Brock Harding stamps HS basketball legacy before Iowa debut
MOLINE, Ill. (BVM) – The high school basketball season in Illinois provided senior guard Brock Harding and his Moline squad an opportunity to achieve something that had long eluded the Maroons program. Without a state championship throughout the school’s history, the battle–tested 2022-23 team would enter the campaign with some high expectations as it aimed to break the long-standing drought.
Led by many of the same players that helped the team to the state sectionals in 2021-22, Harding and the Maroons would set their focus on one thing during this year’s campaign. With one final run left for the Moline senior, picking up the elusive state title win remained his and the team’s sole priority.
“We knew the expectations were high,” Harding said. “Everybody was talking about if you don’t win this, [don’t] win that, you guys are pretty much going to be a bust. From the jump we set our expectations higher than everyone else because we wanted to hold ourselves to a higher standard. And we did a great job of coming in every day since that first practice in June and really locking in and getting our eyes on the prize.”
The past 24 hours have been nothing short of amazing! We are the 4A State Champions! State Champions! Thank you to each person and business that supported us! Your support has been noticed and felt. Wharton was electric all season long!
THANK YOU! Mowtown is the BEST! pic.twitter.com/Cp16rjMuy3— Moline Boys Basketball (@MolineBoysBball) March 13, 2023
With the addition of some outside help in new transfers Owen and Braden Freeman, Harding and the Maroons would enjoy a dominant regular season, capping off a difficult schedule with a 28-3 record. Even with a target on their back from the opening of the year, the 6-foot point guard believes the team’s chemistry was instrumental in the overall success.
“As a team, we talked about [the fact] that most people aren’t going to like us, they’re going to say we’re not doing it right,” Harding said of some of the outside noise. “We’re one of the best teams in the state this year so teams weren’t going to like us. So we talked about embracing the hate and just let everybody come at us… Our five guys versus everybody else and I think our team did a great job of that.”
Harding came up big during his senior season, averaging 18.4 points and 5.7 assists as the Maroons coasted through the early onslaught of the 4A tournament with wins over O’Fallon, Oswego East, and Downers Grove. The fourth-year varsity guard saved his most important statement for last, dropping 28 points in Moline’s title–clinching win over Benet Academy for the IHSA 4A State Championship.
University of Iowa signee Brock Harding was the floor general for Moline (IL) dropping 28pts and leading his Maroons to their first IHSA 4A basketball title in school history! 🏆@MolineBoysBball @hardingbrock2 @IowaHoops pic.twitter.com/cWjH0gdRHr
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) March 12, 2023
“We have never played that deep in the tournament and I’ve never seen any Moline team play that deep in the tournament throughout my lifetime, so obviously the nerves were there a little bit,” Harding said of the final game. “I try to pride myself on not really getting nervous but obviously you can feel how big of a game it was.
“Our team knew how much work we put in and we thought we put more time and effort in than anyone else in that tournament… and the team did a pretty good job of relaxing early in the game to not let the nerves get ahead of them.”
The 59-42 victory gave Moline the program’s first ever state championship, while also breaking the 72-year long drought of not making the state’s Final Four. While last year’s playoff run provided a difficult end to the season, Harding believes the experience was pivotal for him and his team’s ability to finish all the way up until the final game in 2023.
“The biggest thing was just learning throughout every year,” Harding said. “Our offense was going to be really good. We scored a lot of points every single game. We took pride in being one of the best transition teams in the state but we learned if we don’t guard, we’re not going to win anything.
“This team was just locked in differently defensively the whole season and that ended up putting us on top of the state for pretty much the whole season.”
Congrats to future Hawkeyes, Brock Harding and Owen Freeman on helping Moline win its first ever state tile last night! 👏🏆 pic.twitter.com/Wy2ryqwCpd
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) March 12, 2023
The Illinois state title was the cherry on top for the star point guard who added an accomplishment that no one before had been quite able to pull off. After setting the Maroons’ all-time scoring record midway through the 2023 campaign, Harding cemented himself as one of the greatest players to come through the Moline program.
With the chance to watch the previous points holder set the record during his eighth grade year, Harding wasn’t quite sure all of his recent achievements would be possible when he first entered the high school. But after putting in countless hours to make it happen, the senior can look back at just how much work it took to get there.
“After my freshman season was really when I flipped a switch and decided, if this was something I wanted to do, then I’m going to have to take it to the next level,” Harding said. “Ever since then, I prided myself on the fact that no one was going to outwork me. I’m going to go in the mornings, I’m going to go after school, I’m going to go three, four times a day so at the end of the day, if I don’t reach my goals, it’s not going to be because I didn’t work hard enough to get there. I don’t want to have a what if.
“I’m proud to say that I could inspire some young Moline kids and open their eyes to things that can be done if they work hard.”
dreams to reality! i’m a hawkeye!🖤💛#committed @TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/OmkWYZgDFW
— brock harding (@hardingbrock2) June 23, 2022
The school’s all-time points leader will head off to the University of Iowa after the remaining months of his senior year, where he will play under head coach Fran McCaffery. Following in the Big Ten footsteps of his older brother who plays baseball at the University of Illinois, Harding says the close proximity played a factor but playing for the longtime Hawkeyes coach was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“The style of play and me just goes hand in hand,” Harding said. “I like to run and make decisions on the fly and that’s the kind of team they are… What Coach McCaffery brings out of his players, he’s going to demand the best out of you every single day.”
Owen, the No. 5-ranked player in the state, will also be joining Harding at Iowa for the upcoming season. The dynamic duo are looking forward to continuing their journey together after building a tight relationship over time.
“Since 15U and now at the high school level, we’ve always just won,” Harding said of the pair’s time together. “To come in and have that expectation [at Iowa] just like we’ve always had growing up, I think that’s going to bring the best out of both of us. Just the way we’ve grown and the way we’ve adapted to the game. I think it’s going to be fun to do at the next level as well.”
The tandem will look to bring some of that same Moline magic to the next level after stamping a legacy that will be tough to top.
