Orange Eagles take part in Western Junior League in Bathurst

The Eagles have featured teams in the under 12s, 14s, 16s and 18s competition for both boys and girls which played its second of three rounds in Bathurst and Lithgow this past weekend.

Harvey was proud of the effort shown.

"We're going through a rebuilding phase," he said.

"There's a lot going on at Orange basketball at the moment and we've got some good young teams, some new coaching, new direction I think we're going above expectations to be honest."

Harvey also coaches the under 18s boys which currently sit third in their group, behind the Dubbo Rams and perennial powerhouse Lithgow Lazers.

They have won five of their eight games and had to battle hard to combat a string of injuries and illnesses.

"They went really, really well. COVID, a few injuries from round one as well as the first game this time around saw us lose a few key members of the team," he said.

"Playing the top team on Saturday, we were winning against Lithgow for three out of the four quarters before we lost in the last. The second game, lost another member around half time due to the heat. We lost that one against Dubbo, but still performed remarkably well with a bunch of young guys that haven't had as much exposure and for some of them this is their first year in rep."

Orange Eagles Black in the under 12s boys and the under 14s girls Eagles have been two of the standouts, both sitting second in the group.

As well as how Orange's youngsters performed on the court, it was the addition of a new team that caught Harvey's attention.

"Mudgee is new to the competition and the scoreline doesn't really show where they're at at the moment either," he said on the Eagles' 104-39 win over the newcomers.

"They've got good fundamentals and a good team, they just need to adjust to the speed of the game and get more competition time.

"I don't think they're exposed to a lot of competition (in Mudgee), but they're going to be good in a couple of years time.

"It would be nice to see Wellington and a few others come into the fold as well which will be better for our sport."

Gaining valuable experience was also key for his own players, some of them who could soon take part in the under 23 NSW Spalding Waratah League.

"They'll play against a lot of Sydney teams, so it's a big step up and they'll benefit from that," Harvey added.

"Next year we'll hopefully have a state league program as well."

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