Steve Harley Season 2007-08

Career Honors
►2008 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team (sports writers)
►Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall, 2007)

 

2008-09 (SENIOR)
A mainstay in the Husker lineup throughout his two-year career, Steve Harley finished his stay in Lincoln by helping Nebraska to within one game of an upper division conference finish while earning a second straight postseason berth.

Harley completed a solid senior campaign by leading the team with 21 double-figure scoring efforts, as he averaged 10.2 points per game to rank second on the squad.

Playing on the top defensive team in the Big 12 Conference – NU led the league in scoring defense for the second straight season – Harley tied for the team lead in steals with 45. He ranked among the top 10 in the conference in steals per game, including finishing in the top three in league-only contests.

During non-conference play, Harley easily paced the squad with 13.1 points per game while hitting 46.4 percent from the field. he also connected on 70.0 percent at the charity stripe and added 3.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

Harley's top scoring effort came near the end of non-conference play as he posted a career-best 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting to help Nebraska to a come-from-behind victory over IPFW. It was the second 20-point performance of his career.

Earlier in the year, he collected 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting in a victory over Creighton. His nifty, wrap-around pass in the lane to teammate Ade Dagunduro led to the winning basket with less than three seconds remaining, one of two non-league wins over eventual conference champions. It was also one of five victories over teams that won at least one game in the postseason in 2009.

During Big 12 action, Harley struggled with his shooting touch but still managed to collect at least 10 points in nearly half of the league contests (7-of-16 games). His 12 points and career-high-tying six rebounds at Colorado helped Nebraska to its second straight league road victory, an accomplishment only reached by Nebraska four previous times in the Big 12 era.

 

2007-08 (JUNIOR)
Harley ended his first year in Lincoln by being named to the All-Newcomer Team by sportswriters who regularly cover the Big 12 Conference. His place on the squad came after averaging 9.1 points per game and adding 2.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals per contest.

While his first-year numbers seem modest, like many junior college players, Harley came on strong midway through the season after he had time to adjust to the Division I level. He earned the postseason honor based on his play in conference action, when he averaged 11.2 points per game and hit 45.6 percent (67-of-147) from the floor, including an impressive 48.0 percent (12-of-25) from 3-point range.

Harley started just three of the first 15 games he played in at Nebraska, but following a scoring outburst in the third game of league play, he went on to start the final 17 games of the season. During that span, the team went 9-8 with two overtime losses, and finished the final 12 regular-season Big 12 Conference games with a 7-5 mark, trailing only co-champions Kansas and Texas.

In his late-season offensive run, Harley was second on the squad behind center Aleks Maric by averaging 11.3 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting. Harley also nailed 76.7 percent (33-of-43) from the charity stripe while ranking third on the team in free throw attempts.

After finding his rhythm on offense, Harley also showed a strong shooting touch from 3-point range. During the final two months of the season, he connected on 42.9 percent (15-of-35) from long range, including hitting 11 of his last 24 attempts (45.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

In a four-game stretch that included wins over two ranked teams (Kansas State and Texas A&M) along with a victory over NCAA-bound Oklahoma, Harley averaged 16.3 points per game while hitting 25-of-41 (60.9 percent) shots from the floor. He scored a career-high 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Kansas State, and added 17 points against both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to end the four-game surge.

 

Before Nebraska
As a sophomore, Harley finished an impressive campaign in 2007 by being named a first-team junior college All-American. It was the second consecutive season Harley earned an All-America accolade as he was selected to the second team following 2005-06. Harley was also all-conference and all-region each year. Following his final season at South Plains, he was among the elite junior college players in the country who were selected to play in the 2007 NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Classic.

Behind Harley's strong play, South Plains vaulted to a No. 20 final national team ranking in NJCAA Division I. The Texans ended the year with a 26-7 overall record, as Harley had a team-best 19.2 points per game. He added 3.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game and shot an outstanding 51.9 percent (256-of-493) from the floor. He also led the team with 72 steals.

A year earlier, Harley helped South Plains to a 24-8 record as he averaged 20.7 points, 4.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game.

Harley's solid performances throughout his junior college career helped him earn a No. 4 national ranking among shooting guards by Rick Ball for The Sporting News 2006-07 Preseason Yearbook. Harley was also ranked the No. 3 point guard in the junior college ranks by nbadraft.net, as he worked the point for Green each of his two years in Texas.

Harley played his final season of prep basketball at Marriott High School for Coach Lonnie Brooks. Following his senior campaign in 2003-04, Harley was ranked among the top 100 high school players in the country by Hoopmasters.com as he averaged more than 25 points and seven assists per game to earn all-area (Baltimore) recognition. The previous year, Harley played for Crossland High School as a junior when he averaged 28 points per game to earn all-state honors.

 

Personal
Steve is the son of Laviene and Stanley Harley, and was born on Nov. 16, 1985. He has one brother, Stanley, and one sister, Sade. Steve majored in sociology and earned his bachelor's degree from Nebraska in December of 2012.