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Notre Dame Basketball: Can D.J. Harvey step up as a sophomore?

SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 13: Theo Pinson #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels and D.J. Harvey #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish battle for the loose ball at Purcell Pavilion on January 13, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - JANUARY 13: Theo Pinson #1 of the North Carolina Tar Heels and D.J. Harvey #3 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish battle for the loose ball at Purcell Pavilion on January 13, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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The Notre Dame basketball roster is filled with potential but also inexperience. With rising sophomore D.J. Harvey rise to the occasion during 2018-19?

Considering Notre Dame basketball has won 20+ games in each of the past four seasons, it is not smart to suggest a down season. Yet, this might be in the cards. There are two reasons for this. For starters, Notre Dame was not especially good last season and that team was relatively experienced. Although they dealt with some horrible injury luck and won 20 games, the Fighting Irish missed the NCAA Tournament after receiving a bid in each of the previous three seasons.

In addition to the idea that ND is not coming off of a great season, the program also has to say goodbye to three awesome seniors in Bonzie Colson, Matt Farrell, and Martinas Geben. All of these athletes played valuable roles for the program over the past few years and they will be difficult to replace. But head coach Mike Brey is talented and will certainly try his best to move on without this group. Here is why Notre Dame could potentially hang around for an NCAA Tournament bid in 2019.

D.J. Harvey is a rising star in the making

At the forefront of the 2018-19 Notre Dame attack will be rising junior T.J. Gibbs. He is the only returning play to average double-figures in points per game last season at 15.3. However, he cannot make a run on his own. This is where rising sophomore D.J. Harvey has to make his mark in a “Robin to Gibbs’ Batman” role. As a freshman last season, Harvey was a solid contributor on the wing, posting modest averages of 5.8 points and 2.9 rebounds. However, he will need to greatly improve on those numbers in order for Notre Dame to make a splash.

Out of high school, the 6-foot-6 Harvey was regarded as the best 2017 recruit from Maryland and the No. 49 recruit in the nation, per 247Sports Composite rankings. Given his talent level, many expected him to be an immediate contributor as a freshman in the ACC. And he was just that. Harvey started five contests, averaged 18.2 minutes per game, and supplied some scoring on relatively solid efficiency for a freshman. However, his season ended after just 19 games due to a knee injury. At the time, this was yet another major blow for Notre Dame, who had already seen their star, Colson, go down for an extended period of time. As we look ahead to this coming season, though, it is important to note that, after successful surgery, Harvey should be ready to go from Day 1.

And Notre Dame will need him. Even though his per game numbers are not astounding from last season, Notre Dame fans will tell you that D.J. Harvey had an underrated season. In the Mike Brey era, it is not common to see a freshmen play as many minutes as Harvey did this past season. In fact, here is the list of freshmen to play more minutes per game than Harvey did (18.2) under Coach Brey at Notre Dame:

  • Demetrius Jackson and Steve Vasturia (2013-14)
  • Pat Connaughton (2011-12)
  • Eric Atkins (2010-11)
  • Luke Harangody and Tory Jackson (2006-07)
  • Kyle McAlarney (2005-06)
  • Torin Francis (2002-03)
  • Chris Thomas (2001-02)

Over the course of 18 total years with Brey as the head coach, only 10 freshmen in eight combined seasons averaged more than 18 minutes per game. One of these included is D.J. Harvey. Fans surely will be excited about what comes next for this wing from Maryland considering the careers that most of the players listed above went on to have. Despite coming off of an injury, it is important to remember that Harvey had a solid freshman campaign and he only scratched the surface.

If D.J. Harvey is able to step up and average in double-figures as a scorer while remaining healthy, then Notre Dame will be in better shape than most think. Although this team will be young next year, Gibbs is already a star and Harvey is not too far behind. With these two at the forefront and a talented (although inexperienced) group around them, the Fighting Irish can make some noise.

Who else is on the roster?

As far as what else is on the roster surrounding Gibbs and Harvey, there are a few notable pieces. Among the returners, guard Rex Pflueger will be back for his final season after posting 8.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season. After starting all 35 games last year, you can expect that Pflueger will reprise that role in 2018-19. As far as how the team will make up for losing the frontcourt talents of Geben and Colson, Notre Dame fans will see the first minutes of UConn transfer Juwan Durham in an ND jersey. The 6-foot-11 big man sat out last season due to transfer rules but should provide a boost to the frontcourt. Even though he averaged less than 10 minutes per game as a freshman for the Huskies, Durham was a top-50 recruit out of high school.

Speaking of recruiting, Notre Dame has some dynamite freshmen coming in. Mike Brey really outdid himself this year on the recruiting circuit, snagging five players and notching the No. 14 spot in the 2018 recruiting class rankings. Four of these players are top-100 recruits and you can expect some of them to receive minutes right away. Coach Brey does not typically give extended run to freshmen but he did last year with Harvey. In addition, he simply might have to put his most talented players on the floor in 2018-19.

Next: Updated way-too-early Bracketology

It is reasonable to be skeptical about Notre Dame heading into this season. Coach Brey’s teams are typically tournament-hardened and experienced but that isn’t the case this season. The Fighting Irish will rely on heavily on T.J. Gibbs as well as the production of underclassmen. More specifically, a breakout season could be in store for rising sophomore D.J. Harvey.