Oak Lawn’s Marc Harvey dealt with a sore knee for well over a year, playing through an injury he suffered his sophomore year and thriving in spite of it.
But before his senior season this winter, Harvey reached a breaking point. It was time to finally take care of the problem. He had surgery at the end of the summer to repair a meniscus tear.
“After summer league, it got to the point where I couldn’t play on it anymore,” Harvey said. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to see what’s up with this.’
“After the surgery, my body is starting to come together and everything’s feeling good.”
In the last couple weeks, that has started to translate to the court. Harvey, a 6-foot-4 forward, continued a hot streak Monday night, pouring in 30 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to lead the visiting Spartans to a 69-47 win over St. Rita in Chicago.
Jack Dempsey finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for Oak Lawn (10-5), while Omar Saleh added eight rebounds.
Micheal Hampton III and Brendan McDevitt scored nine points each to lead St. Rita (6-10). Angelo Adams and Andrew Elwood added eight points apiece.
Harvey, meanwhile, knocked down four 3-pointers. He’s expanding his game after mostly thriving inside last season.
“I think over the past couple years, his shooting has really evolved,” Dempsey said of Harvey. “I think he‘s getting into his groove for the second half of the season. He’s put in a lot of work, so kudos to him.”
Oak Lawn led 18-0 in the first quarter and 40-17 at halftime before the Mustangs put together a 22-6 edge in the third quarter to pull within 46-39.
The Spartans were able to retake control down the stretch as Harvey hit a big 3-pointer to start a surge and Dempsey scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was a roller coaster,” Dempsey said. “We just had to calm down and deal with their pressure and start running things out of our concepts. We were able to settle down and grow our lead and pull away in the end.”
After the surgery, Harvey was sidelined for most of the fall and missed some preseason practices. Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes saw that hamper him early in the season.
“He wasn’t able to do much with us in the fall,” Rhodes said. “He wasn’t in the gym as much as he typically would be. He started a little slow and I challenged him early on because his shooting percentages were not where they should be.
“He responded and he’s playing really, really well now.”
Harvey’s surge began last week at the Pekin Holiday Tournament. He was the leading scorer among the 16 teams at the event, averaging 24.5 points over four games.
“I’ve just been getting back into my groove,” Harvey said. “At the tournament in Pekin, I started getting my shots and started knocking them down. Everything’s going good now.”
Harvey has spent a lot of time working on shooting with Dempsey, who recently topped 1,000 career points and has been a 3-point specialist his whole career.
“I’ve definitely gotten a couple tips from him,” Harvey said. “He’s a great shooter. It’s fun playing with him. We’ve got that one-two punch going.”
Now fully healthy, Harvey feels more ready than ever to play his part in the dynamic duo. And he believes he can score from anywhere on the floor.
“I feel like my game is more well-rounded and I’m way more comfortable firing those threes,” Harvey said. “I’ve been working on my shot all summer and in the fall, improving my shot.
“It’s getting to the point where I’m really confident with it.”