Harvey’s return leads to memorable night
Published 11:52 am Thursday, January 17, 2008
Player, who hadn’t played high school basketball until this year, scores record 54
By Tony Dondero
Enterprise reporter
The night of Jan. 8, 2008 will go down in local prep basketball history as a masterpiece by a player who was virtually unknown until this season.
Stuart Harvey, a 6-foot guard on the Shorewood boys basketball team, scored an eye-popping school-record 54 points against Jackson. His accomplishment is also believed to be a Western Conference record, unmatched by former Wesco standouts like Jon Brockman and Ryan Appleby, who now play for the University of Washington.
The Thunderbirds, however, lost the game in double overtime, 95-93, when David Sullivan scored on a putback as time expired in the second overtime.
Harvey wasn’t aware how many points he had until the game was over. He made 23 of 32 field goals and 8 of 11 free throws. He did not attempt a 3-pointer. His previous high was 20 in a 45-44 win over Hazen in the Thunderbirds’ opener.
“It was like I was feeling it,” he said. “Whenever I got the ball I was making shots. Nobody could stop me.”
Micah Mitchell, the Thunderbirds’ point guard, said Harvey sometimes gets frustrated with his offensive game but that night everything clicked.
“We kept going to him more because he couldn’t be stopped,” Mitchell said.
Shorewood coach Shawn Hall said Harvey’s shot selection “was great.”
“He was just playing very aggressive,” Hall said. “He didn’t force things…It was just the style we played that night trying to get up and down the floor. It was a unique kind of game.”
Besides Harvey’s total, Shorewood’s 93 total points was the most allowed by a Jackson team since coach Steve Johnson took over six years ago.
“We let him get comfortable early and he obviously has some skills and some talent,” Johnson said. “Once he was able to be confident in the game it kind of snowballed from there.”
Jackson, the defending league champions, changed defenses from zone to man and put different players on Harvey but never went to a gimmick defense like a box-and-one to stop him.
“Certain things we can do better (defensively),” Johnson said. “You have to give him credit. Certainly it was an extraordinary performance no question.”
What’s even more extraordinary is that Harvey, who averages 13.4 points per game, had not played high school basketball until this year. A year ago he was working as a waiter at a Green Lake retirement home after dropping out of school. He played pick-up games on the courts at Green Lake and in a men’s league in Mountlake Terrace, and had scored 40 points in a recreational game before but never 50.
Although there are no official Wesco and Shorewood school records, no other mark appears to come close. Edmonds-Woodway coach Gail Pintler who coached Shorewood for 20 seasons said he could not recall any scoring total coming close to Harvey’s. Rob Diederichs, who led the Wesco South in scoring for three years before graduating in 2005, said he scored 39 in a game, the most recent high total.
The all-time Washington state boys high school record for points in a game is 80, by Bob Wright of Class B Green Hill Reform School in Chehalis. Wright’s accomplishment came on Feb. 9, 1968 against Mary M. Knight High School, according to records guru David Maley of Rosalia.
The big school record is 61 by Gary Nelson of Elma on Dec. 30, 1952 against O’Dea.
Harvey, who moved with his family from Maine a couple years ago, played with Shorewood the summer before his junior year but then dropped out of school and didn’t turn out. Hall said he tried to get him to come back to no avail.
Then last summer Harvey got back in touch.
“He called me out of the blue and said ‘I want to come back,’” Hall said.
Harvey is listed as a senior, but credits-wise is a junior.
“I wanted to play basketball,” Harvey said. “I wanted to get my high school diploma.”
Harvey passed weekly grade checks and became eligible to turn out, Hall said.
Harvey, who turned 18 in December, said he plans to apply to the WIAA for hardship eligibility so he can play next year while he finishes school.
“He’s trying his hardest to get things done right. As a coach, a kid like that you want to root for, you open doors for him,” Hall said. “He’s worked hard. He’s an honest kid. He’s one of the kids on the team I really like.”
