New-look Hawks embracing change

Losing almost everyone from last season doesn't mean this will be a lost season for Harper College men's basketball.

"It's a feeling I've got," said second-year Harper coach Tony Amarino. "When we get on the court we've got a chance to win no matter who we're playing."

Amarino has been coaching long enough to know that doesn't mean Harper will win them all. But winning 2 of 3 was a nice way to start after a 20-win season.

"We haven't played a complete game, which I expected," Amarino said. "Our best half of the year was the first half of our opener (50 points against the Olivet Nazarene JV) and we executed.

"We have a nice nucleus with size and quickness. We have good players."

The returnees are 6-foot-2 sophomore guards Josh Toon (Elk Grove) and Maxwell Jackson (DeLaSalle). Toon, a Daily Herald All-Area pick, saw limited action last year but is averaging 17 points a game and was the NJCAA Division III Player of the Week after his start.

"He can rebound and play both ends of the court," Amarino said.

Helping inside are 6-8 sophomore Jason Montgomery, who transferred from Lewis & Clark College and played at Rich Central, 6-9 Justin Bond (Schaumburg) and 6-4 Kevin Steele (Fremd).

Amarino said freshman Brandon Bolger, an all-area guard at Schaumburg, has played well in a couple of games. Freshman Gerald Hutton, an all-area guard at Palatine, started the first game at the point but chipped a bone in his ankle and is out indefinitely.

Even with all the newcomers, Amarino saw a good sign of maturity out of Tuesday's 73-65 loss to Morton.

"We made some fundamental mistakes and we weren't disciplined," Amarino said. "Sometimes that's good for you because they realized how badly they played."