The Fast Break feat. Tyler Harvey

On first impressions of the NBL...

It's only early days but so far it's been great for me. Every team looks sharp and the league looks extremely competitive. I've been very aware of this league for a while, a couple of my college buddies played in the NBL a few years ago, it has always been on the up and I jumped at the opportunity to come out here and experience it for myself. I just need to make the most of my opportunity now. I'm getting coached by one of the best coaches in the world [Brian Goorjian] and that's been such a great experience. I've taken so much information from him, I'm kind of spoiled to be learning from the best. There are honestly no complaints, it's been top notch.  

On his role as The Hawks on court leader…

As a point guard you’re expected to make the play calls so you gotta embrace it. I like to think I’ve always been an on court leader. Coach [Goorjian] is the real guru though, we're always talking, always scheming and he puts the trust in me to deliver the great game plan the coaches come up with. Coach always wants to know what I see and we go back and forth with each other a lot. I think a good leader has to be able to communicate well with everyone and you have to earn the trust of those around you. I expect everyone to tell me when I'm doing something wrong and this side has already been around each other so much we can say whatever we want now without really hurting one another’s feelings. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Splash ?? <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> setting the tone!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/44QctJBkyG">pic.twitter.com/44QctJBkyG</a></p>&mdash; Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1350334744551063555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 16, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On being out on the road since Christmas…

It’s honestly been great. I was joking the other day that I don't think I’ve had this many team meals together with all the groups I’ve been involved with. We eat together, we practice together, we do weights together, we joke around together, we’re like a big family. You don't often get to spend this much time with your teammates but we’re all in it together, we’re embracing the road and making sure we’re ready to go each night.

On expectations for The Hawks…

Honestly we just wanna maximise our potential. We have a lot of weapons on our team and run pretty deep. Coach always tells us to take this one day at a time and try to get better every single day and he's been great about keeping us in this moment. We're willing to do the little things for each other right now and that's keeping us grounded and prepared for the season ahead. I feel like if you take care of all the little things that will add up in the end - and if you worry too much about the outcome it mucks up the process a bit. You gotta have everybody contributing and at the moment everyone on our team is a part of us winning and it’d be foolish to say it’s only on a few people. Every guy is stepping up every single time we step on the court right now and that's the winning recipe!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This vicious <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> putback late in Q4 is your <a href="https://twitter.com/peppermoney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@peppermoney</a> ‘Money Ball of the Game’ Hawk Nation ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/kcnhSLojOq">pic.twitter.com/kcnhSLojOq</a></p>&mdash; Hawks Basketball (@thehawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehawks/status/1350673969431539714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

On being in Australian but away from family…

I love it here honestly. It's awesome, the people are great, I've never been in a place like this before where everyone is so nice and so caring. It's just a great vibe and reminds me of where I come from in California, it's just like home for me. But I'm not gonna lie, it’s been a struggle to get my wife (Hayley) over here. She's still in America right now and that's been tough. Of course I want my wife out here, we've been trying everything we can to get her out here but it's been to no avail so far. We’re hoping to hear some good news in the future, but at the moment she stays up til 2am to watch and I can always text her after the game to see what she thought.

On acclimatising to Australia…

It’s definitely been unique, but then again what isn’t unique now in this world with everything going on. First I was in Wollongong obviously, then we were down in Albury, now in Queensland so I've seen some places already. No matter where we've been though training has been hard since I arrived and that's been good. One thing about the season so far is we've had time to bond with one another that we wouldn't have necessarily got in Wollongong. It's been a good experience [being on the road], we've got a lot accomplished under these circumstances and we’re rolling with the punches and it's working out.

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