"He might be Coach Carter"

It’s too early to know for sure, but are the Illawarra Hawks back to being a competitive, winning side after almost a season and a half in the wilderness? 

The Hawks took their biggest scalp of the season in Round 10 with an 18-point beatdown of a Perth side who were – at the time – the most in-form team in the NBL.

Gary Clark and Sam Froling led the way, while Illawarra’s staunch defence restricted Bryce Cotton to just seven points after the three-time MVP entered the clash averaging over 30 points per game in his last six matches.

<iframe src="https://omny.fm/shows/nbl-now/nbl-now-dec-12-illawarra-hawks-are-back-and-get-re/embed?style=artwork" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" title="NBL NOW | Dec 12 | Illawarra Hawks are back!... and get ready to THROWDOWN"></iframe>

Hawks legend Damon Lowery says he’s never seen anything like the club’s resurgence under interim coach Justin Tatum in the past few weeks.

“I’m the unofficial, self-imposed spokesperson for the Illawarra Hawks and what they did to the Perth Wildcats was nothing short of sensational. They showed so much ticker in that game,” Lowery said on NBL Now.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team rally behind a coach before like this. All the turmoil they’ve been through – and everyone’s had their say and everybody’s put the boot in. For Justin Tatum to have never coached grown men, to come in off the bench – not even the lead assistant, the second or third assistant – what he has got this team to do and buy in is unbelievable.

“He might be Coach Carter.

“I’m watching the Hawks on the bench and they are the most enthusiastic 12 dudes I’ve seen in a long time. It’s like watching a college team that just hit a buzzer-beater in March Madness.

“They are up and about and playing with so much energy, and you can’t help but respect the absolute crap out of Justin Tatum for what he’s done to that team.”

One of the key components of Illawarra’s win over Perth was the performance of Tyler Harvey, and where the Hawks captain has often been front and centre in any victory the club has pulled off in the past two seasons, he flew somewhat under the radar against the Wildcats.

Harvey is known for being a plug and play, high-volume scorer, but he turned distributor with a team-high seven assists.

He still put up more shots than anyone on the Hawks besides Clark – both had 14 attempts for the game – and he still scored 16 points, but Lowery believes Tatum has unlocked the best way to utilise Harvey offensively.

“I’ve never seen Tyler Harvey play with so much poise before,” Lowery continued. “Not that he couldn’t do it, just that he didn’t do it very often.

“He might be the Tyler Harvey whisperer.

“Now under Justin’s leadership Tyler’s a new player. He had seven assists that game, he took the right shots at the right time, he’s been good to watch.”

Illawarra’s victory moved them off the bottom of the ladder, and the Hawks have now leapfrogged both Adelaide and New Zealand to move into eighth position.

They’re currently three games outside of the Play-In positions, but they have also played three games fewer than sixth-placed Brisbane, and two games fewer than any side currently above them on the ladder.

Their next game comes when they play South East Melbourne at the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium on Saturday evening.