Naperville North senior forward Will Harvey excels at getting the job done on and off the court.
The off-the-court part isn’t limited to the classroom. The 6-foot-3 Harvey has played two years of varsity football and two years of varsity basketball. All of his teams have had winning records. That’s not a coincidence.
“Will’s an absolute winner in everything he does,” Naperville North senior guard Max Steele said. “He’s going to do everything he can to get something done.
“It shows on the court, but I’m lucky enough to see it behind the scenes as well, and then off the court he’s a great kid. A lot of people don’t know how good of an athlete he is or good of a student or person he is off the court because he’s so humble.”
Harvey’s humility is typical of someone who often does the grunt work. He was a starting offensive lineman on the football team and is the starting center on the basketball team, averaging 4.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 59.5% from the floor for the Huskies (21-6, 7-1), who have a chance to win the DuPage Valley Conference title. But there’s more.
“Something that might be unnoticed to the outside world but that I know about is this guy is not only a super successful athlete and a winner on the field and in the classroom, he runs a business called Neighborly Needs,” Steele said. “They’ve generated thousands of dollars in revenue, and that just speaks to Will as a person.”
Naperville North’s Will Harvey (22) passes the ball after preventing it from going out of bounds during a nonconference game against Plainfield North in Naperville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
Neighborly Needs is a concern that sprang out of Naperville North’s business incubator program. Harvey is the co-founder and operations manager of the business, which employs about 40 high school students, including some of Harvey’s teammates.
“We do home and labor services like lawn mowing, snow shoveling, power washing, weed pulling, mulch spreading, furniture moving and leaf cleanup,” Harvey said. “I do some of the work because I will never assign out work for something that I’ve never done before because I want to see it firsthand first.”
Harvey is involved in all aspects of the operation, which provides its services after school on weekdays and full time on weekends and during the summer.
“We’ve done over 500 jobs now for over 150 people in the Naperville area,” he said. “We’ve generated just south of $40,000 in revenue.
“I do day-to-day stuff like communicating with clients, scheduling jobs, making sure we’re all set and making sure our workers are enjoying it.”
It’s a great experience for Harvey, who intends to major in business at Penn State and hopes to own a business one day. Self-promotion, though, is still an area of weakness for Harvey, who isn’t one to brag about his accomplishments.
“It says a lot about who he is that he didn’t bring (Neighborly Needs) up,” said Naperville North boys basketball coach Gene Nolan, who is also a business teacher. “Will is a high-character kid and the kind of young man that you ask, ‘Has he ever had a bad day?’
“He’s a whatever-you-need guy. He’s been an outstanding rebounder, he can score when needed and he’s a good, unselfish passer.”
Naperville North’s Will Harvey (22) goes for a reverse layup during a nonconference game against Plainfield North in Naperville on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)
Harvey demonstrated those qualities during the Huskies’ 47-28 nonconference victory over Plainfield North in Naperville on Saturday.
Harvey scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting, including a brilliant left-handed reverse layup off one of his three offensive rebounds, and had two steals and an assist. He was a big reason why the Tigers mustered just six rebounds.
“It starts at practice,” Harvey said. “We want it more than anybody else, and I think my role in that is doing the nitty-gritty stuff and making sure guys like Max get shots.”
This is what endears Harvey to teammates like Steele, who also runs a business, Nova Sites, which builds websites, with fellow seniors Carson Loughlin and Ethan Brock.
“Like you heard him say, he’s talking about getting shots for other people,” Steele said of Harvey. “The last thing he wants to do is shoot the ball. Sometimes we’ve got to convince him to do it.
“He’s always making the right decision, and he’s just a joy to be around.”
The Huskies are enjoying the best season of Nolan’s eight-year tenure, so there’s a lot of joy to go around. Harvey, who has decided not to play sports in college, is soaking up every second of his final season.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “Everything is kind of coming together here.
“We have an opportunity to put ourselves in a position to be really successful at the end of the season, so we’re just enjoying the ride with each other.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
