Basketball: Allante Harper thriving on court for Thunderbolts as a new father

The Indianapolis product, who has averaged just over 23 points per game for the Tamworth Thunderbolts this year, hasn't stopped thinking about his family back in the US since becoming a father in early June.

He flew home for three weeks last month to welcome his daughter, A'Myla (whose name is an amalgam of her parents' names, Allante and Mylicia).

"It's life-changing," Harper said.

"They're always on my mind. Every hour of the day, I'm thinking about how I can better myself so I can provide for my family while I'm across the world."

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Though he cannot shift his thoughts away from his daughter and partner, becoming a father has not impeded Harper's ability on court.

He amassed 20 points on Saturday against the first-ranked Hills Hornets, then added another 19 points on Sunday as the Thunderbolts steamrolled Wagga Wagga Heat, 99-74.

"[Being a father] feels a lot different," Harper said.

"I feel like I have more to play for. Instead of just myself, I have a family to provide for. It'll make me go harder, day in, day out."

After their breakthrough victory against the Hornets, Tamworth started slowly on Sunday and went effectively shot for shot with the Heat in the first half of the game.

In the second, Harper said, they finally switched on.

"We went into the locker room and had a talk," he said.

"We expected that we would start the game slow, because we had a tough game last night. And [Wagga Wagga] came out hitting some tough shots, so we had to fix a couple of things."

That they did, to the effect of 25 points in the third quarter and 22 in the fourth.

It propelled the Thunderbolts to their fourth straight win, and makes a finals berth highly likely.

And every contribution Harper makes to the team's success, he knows, will positively impact growing family in Indianapolis - who he hopes to bring with him to Australia in the future.

"That'd be a blessing," he said.

If he does manage to bring A'Myla and Mylicia over to Australia next year, there will likely have been another big change to their family.

"We've been together for four years ... I'm going to pop the big question soon," Harper said.

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