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BY AL HAMNIK
ahamnik@nwitimes
219.933.4154 | Thursday, June 12, 2008 | (No comments posted.)
MERRILLVILLE | You would think Luke Harangody is a Rembrandt hanging in The Louvre, the way Notre Dame's sports information office frets over the 6-foot-8 sophomore from Schererville.
At the April 19 Irish spring football game, one school official approached a local reporter and made it clear the university did not want Harangody or his parents to be contacted at their home then or during the summer now that his most stressful season had ended amid media speculation of him turning pro early.
The reporter, of course, would make no such guarantee.
Luke needed time to kick back and relax without being disturbed, the official insisted.
"That was a little bit exaggeration and a little bit of truth, too," Harangody said Wednesday at Dan Dakich's Andrean basketball camp. "You go through a long stretch of season like that and you need a little time away from the game, away from everything, to let your mind relax mentally and your body physically."
But being ordered not to contact him at home, when school is out?
"That's just them being protective and thinking of what's best for me," Harangody said. "That was the school's idea. We talked to the SID and now that I'm back in (summer) school, we'll start doing interviews.
"I don't mind talking with people."
Harangody led the 25-8 Irish in scoring (20.4) and rebounding (10.6) on the way to earning Big East Conference Player of the Year honors. As the season progressed, so did the debate as to whether he was ready to make that jump to the NBA.
"We thought about it a little bit and definitely considered the pros and cons of throwing my name out there," Harangody said. "But in the end, I think it's just a better decision to come back. There's still a lot I have to work on. And with such a great team coming back and such great players, it was an easy decision.
"Getting that degree from Notre Dame is one of the big reasons why I came there, and I'm pretty close."
Harangody said he still enjoys college life, hanging out with teammates, and just being a kid.
Among the other schools to recruit him were Ohio State, Indiana and Bowling Green -- the latter while Dakich was coach there.
Before addressing the young campers, Harangody renewed acquaintances with ex-59ers and Bowling Green star Len Matela, who was assisting Dakich. He had earlier visited with boys varsity coach Carson Cunningham, who played ball at Andrean and Purdue.
Harangody's eyes lit up when it was mentioned former Purdue freshman Scott Martin of Valparaiso would be transferring to South Bend this fall.
"That was great for us. I called him a couple times, did a little 'recruiting.' Maybe I'm a future coach," Harangody laughed. "Having him there right now, just as a practice player, is going to help prepare our team.
"I told Coach (Mike) Brey: 'You'd better start getting me on the payroll because of all the players coming in.'"
As dozens of bug-eyed campers gathered in a circle to hear Harangody, Dakich introduced his guest by saying: "Luke Harangody is arguably the second-best player to have ever played at Andrean. I'm not saying who the best is, but ..."
Turning serious, Dakich continued: "He's not the tallest, but what makes Luke so unique is that he comes at you, comes at you, comes at you. Dunk on him and he'll come right back at you. He's a fierce competitor."
Harangody missed most of his sophomore season at Andrean with stress fractures in his back.
In a year, he could be a first-round draft pick.
That's a comeback worthy of a book deal.
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