Luke Harangody - Early Years

Early Years

Growing up in Schererville, Indiana, Harangody, the son of a former Indiana University football player, had an intense sibling rivalry with his brother Ty, who is 20 months older and was one grade ahead of him in school. The two began with basketball games on a mini-hoop in Harangody's room, which ended when they were kicked out for shaking the light fixtures. The games then moved to a court that their father set up in the basement, and from there to the backyard once they outgrew the basement. Their father soon banned them from the backyard because their one-on-one games almost invariably ended in fistfights, but that only moved their rivalry to local parks. Bigger and stronger, Ty won most of their games; Harangody would later say about those days, "I still look back on that as where most of my competitive nature comes from. To beat him, I'd go all out, all the time." Eventually, the brothers' athletic paths split. Ty followed in their father's footsteps as a football player, eventually earning a scholarship to IU as a tight end; his career was ended by a torn ACL in his sophomore year. Harangody grew 3 inches as a high school freshman and opted for basketball.

Harangody starred at Andrean High School in nearby Merrillville. In his last two high school seasons, he averaged over 20 points and 10 rebounds, was named as the top player in Northwest Indiana by at least one media outlet in each season, and received All-State recognition in Indiana in both seasons.