Ben Harvey has returned from six weeks on the sidelines with injury, and this week will play his 300th career South East Australian Basketball League game, when his Bendigo Braves team takes the court this Saturday night against the Knox Raiders.

In his 299 games to date he has scored 3544 points, 1259 rebounds, and is the all time SEABL Assists leader with 1887 assists. Ben should hold this honour for many years to come as he is currently over 500 assists ahead of fellow 300+ game veterans Eric Hayes and David Biwer.

Ben is the eleventh SEABL Player to achieve this milestone, and will be presented with a Plaque recognising his achievement at the SEABL Grand Final this year.

Ben, originally from Diamond Valley in Melbourne’s north eastern suburbs joined the SEABL in 1995 with the North West Tasmania Originals as a 21 year old, and had instant success, earning the SEABL Assist leader trophy at seasons end.

In 1996, Ben had a memorable year, winning both the South Conference Men title and the ABA National Championship. Ben was also awarded a position on the All SEABL South Men Team, the SEABL South Men Youth Player of the Year and the South Men Assists leader. Harvey was also awarded a position on the ABA National All star Five.

The following year Ben returned to the mainland and played with the Albury/Wodonga Bandits under coach Sean McShane. On the 5th April, 1997 Ben edged his name into the SEABL records book with the highest all time single game record for assists in a game with a fantastic 25 against Geelong. Harvey finished the year as the SEABL and ABA National Golden Hands Award winner and once again led the league and nation in assists.

Harvey returned to Tasmania the following year (1998) and guided the Hobart Chargers to the SEABL South Men Championship in his first season, and again in 2000. Harvey earned his second All SEABL South Men team selection in 2000, and with a MVP performance guided the Hobart Chargers to their first ABA National title in 2000.

Ben has been a valuable player in each team he has played for and returned to Victoria in 2001 after accepting an administration job with Bendigo Basketball. Since joining the Bendigo Braves Harvey has built the team into a feared opposition, and along with league MVP Shawn Redhage guided the Braves to the SEABL South Men title with an incredible 21-5 season record. Ben went onto to secure his third ABA National Championship ring, helping his Braves to a 102-98 victory against the Sydney Comets in the Grand Final.

Bendigo is currently in second position on the SEABL South Men ladder with an 11-3 record, and Braves’ Coach Wayne Larkins and his team will be keen to record the victory on Saturday and make the night a memorable occasion for Ben Harvey.

Current All Time Games Played Leaders

422 Eric Hayes
385 Rhys Newsome
365 Shane Smith
332 Shannon Erskine
318 David Flint
315 Michael Wheeler
310 Shane Bright
307 Allen McCowan
306 Justin Cass
301 David Biwer
299 Ben Harvey

Current All Time Assist Leaders

1887 Ben Harvey
1762 Chris Ash
1516 Jerome Lee
1378 Eric Hayes
1371 David Biwer
1365 Michael Wheeler
1293 Mark Banovic
1279 Allen McCowan
1244 Damon Lowery
1188 David Flint

Current All Time Steals Leaders

793 Damon Lowery
767 Jason Pepper
760 Allen McCowan
742 Jerome Lee
709 Michael Wheeler
624 Eric Hayes
581 David Biwer
564 Ben Harvey
549 Eric Cooks
544 Andrew Beattie

Article courtesy of www.seabl.com.au