Eastern Washington’s Tyler Harvey declares for NBA draft

For Tyler Harvey, it’s the biggest open look he’s ever seen, a shot too good to pass up.

Eastern Washington’s shooting star, who realized one dream this year by leading the Eagles to the NCAA tournament, plans to forego his final year of college to pursue a lifelong goal of playing professional basketball.

“It honestly would be a dream come true,” Harvey said Wednesday at a press conference on the EWU campus. “I’m all in right now to work hard and hopefully get a shot in the NBA.”

If he does, it’s his shot that will get him there: Harvey was the leading scorer and 3-point shooter in the nation last year.

“I’m an all-right shooter, I guess,” smiled Harvey, who said he hasn’t hired an agent and hasn’t ruled out returning to EWU for his senior season.

However, he said, “As of now, my mind is made up.”

The decision was confirmed last week during spring break, when Harvey consulted with family in Torrance, California. “We felt like the time was right. We thought this was the best opportunity to pursue a professional career,” he said.

The next stop is home in California, where Harvey – a junior who carries a 3.6 grade-point average – will complete his communications degree online and prepare for the future.

The 21-year-old Harvey confirmed that he made the decision with the aid of EWU coach Jim Hayford, who four years ago gave an undersized 17-year-old his only shot at playing college ball. Harvey’s original destination was Whitworth, but he joined Hayford when the latter was hired at Eastern in 2011.

“When I recruited Tyler to Whitworth, I knew he’d make the NBA,” said Hayford, who added that he looked at the decision “as if I was a father.

“If it was my son and he was first-team all-Big Sky, first in the nation in scoring and almost has his degree, I’d probably tell my son, ‘What boxes are left to check?’ ”

Now Harvey has new boxes to check. At 6-foot-4 and 185 pounds, he acknowledged needing to “get stronger” and improve his quickness.

He also has consulted the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee, which will eventually provide Harvey a confidential projection of his likely draft position.

For now, that’s up for debate.

According to NBA expert Chad Ford of ESPN.com, Harvey is the 41st-best prospect in the draft and third among shooting guards. DraftExpress.com puts him at 46th, while NBADraft.net rates him at 84th.

The NBA draft, scheduled for June 25, has 60 spots over two rounds.

Harvey admitted to some anxiety over the decision: “I don’t know – that’s always the fear of the unknown. But hopefully everything works out for the best and I’m going to work my tail off to better my chances.”

That work ethic, according to Hayford, was crucial for Harvey and the team, which just completed the most successful season in its Division I history. The Eagles went 26-9 and won the Big Sky Conference tournament before falling to Georgetown in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Earlier this week, Harvey was named an honorable mention All-American, only the second in school history.

“He was one of the key people in building this program,” Hayford said. “He has done everything we have ever asked of him in the classroom and on the floor.”

The payoff, Harvey said, came in reaching the NCAAs, which he said was his abiding goal since joining the program as a walk-on in the fall of 2011.

“To see how far we’ve come here … that’s something that when (Parker) Kelly came here with me, our goal was to make it to March Madness,” Harvey said.

“My time here has been great, I will always be a part of the Eastern community and the Cheney community.”