“It didn’t surprise me at all to see him go off like that,” Hall continued. “He’s the most athletic kid on the team. He probably has the best shot in traffic getting to the hole.”
Hall thinks Harvey could work his way up into a junior college program somewhere if he improves his game.
Harvey was in foul trouble against Edmonds-Woodway, the game before his outburst, and scored only two points. He came back to Earth against Meadowdale Jan. 10, in the game after the Jackson game, and scored only six points.
“He got pretty frustrated the Meadowdale game,” Hall said. He told Harvey, “‘It’s kind of an honor they’re bumping you and pushing you around. You’re on the map. You can’t walk through it like you used to.’”
There’s no doubt now. The Western Conference knows about Stuart Harvey.
Here are two highlighted sporting events coming up this week:
Shorecrest at Edmonds-Woodway girls basketball
Game time: 7:30 p.m., Friday Jan. 18
Records (through Jan. 12): Edmonds-Woodway (4-5 Wesco South, 6-7 overall), Shorecrest (6-3, 7-6).
Last meeting: Shorecrest 54, Edmonds-Woodway 52
Players to watch: Edmonds-Woodway’s junior duo of forward Abby Butler (11.4 points per game) and guard Jennifer Singh (10.3 ppg) leads the Warriors, while Jocelyn Riordan (13.1 ppg) leads the Scots.
The 411: Shorecrest freshman Rachel Schrote hit a buzzer-beater to beat Edmonds-Woodway the first time around and the Warriors will be out to avenge the loss. Shorecrest endured a 34-point pounding at the hands of Kamiak Jan. 12 and is looking to get back on track this week.
Enterprise pick: Shorecrest 58, Edmonds-Woodway 54.
Shorewood at Kamiak swimming
Meet time: 3:30 p.m., Thursday Jan. 24
Records (through Jan. 10): Shorewood (5-0 Wesco South, 8-1 overall); Kamiak (5-0, 7-1)
Last year: Shorewood 95, Kamiak 91.
Swimmers to watch: Shorewood junior Bryan Michaels stars in the distance races, in particular the 500-yard freestyle in which he posted a state qualifying time of 4:38.8 in at the Kentridge Invite, Jan. 12. Other standouts include junior Tim Tan in 100 butterfly and senior Max Vincent in the 50 and 100 freestyle. Kamiak is led by Chris Lynch and Gus Brunner in the 100 breaststroke; Patrick Hunziker in the 100 backstroke; and Tyler Carriker, Daniel Schmidt and Rayan Carter in the 50 freestyle.
The 411: The Western Conference South Division dual meet title likely will come down to this battle of unbeatens. Shorewood is going for its seventh straight Wesco South title. The last time Kamiak beat Shorewood was in 2001 by two points. The Knights also beat the T-birds by one point in 2000. Kamiak is probably the deeper team this year although Shorewood has several top athletes in Michaels, Tan and Vincent. This could come down to scoring in the relays like it did last year, when Shorewood’s second 400-yard freestyle relay edged Kamiak’s second relay for third and won the T-birds the meet.
Enterprise pick: Kamiak 94, Shorewood 92.
Shorecrest at Jackson boys basketball
Game time: 7:30 p.m,, Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Records (through Jan. 11): Shorecrest (1-8 Wesco South, 4-9 overall), Jackson (5-3 Wesco South, 6-7 overall).
Last meeting: Jackson 56, Shorecrest 51.
Players to watch: Jackson freshman Brett Kingma (16.9 ppg) and sophomore guard Ryan Todd (12.0) are their team’s main offensive threats. Shorecrest is led by Mark Golike (14.2).
The 411: Jackson looks to get back on the winning track after losses to Edmonds-Woodway and Meadowdale. The Timberwolves in some respects are the surprise team in the Wesco South Division and are battling for a playoff berth. Jackson had to rally in the second half in the two team’s first meeting of the season. Shorecrest appears to be a much improved team with a recent victory over Mountlake Terrace and a close loss to Kamiak.
Enterprise pick: Jackson 62, Shorecrest 59.
