AS married couples go, Tyler and Haley Harvey have been together through thick and thin, in more ways than one.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In fact, when they first met as freshmen at Eastern Washington University, Harvey was considered too thin; too short as well.
As a red-shirt freshman he was barely 6'1, barely 70 kilograms and barely getting on the floor.
A beautiful long-range shot aside, the physical dimensions meant he was not heavily recruited as a senior at Bishop Montgomery High.
He eventually committed to Eastern as a walk-on, which is where he crossed paths with the woman who would become his wife.
"He was probably two inches shorter and about 40 pounds lighter," Haley recalls.
"His roommate played football, I played soccer, and I was going to lunch with him. He invited his roommates, one of whom was Tyler, and we just really got along.
"He finished a quote I was saying from (the film) White Chicks - I said 'you were thinking it' and he said 'yeah but you said it'. I just left the conversation thinking 'that guy's funny'.
"I'd never seen him play, I didn't know he was any good. We were friends for a good six months, we had a class together, and eventually it just progressed to where we stopped inviting his roommate."
Their relationship progressed, but Harvey's playing career looked to have hit a dead-end as he was drip-fed minutes and largely rode the pine.
The roommate who introduced them - still one of their best friends to this day - was still around, but the real third-wheel in their relationship was the gym's three-point shooting gun.
"After all those games where he wasn't playing, he'd stay until midnight and just shoot on the gun," Haley said.
"When he was done there'd be no restaurants open because we were in such a small town.
I'd try to whip him up something to eat because he'd be on that shooting gun until all hours of the night.
"I wasn't very good at cooking so it was usually some quick pasta, he loved pesto chicken tortellini."
As things so often do in sport, things ultimately turned on a dime. Trailing by 18 points late in a game, and needing quick points, coach Jim Hayford threw in the skinny sophomore.
In a performance Illawarra fans have become warmly accustomed to this NBL season, Harvey had four threes in 14 points in a seven-minute burst in what was ultimately an overtime win.
From there, he never gave that spot up, though he spent the same late hours in the gym.
Within a year he'd taken the little-known program to 26 wins, a Big Sky Conference championship and the school's second ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
He was also Division I leading scorer at 23.1 points per game. Haley says the metamorphosis was something to see.
"The first two years we were dating he really didn't play much and I remember sitting in the stands and it was kind of uncomfortable because there were no fans," she said.
"It was so cool to see the transformation from his redshirt freshman year to his final [junior] year there and we couldn't even find a seat at the games. It was super-cool to see that happen.
"It all went so fast from him not playing much to getting a shot and scoring a bunch in one game. Ever since then he's just continually proven himself, but he's always stayed the same.
"He never looks for accolades. He never knows how many points he's scored in a game or anything like that. It's pretty amazing."
What's also never changed is the competitive drive that's been on show with the Hawks this season.
Coach Brian Goorjian has said the 27-year-old's will to win is as strong as any player he's coached. It's not something he can readily turn off according to his wife.
"Oh he's very competitive," she says.
"We play golf a lot together. My dad's dream was for me to be a professional golfer and he could be my caddie so he started training me young.
"I used to be beat Ty, but I don't beat him too much anymore, he really turned it on. He's like that in anything, he always has to keep playing until he wins. He's very driven that way."
It explains why, when he did eventually pop the question, he did so at her father's golf club in Seattle.
They tied the knot in July 2019, but the time they've spent apart since is more than any newlyweds would like or envisage.
Texting and Facetime has been an all too regular experience for the pair who've been apart due to COVID restrictions for going on six months.
"The longest we've ever been apart [previously] is three months so it's been difficult," Haley said.
"We've tried to make the best of it but it's hard because, at the end of the day, we're best friends, we do everything together. Just going to the grocery store together, we've never taken that time for granted.
"We've done [long] distance before but we never thought we'd have to do it again now that we are married. He's played somewhere different every year [as a pro] but as long as I was there he was fine.
"He didn't need much else, so not having me there [now] is really hard for him but you can only play so long and these are the most important years.
"Those seasons are really mentally and physically draining so I really wish I could be there to support him, but at least I know he's happy with the team and Australia's been really good for him."
It may have taken him seven years to pop the question, but Harvey says he's known it was headed that way since sharing those bowls of midnight tortellini.
"She's been with me since I was a redshirt on the bench so I knew she was a keeper," Harvey said.
"When I didn't play much I would go after games and shoot until midnight or later and she'd be up to cook dinner and have it ready for me no matter how late it was.
"I knew from the get-go she was the one for me. She didn't care about the basketball stuff, she loves basketball, but she loved me for who I am and she's been my partner and best friend ever since.
"Even now, she stays up until 2am to watch the games so I know straight after the game I can text her and she'll be up."
Harvey knows his is not a unique experience in a global pandemic, or the toughest. it's not a sob story, but it's a reminder for we fans and observers, that life as a professional athlete isn't all glitz and glamour. It's a grind.
"It's been tough but my wife's amazing, she's handled it really well," Harvey said.
"She's a planner and I always make fun of her for planning because in the career I'm in you can't always plan much. I don't think anybody's experienced what we're all experiencing just because of the situation the world's in.
"It's a different experience, especially since we just got married. When I got married I thought 'well I'll never have to be on my own anymore' but with COVID and everything that's changed.
"Life throws you some crazy things sometimes but I'm grateful she's able to handle how hard the situation is.
"She's a trooper and she still supports me from afar. We talk every single day and I know I have my best friend there for me whenever I need her."
We depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.
