Neither of them has the crowd of supporters that Norman does, though.

“They’re all my friends and blockmates mostly. I haven’t told them I’m starting yet, but they’ll probably find out tomorrow and go crazy,” Norman said.

Even though he won’t have to combat Harvey, Columbia coach Armond Hill isn’t taking anything for granted this weekend. He stressed yesterday that his team could not afford to look past the rest of Harvard’s lineup.

“He was a hard [person to] guard, no question about it,” Hill said of Harvey. “He was a terrific shooter, he put the ball on the floor and he always made big shots against us. We were set to prepare for him in practice on Monday when we heard the news. But they (Harvard) have a lot of depth and you still need to defend their plays, so we’re preparing the same way.”

Harvey was the Crimson’s best player at creating his own shot. But Hill had high praise for Prasse-Freeman’s own ability to create, noting his ability to make something out of nothing via the pass.

“Prasse-Freeman is, I think, the best passer in the league,” Hill said. “He finds players and sets them up so well that most of the time, all the other guy has to do is make the shot.”

For the time being, Prasse-Freeman will probably be counted on to play close to the full 40 minutes per game. Harvey was the Crimson’s de facto backup point guard and occasional fill-in David Giovacchini is injured, leaving the Crimson without a clear second option at floor general. Sullivan said that if Prasse-Freeman—who has been susceptible to foul trouble at points this season—needs to sit, he will make a decision on a replacement based on matchups.

—Staff writer Brian E. Fallon can be reached at bfallon@fas.harvard.edu.