Harper duo has scoring mentality

Any time Joslyn Nicholson and Admir Suljic step into the Sports and Wellness Center on the Harper College campus - or any other gym, for that matter - they are in position to do what they do best: score.

The Harper men's and women's basketball standouts have been finding plenty of success lately, both nationally and within the region.

The duo has combined to be named NJCAA Division III or Region IV player of the week five times this season.

To put that in some perspective, no Hawks male or female basketball player had been named the national or regional player of the week over the past six seasons.

Nicholson, a Cary-Grove graduate who found plenty of high school basketball and track and field success (including a fourth-place Class 3A state finish in the triple jump), joined the Hawks women's basketball program after almost giving up the sport. A year at Olivet Nazarene didn't afford much playing time, and Nicholson said she struggled to adapt to the system the Tigers were running.

Ulimately, Nicholson said she lost confidence, along with some of the joy that should come with competition.

"I wanted to go home and regroup," said Nicholson. "This is basketball - we should have fun."

If scoring is fun, Nicholson, a sophomore, is having plenty of it. Before the Hawks' scheduled game Wednesday against Rock Valley, she ranked in the top 30 nationally in 3 categories - 23.7 points per game (6th), 2.7 steals per game (11th) and 11.5 rebounds per game (29th).

Coach Jenny Turpel has been pleased with Nicholson's big contributions, saying they're reminiscent of another recent standout post player, Monica Hinderer (now playing at Cardinal Stritch).

"She reminded me of Monica,"said Turpel. "If you can get a solid post, you can get a good team out of that."

Nicholson is pleased to simply have the opportunity she's got at Harper.

"I am very grateful," said Nicholson, adding that the program offers "a great environnment. Coach (Turpel) has allowed me to be free and allowed me to be the player I am."

And what a player she's been, hitting for a career-best 41 points in a December game against Ancilla College (Ind.).

"I love my teammates," said Nicholson. "At the end of the day, we are here to play basketballl."

Like Nicholson, Suljic also eclipsed the 40-point mark this season, in a pre-Christmas game against Mid-Michigan.

The regularity with which Suljic has scored may be a surprise, but the freshman's skill set was well known to first-year Harper coach Justin Welke.

"He could shoot the ball," Welke said.

That is evident by his 41 3-point baskets and his 46.6 percentage from beyond the arc.

"As a player, you can feel it," Soljic said of his recent scoring exploits. "It's trust - you're going to hit the next shot.

"I can see my teammates have confidence in me. I can't let them down."

Welke says Suljic's development isn't complete yet, and there's every reason to believe he can find another place to compete after Harper.

That would allow for Suljic's trend of being a late bloomer continue. In high school, his best efforts came at the tail end of his senior year at Lane Tech, which meant he missed out on some of the key recruitment opportunities.

"Coach did a good job about informing me about Harper," Suljic said.

Another important factor feeding into Suljic's decision to attend Harper was a strong personal connection with Welke.

"He gave me an honest opinion of (myself)," Suljic said. "I decided to take a risk and play here. I wasn't sure how it was going to play out."

So far, so good.

Suljic is averaging a team-best 17.9 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. He's also contributed 4.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.

The 6-foot-5 freshman has also been a high achiever in the classroom, having completed his first semester toward a business major with a 4.0 grade point after.

"He wants to work hard," said Welke. "I'm very confident we're going to get him out on a scholarship to a four-year school."