said Temple coach Fran Dunphy has attended Glen Mills' practices to see what Harvey can bring to the table: An athletic, well-conditioned body in the post and a player with a nose for rebounding and playing defense. If you look a little further, there's no doubt you'll see that Harvey needs polish on the offensive end. But while he's working on developing slicker, low-block moves, and working his way up the depth chart, he can bring a toughness to the post players at Temple.

If anybody knows a thing or two about toughness, it's Harvey. He's a kid who's rebounded from a devastating car crash, which resulted in a month-long coma, only to return to the floor last season and this season.

Oh, by the way...Harvey totaled 13 points, 22 rebounds (seven offensive) and three blocked shots. One of those rejections, Harvey ricocheted off the South wall of Chichester's gym. For the season, Harvey averages a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds. He also owns a triple-double.

(Photo: Courtesy Glen Mills Schools)

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

HARVEY'S DEBUT (31 POINTS, 18 BOARDS) PROVIDES BIG LIFT FOR GLEN MILLS

Prior to this season, Glen Mills coach Tony Bacon told me he thought he'd have only one player back from last year's squad. Hey, that's the way it is at The Mills. But through three games, Xavier Couthen had been that kind of player, averaging 15 points.

But it looks like Couthen's got company.

The Battlin' Bulls brought out a familiar face Saturday, in a nonleague loss to Ridley. Senior Raheem Harvey coupled 31 points with 18 rebounds in his 2011-12 debut.

You may remember Harvey, a 6-foot-7 center, from a story that appeared in the Daily Times a few days prior to the season. Harvey sustained serious brain injuries during a car accident more than two years ago. He missed most of what should have been his junior year at Glen Mills, recovered and played his senior year last winter and, as it turns out, is back for another go-around with the Bulls -- most likely because of all the class he missed two years ago.

"We were just waiting for him to get cleared (medically)," Bacon said Saturday, following the Bulls' 66-56 loss to Ridley, in which Harvey had some company. Shawn Church, one of Delaware County's top scorers, had 27 points for the Green Raiders.

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Two other things from Saturday worth keeping an eye on:

***Chester took down Math, Civics and Sciences in a pairing of PIAA champions from last season. The Clippers, the Class AAAA winners, got seven points and 15 rebounds from Rondae Jefferson, 11 points and 13 boards from Erikk Wright and 13 points from Darius Robinson. They effectively shut down the Elephants, the Class A titlists, and elite scorer Jeremiah Worthem. The junior combo guard/forward, who has offers from Drexel, Rice, Saint Joseph's and La Salle, dropped in a game-best 14 points.

***Charles Dorsey could be a handful in the Del Val League. For now, he's scoring the heck out of the ball for Academy Park in nonleague play. The senior boosted his per-game average to 22.4 points with a 29-point showing Saturday in a 64-55 win over Strath Haven. Keep an eye on Dorsey this season.

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Saturday, December 10, 2011

OPENING NIGHT: WHAT WE LEARNED

Last night christened the 2011-12 boys basketball season. There were buzzer-beaters, overtime thrillers, tournament openers and lopsided victories. If there's anything we learned from opening night, it was these five things:

***Penncrest can shoot the 3. The Lions - between Jim Allen, Ed Baxter and Alex Graham - had 10 of their 12 3-pointers. Penncrest needs to work on holding its leads, though. It posted a 23-3 edge after the first quarter and a 21-point advantage early in the second quarter, before holding on for dear life at the end.

***Springfield is poised for a run. The Cougars, who completely dismantled Interboro in their respective openers, placed 10 scorers in the statbook. Furthermore they open the year with 11 of 14 games at home, a nice advantage for Kevin McCormick's crew.

***Sun Valley doesn't need to rely on Billy Hudson. The Vanguards' leading scorer last winter, Hudson sat out their opener due to a pair of personal fouls in Sun Valley's Thanksgiving Day football game, a PIAA carryover rule. Nonetheless, the Vanguards opened the game shooting 15-for-20 after two quarters and 20-for-30 after three, before emptying the bench. Kevin Kelly's team has weapons in Drew Giampietro and Sean Nelson.

***Glen Mills' wild-card roster is just that. Because of the school shuffling court-adjudicated students in and out, Bulls coach Tony Bacon never knows what's in his cupboard. But Xavier Couthen, the lone holdover from last year, had a double-double, football star George Walker had a big game and Duishawn Mack's only bucket was the game-winner. Could be a nice season for the Bulls.

***Chester is Chester. Sounds simple enough, right? We knew the Clippers would be good, but...hanging a 79-spot on Coatesville in the opener? Whoa. Darius Robinson, a 3-point option off the bench last year, posted 19 points. His brother, Kareem, isn't much of a scorer, but he had six assists. Rondae Jefferson, Shanier Cottman and Erikk Wright led a balanced scoring attack, as well. Look out District One.

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