NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. — Junior wing D.J. Harvey won the battle against Malik Monk on Friday when he led Team Takeover to an exciting 62-59 win over Arkansas Wings Elite at the Peach Jam.
The 6-foot-6 Harvey out of DeMatha (Md.) Catholic finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds while helping to limit Monk to 10 points on 4-for-13 shooting.
“It was definitely something different,” Harvey said of guarding the 6-4 Monk. “I guarded him at the Nike Skills Academy in L.A., so it’s kind of a friendship/rivalry in a way. It’s definitely good to play against him. He made me a lot better this game.”
A Who’s Who of coaches sat courtside, including Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kentucky’s John Calipari, Arkansas’s Mike Anderson, SMU’s Larry Brown, Villanova’s Jay Wright, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and Oregon’s Dana Altman.
“Most of them have already offered me, but it just gives me something to show every time I go out on the court,” Harvey said.
He holds offers from Arizona, N.C. State, Miami, Notre Dame, Louisville, Oregon, Texas and more.
Harvey couldn’t help but notice the Duke coaches, and is hoping for an offer from the Blue Devils.
“Hopefully [they offer soon],” he said. “I’ve been talking to coach [Jeff] Capel a lot. This is the second time Coach K has come to one of my games so hopefully they’re recruiting me heavy. I would hope to get an offer soon.”
He added: “The rest of the coaching staff is ready to offer me but Coach K hasn’t been to a lot of my games to see, so it’s just up to Coach K right now.”
Harvey would also like to get offers from Kentucky and Iowa State.
“Those are pretty much the big ones that I haven’t got,” he said.
Calipari was on hand for Monk, who is set to trim his list sometime next month, with Kentucky and Arkansas the perceived leaders.
Meantime, Harvey visited Villanova after the Mary Kline Classic this spring.
“It was really nice, Villanova’s a nice campus and my parents loved how they focus on the academic side as well as basketball,” he said. “You can’t play without good grades.”
Harvey also visited Arizona a week and a half ago.
“That was a super-nice campus,” he said.
He said he has some more visits planned, but didn’t mention any specifics.
Harvey has no plans to cut his list right now.
“I decided to cut it down near the end of my junior year,” he said.
As for college, he is already talking about playing together with Billy Preston, Jaylen Hands and Mohamed Bamba — three guys from different parts of the country.
“We’ve been going tot he same camps for a while now so we got to develop a relationship over time,” Harvey said. “We played with each other and against each other and we feel like we have great chemistry already.”
