FEATURE: Standout Sydni Harvey was invited to play for the UConn team at the 2019 USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 National Championship.
By TOM ZEBOLD | USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, MAY 8, 2019– USF’s Sydni Harvey showed she’s got a lot of game during her standout freshman season that helped open the doors to another exciting hoops opportunity for the promising point guard.
Harvey had the honor of being selected to participate in the 2019 USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 National Championship that took place May 3-4 in Las Vegas. The prestigious 18-team event included talent from Division I teams nationwide and also served as 2019 USA Basketball Women’s 3×3 National Team trials. All eligible athletes were in consideration for selection to the 2019 USA Women’s 2019 U.S. Pan American Games 3×3 Basketball Team.
”I’ve never been to Vegas before, so that was cool,” the Nashville, Tenn., native said. “Just meeting some of the players from around the country and getting to know them, it was a great learning experience for me.”
Harvey had a blast seeing how her game stacked up against elite competition while she joined forces with players from a familiar foe.
The conference all-freshman team selection received an invitation to play for the Connecticut squad that consisted of forwards Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Megan Walker along with guard Christyn Williams. Those three standouts helped the No. 3 Huskies (35-3) win their sixth straight AAC Championship title and advance to the NCAA Women’s Final Four that took place in Tampa.
“It was a great honor to be able to play with UConn,” Harvey said. “I was just excited that they asked me to come play with them. They’re a great group of girls.”
Harvey arrived in Las Vegas the day before competition began, which served as an opportunity to quickly build chemistry with the Huskies and go over plays in practice.
“They were basically coaching themselves and teaching me what they came up with play-wise,” Harvey said.
Helping UConn required Harvey to adjust to the non-stop pace of 3×3 basketball that’s grown in popularity and will be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Games were limited to 10 minutes and featured a 12-second shot clock with winners being decided by the first team to 21 points, or leading at the end of regulation.
“Everything is super-fast,” Harvey said. “Say they don’t score, you get the rebound and you’ve got to take it out behind the three-point line. As soon as you touch the ball, the clock is already started.”
Harvey said having to endure the dry heat in Las Vegas during morning games was “different” in the preliminary round that saw her squad post a 2-1 record, good for second place in the Pool E standings. The team then defeated Iowa State in the quarterfinal play-in game before Harvey’s tournament run ended in the quarterfinals.
“It was just a great experience overall,” Harvey said.
A Look Back at Harvey’s Freshman Season
Harvey had many offers as a 2,000-plus point scorer and four-time state champion coming out of Brentwood Academy in Tennessee. USF had everything the two-time Division II Class AA Miss Basketball honoree was looking for in a program – awesome coaches, teammates and facilities. Oh, and the beautiful Bay weather was a huge plus.
“When I came and visited, I kind of got that feeling like, ‘Oh, I can see myself here. This feels like a great place, I can be a part of this,'” Harvey said. “That feeling you get – when you know, you know.”
Harvey is certainly pleased with her college choice, especially after earning all-conference freshman team honors while averaging 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 32 games (24 starts).
“I’m thankful for how the season went and how I was able to do,” she said.
The business analytics and information systems major also has enjoyed “so much diversity” at USF, which has allowed her to meet people from around the world on campus. Basketball-wise, Harvey has already gotten to build friendships with teammates from the Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Portugal and Spain. USF’s 2019-20 roster also will include talent from Belgium and the Czech Republic.
“It’s very unique,” Harvey said. “You get to learn about them and how they do things in their respective countries. I try to get them to teach me some of their languages. That’s kind of hard because sometimes I can’t even say it.”
Heading into her sophomore campaign, Harvey can benefit from experiences she gained in Las Vegas this month and an entire of season of learning about the “ups and downs” of college basketball.
“You’re going to have your really good games and you’re going to have your bad games,” she said. “You’ve just got to find that middle ground. Just stay there and not get too high or low.”
Regardless of how the grind of games go, Harvey is happy to have a place to call a second home.
“Overall, I really do love USF and I’m glad I picked USF,” she said.
About USF Women’s Basketball
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USF notched its eighth consecutive 19-win season and eighth straight postseason appearance in 2018-19. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Enna Pehadzic and Sydni Harvey.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 19 seasons. The all-time winningestcoach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 350 games.
–#GoBulls–
Lorie Garnett
Assistant Director, Communications // WBB, MSOC
