Ranking the freshman seasons of former number one high school recruits

SYRACUSE, NY - FEBRUARY 23: Former Syracuse Orange player Carmelo Anthony (C) receives his jersey from athletic director Daryl Gross (L) as his number is retired during a ceremony at half time during the game against the Georgetown Hoyas at the Carrier Dome on February 23, 2013 in Syracuse, New York. (Photo by Nate Shron/Getty Images) /

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Donnell Harvey (Photo credit should read KIRK SPEER/AFP via Getty Images) /

Ranking the freshman seasons of former number one high school recruits: 21. Donnell Harvey

Freshman stats: 10.1 ppg, 7 rpg, 50.7 fg%

The 1999 high school McDonald’s All-American game churned out a few solid NBA players, including former multiple-time All-Star, Carlos Boozer, and one of the greatest dunkers of all time in Jason Richardson.

None of those players, or anyone else during the 1999 high school class, was considered a better player than Donnell Harvey. With a dominant career as a pre-adult, Harvey hitched his wagon to the University of Florida.

He was about as hyped and ballyhooed as you can get but once he stepped onto the court, he was pretty awful. Head coach Billy Donovan placed him in the starting lineup for the first few games of the season but with Harvey giving him mediocre production, he yanked him in favor of Brent Wright.

As a whole, Florida had a great year. They may have finished the season at 29-8 and they made a memorable run to the National Championship Game. Ultimately, they would lose to Michigan State by 13 points.

Harvey was decent during his lone season. He went on to average 10.1 points, 50.7% from the field, and grabbed seven rebounds. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team as a result.

Considering that he spent most of the season on the bench and wasn’t nearly as dominant during his time in college, Harvey didn’t live up to the hype.

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