Harvey Jackomas' Confidence Man

Tyler Harvey is the man of the moment right now. After so many near misses the Illawarra captain put together some massive plays to drag his team over the line against New Zealand – with his half-court winner the cherry on top of an immense scoring performance.

Harvey finished the game with 25 points on 56 per cent shooting, and it was his two incredible threes – one from the corner and the aforementioned winner – that helped turn the tide and earn Illawarra a much-needed win.

After the siren you could see the relief on the faces of all those involved with the Hawks, and head coach Jacob Jackomas says having Harvey on the floor provides him extreme confidence in any situation.

“With these guys I’ve got, I’ve said it to them and it’s not a lie, I love coaching them – especially Tyler,” Jackomas said post-game. “On that sideline he helps me with having the belief that we have a chance to win when he is on the floor with us.

“When he’s in the game I know we have a chance which gives me confidence on the sideline. There’s not many players that do that for a coach.

“I’m just happy for everyone else right now … so happy for our fans, especially the ones that stick by us.

“They’ve enjoyed the way we’re playing but now they get to celebrate a result.

“I’ll do a little party dance in my room tonight on my own, but other than that I’m so happy for everyone.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TYLER HARVEY TO WIN THE GAME. HE IS MAGIC ?<br><br>UNRIVALLED DRAMA<br><br>WHAT A GAME OF NBL BASKETBALL ? <a href="https://t.co/218UNw8XkS">pic.twitter.com/218UNw8XkS</a></p>&mdash; NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1615989417155637250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The emotion released by all Hawks players after Harvey hit his immense shot was there for all to see. You only need to look at the reaction of the New Zealand home crowd to understand how incredible it was.

After losing fellow imports Justin Robinson, Geroge King, Peyton Siva and Michael Frazier II to season ending injuries across the NBL23 campaign, Harvey has taken on more and more of the offensive load for his side as the season has progressed.

He’s praised the approach of the playing group to what has been a tough season so far.

“It’s easy to show up for practice and get ready for games when you’re winning. It’s really easy,” Harvey said. “You really show the character of who you are as a team – as a man – when things are tough.

“There’s been a ton of tough times but nobody on our team has folded. That’s credit to coach for keeping us locked in on the moment just play after play and finding a way to get it done.

“We want to win games. That’s what we get paid to do … it hasn’t been easy but it’s who we are on this team.

“Nobody on this team is trying to let this season fold because of the situation we’re in.

“Every night we go out there, the coaches have us ready, and we go out there to win the game. There’s nothing more to it.”

After sending a dagger through New Zealand’s top two hopes with Thursday’s win, Harvey and the Hawks will search for their second straight win when they take on the Bullets on Saturday night.