April 14, 1999
One week from the day he was introduced as the University of Missouri's 15th head men's basketball coach, QUIN SNYDER has identified the first person who will join his coaching staff.
TONY HARVEY, an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan for the past three seasons, will join Snyder's staff at Missouri. Harvey, 32, has been an assistant coach on the collegiate level for the past eight years, including stints at EMU (1997-99), Compton (Calif.) Community College (1996), McNeese State (1994-96) and Southern University (1993).
With the assistance of Harvey, Eastern Michigan enjoyed two 20-win seasons in the past three years, and made an appearance in the 1998 NCAA Tournament, after claiming the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship. The Eagles went 23-10 and were MAC runners-up during the 1996-97 campaign. He coached two current NBA players -- Earl Boykins and Derrick Dial.
Before joining Eastern Michigan, Harvey had a short stint as the associate head coach at Compton Community College in 1996. Prior to that, he was an assistant at McNeese State, and helped guide the Cowboys to their first winning season in 10 years, when they went 15-12 in 1995-96.
"I'm very excited to be a part of a Missouri basketball program that has a great tradition and plays in such a competitive league," said Harvey. "I was fortunate enough to have a few coaching options to choose from - almost like I was being recruited - and I chose Missouri for a number of reasons. The most important factor was Quin Snyder. He's someone who has great energy and he's someone I can work with and work for and develop my talents, as well. He's what I was looking for in a boss," Harvey said.
"Missouri also has an excellent athletic director, a great support staff, and it's a great basketball market," Harvey said. "All of those elements give us a great opportunity for success. I look forward to building the program and trying to win a national championship," he said.
A native of South Bend, Ind., Harvey grew up in Benton Harbor, Mich., and graduated from Benton Harbor High School in 1983 after playing on district and regional basketball championship teams. He then moved on to Louisiana Tech for one year before earning an associate's degree from North Dakota State College of Science, where he led the men's basketball team in scoring and rebounding while earning all-state and all-region honors.
From there, Harvey transferred to Cameron University in Lawton, Okla., where he was an all-conference player and a member of the Dean's Academic Standout list for two years. After graduating from Cameron in 1983, Harvey returned to Benton Harbor High School, where he was an assistant boy's basketball coach from 1990-92.