Wednesday, May 29, 2002

FIU signs junior college point guard Kevin Harvey

IU head men's basketball coach Donnie Marsh announced today that junior college all-star point guard Kevin Harvey has accepted an athletic scholarship and will join the Golden Panthers program this fall.

Harvey, a 6-feet-0 point guard from Norfolk, Va., was a two-year letterwinner at Mitchell College in New London, Conn., where he helped the Pequots to a 26-5 record in 2001-02 and NJCAA regional and district titles.

Over his two seasons at Mitchell, Harvey was a career double-figure point scorer with more than five assists per game. Last year, as a sophomore, he averaged 11.2 points and 5.8 assists per game for head coach Todd Peretz whose team reached the second round of the NJCAA National Tournament in Danville, Ill.

Following championship play, Harvey was selected to the all-tournament team for the second consecutive year. He chose FIU over interest shown by Hartford, Sacred Heart, Norfolk State, Winthrop and Central Connecticut State.

"Kevin is a true point guard who is extremely athletic. He pushes the ball well but understands how to get his teammates involved and make them better," said Marsh who begins his third season overseeing the Golden Panthers Division I, Sun Belt Conference program.

"He not only has the ability to knock down the outside shot, but will also be exciting to watch on the defensive end. I expect Kevin to add a sense of maturity and he's a terrific student. He combines all the things we've been looking for to bring into our program and we're excited to have him join us."

Harvey becomes the third player to accept an FIU basketball scholarship for the upcoming season, joining junior college transfers Eulis Baez and Nelson "Junior" Matias, both of whom played the past two years at Southeastern (Ia.) Community College.