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Sports

Veteran Coaches, Fresh Hopes for Hinsdale Central

Latorre, Maciejewski bring a wealth of experience to the bench and will try to guide the Red Devils' boys basketball team to a strong season.

A new coach with experience and an old coach with even more are pulling the strings for Hinsdale Central's boys basketball team this season.

New head coach Nick Latorre, who coached Driscoll Catholic for a decade, will be assisted this season by last year's head coach, Lee Maciejewski.

Maciejewski, a retired teacher, had lengthy head-coaching stays at Glenbard West and West Chicago, and was the Red Devils' interim coach last season.

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"I'm new to the (the West Suburban Conference), so it's tough for me to assess," Latorre said. "Lee (Maciejewski) has been around the league for a hundred years, so it's great to have him around. He told me it's a bad year to be in the league because everybody's good this year.

"But I see kids that are really working hard and they want to get after it. I see effort and a commitment to the program. They're working their butts off and they're buying into what we want to do."

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Hinsdale Central's 15-man varsity roster this season features eight seniors, six juniors and one sophomore. Seniors Mike Ostojic, Tom Kladis and Mike Pozulp will be asked to lead, and junior Tom Garvin's play will be key once he finds his groove.

"Tom is very athletic, strong and very versatile," Latorre said. "We'll be able to use him inside and outside. He's still rounding into basketball shape from football, so he's still getting his basketball legs under him."

Ostojic is a slasher, "and he has a nice ability to get into the lane," Latorre said. "He shoots the ball fairly well, he's a long 6-foot-7, he can pass, and he's got some really nice skills."

The Red Devils have a long-range threat in Kladis, and a mix of other players ready to contribute.

"(Junior guard) Peter Thaus is doing some nice things, and (senior forward) Mike Pozulp is another kid with some varsity experience," Latorre said. "He has the ability to do some things inside for us."

The varsity roster includes seniors Steve Kane, Jim Blodgett, Jack Menza, Sam Cascio and Tellef Storebakken, juniors Ryan Tufano, Brad Anlauf, Riley Strumillo and Uchenna Akuba, and sophomore Alex Hutcherson.

"In the past I've had teams that could get up and down a little bit," Latorre said. "In (the WSS) I'm not sure if we'll be able to do that, so we'll have to get (defensive) stops. We'll see."

The Red Devils open the season on Nov. 23 at Hinsdale South's Hornet Invite, where they'll take on the likes of Benet, Carl Sandburg, and the host Hornets. They open conference play on Dec. 3 at York before opening at home against WSS rival Downers Grove North on Dec. 10.

"You want to come out of the chute playing well, but you don't want to be playing your best basketball on November 25," Latorre said. "The season is a journey and you want to be playing your best by January or February.

"But playing good competition right away will definitely help you find your weaknesses and let you know where you are."

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