Harvey to make TNT debut vs Douthit

MANILA, Philippines - With original import Omar Samhan undergoing therapy after surgery to repair an ACL tear, Talk ‘N’ Text coach Chot Reyes is pinning his hopes on replacement Donnell Harvey to keep alive the Tropa’s dream of a Grand Slam this season.

Reyes, who’s retiring from the PBA at the end of the third conference to concentrate on his job with the national team and the MVP Sports Foundation as executive director, said at the moment, his focus is strictly on the Commissioner’s Cup. But as Talk ‘N’ Text is the only team with the chance of bagging a Grand Slam, the dream has to be in the back of his mind. It would be a fitting cap to a 20-year PBA coaching career.

Samhan played only twice for the Tropa before suffering the ACL tear in his left knee in a game against Alaska last Feb. 26. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Canlas operated on Samhan in a 36-minute procedure at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Global City last Wednesday and two days later, the 6-11 center from St. Mary’s started his rehabilitation at the Moro Lorenzo facility in Loyola Heights. Dr. Canlas said the surgery “went very well” and Samhan is scheduled to visit for a check-up today.

Harvey, 31, planed in from Atlanta last Saturday and reported for a brief practice the next day. “He looks like a good fit,” said Reyes. “He’s 6-8 but then, we’re really not a post-up team. He led the entire Chinese league in rebounding even at his height while averaging 24 points.”

Harvey will make his PBA debut against Air 21 in the first game of a twinbill at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight. He’ll give up three inches in ceiling in his match-up with Express import Marcus Douthit.

What makes Harvey a fit for Talk ‘N’ Text is his ability to clear the boards since the Tropa thrives in a running attack. With a 90-inch wingspan, Harvey uses his length to good advantage. No doubt, rebounding is his strong suit. University of Alabama coach Mark Gottfried described Harvey as “a cleaned up version of Dennis Rodman without the yellow hair.”

Before enrolling at Florida University in 1999-2000, Harvey paid his own way to sign up for Pete Newell’s big-man camp in Hawaii to hone his low-post skills with the likes of Jamaal Magliore and Mamadou N’diaye. “His defense is really quick,” said Newell. “He’s a lefthander who plays low and was harder than hell to beat. He went for every loose ball, diving for it, and we were just in drills. He developed a game with his right hand, too. And he’s got range.” He left Randolph City High School in Georgia as the all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots with single-game highs of 38 points and 27 rebounds as a senior. Harvey was considered the No. 1 high school player in the US before moving to Florida. He led Randolph City to an overall record of 95-20. At the McDonald’s All-American camp for top high schoolers, Harvey joined the slam dunk contest and ran away with the title.

Harvey played only a year at Florida and made a huge impact as the Gators posted a 29-8 record and lost to Michigan State in the NCAA finals. He averaged 10.1 points, 7.0 rebounds and 20.2 minutes and shot .507 from the field and .610 from the line. Harvey led the varsity in dunks and double-doubles. Among his teammates were Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem and Matt Bonner, all playing in the NBA this season.

Harvey was New York’s first round pick in the 2000 NBA draft where the first overall pick was Kenyon Martin. He was chosen ahead of DeShawn Stevenson, Eddie House, Eduardo Najera, Michael Redd, Brian Cardinal and ex-PBA imports Chris Carrawell, Chris Porter and Pete Mickeal.

Harvey earned over $2.7 Million in his five-year NBA career with Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Phoenix and New Jersey. He averaged 5.6 points in 205 total games. From the NBA, Harvey saw action in Greece, Turkey, China, Puerto Rico and Bosnia-Herzogovina. Playing for TianJin Rongcheng in the Chinese league this season, he averaged 24.7 points and 14.6 rebounds in 32 games. He shot .587 from the field and .761 from the stripe.

In case Harvey didn’t fly in, Reyes said his back-up was 6-10 Herbert Hill of Providence. The 6-10 Hill, 27, was the Utah Jazz’ second round pick in the 2007 NBA draft. The hitch was Hill is still playing in the Korean league.

For Talk ‘N’ Text’s purposes, Harvey seems heaven-sent. He fills a big hole in the middle and if he’s as dominant as advertised off the boards, the Tropa will have a field day scoring in transition.