Walsh Showcasing Skills for Red-Hot Hawks

PALATINE, Ill. – Freshman men's basketball player Kevin Walsh (/St. Viator) spent his first semester of college studying at the University of Illinois. Walsh described it as a fun experience, but something was missing – the game of basketball.

He returned home last December and enrolled at Harper College. After a semester of coursework, Walsh knew he wanted to continue his basketball career. A key part of the Hawks' success this year who has been on fire on the court lately, Walsh now owns the honor of the 12^th Harper College Athlete of the Week for the 2013-14 school year.

Walsh injured his ankle a month before the season and was very limited in practice. In the Hawks' first two games of the year, both losses, Walsh scored a combined 10 points. Since that time, the 6-foot-3 guard/forward has been on unstoppable force on the offensive end.

Walsh has only scored less than 10 points in a game once (Nov. 14 vs. Moraine Valley) in the last eight games and is averaging  26.7 PPG over the last three contests, all wins amidst an incredible eight-game winning streak. He scored a season-high 30 points in a 79-72 win over a strong Olive-Harvey squad Dec. 3.

"He's a natural scorer. Offensively, the game is slow to him," said Hawks men's coach Tony Amarino. "He never panicks and lets it come to him. He's got good range as a shooter, and he's confident and thinks he's going to make jump shots."

That range is apparent as Walsh has canned six 3-pointers in back-to-back games and 26 total over his last seven games. However, Walsh is not just a scorer and averages 5.8 RPG (rebounds per game) to go along with his 17.9 PPG.

In the win over Oakton on Tuesday night, the Raiders went on an 8-0 run in the second half to take a lead with 7:22 to play. Unfazed by the surge, Walsh grabbed an offensive rebound on the next possession and scored a put back basket to give the Hawks the lead back. The next time down the court, Walsh calmly knocked down a 3-pointer.

With the game tied at 62-62 in the closing minutes, he sank a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down.

"He's a very intelligent basketball player," Amarino said of Walsh. "He knows the game so well and puts himself in the right position to make those plays."

Walsh, a business major who is also interested in sports management, is hoping to play at a four-year school in the future. Amarino believes he has the ability to at the Div. II level and maybe even a Div. I school.

For now Walsh is just enjoying the team's 8-3 start to the season.

"Winning is more fun than losing, so we have to keep the streak going."