Boys basketball: Northwest previews, Leyden, St. Viator and Maine West

Leyden

Coach: Bill Heisler (first year)

Last year: 14-12, 4-8

Key losses: Jason Chaplain (All-area, 12 ppg, 7 rpg), Jimmy Herrera, Taylor Stinson, Justin Carranza, Pat Quinlan, Reggie Williams, Piotr Pawlowski, Joe Piscitelli, P.J. Cajigas

Top returnees: Seniors Joe Natale (5-10, G), Robert Carli (6-1, F); junior Deron Guyton (6-3, F)

Newcomers: Seniors Adrian Lezcano (5-10, G), Sam Cervantes (6-0, G), Terrance Reynolds (6-0, F); juniors Alex Regalado (6-1, F-G), John Bassmaji (6-4, F), Kamil Tylewski (6-2, F-G), Anthony Cushion (6-0, G), Darrell Wade (5-8, G),

Outlook: Heisler, who was one of the IHSA's 100 legends for leading downstate Warsaw to the 1997 Class AA title hopes to lead Leyden back to prominence after a year as the program's sophomore coach. ''It's definitely a process that takes time but I think we're headed in the right direction,'' Heisler said. I'm more optimistic than I have been and I'm very pleased with our effort. It's a matter of convincing them how important the little things are.'' And little is the operative word with a program-wide lack of height. ''We'll definitely be up-tempo because the whole program is so guard-dominant,'' Heisler said. ''It's amazing how small we are. I like our ability to put the ball on the floor and penetrate and I like our ability to get out and pressure on the defensive end.'' Natale will play the point and provide leadership and Regalado is a swingman. Lezcano hasn't played since he was a freshman and Cervantes has never played organized basketball but have been nice surprises for Heisler with their skill levels. One of the big keys is Guyton, another swingman who saw limited action as a freshman and sophomore. ''He'll have to do a lot for us,'' Heisler said. ''He's a very good athlete with a lot of talent. As he matures and he's going to grow, he could develop into quite a player.'' Bassmaji, Tylewski and Carli are also more swingman-types. ''I'm very pleased with the way we share the ball and move around,'' Heisler said. ''It's not a selfish team at all.'

Maine West

Coach: Erik McNeill (fourth year, 30-53)

Last year: 3-25, 0-10 (6th CSL North)

Key losses: Ryan Johann (10 ppg), Scott Johann (8.6 ppg, 31 3s), John Klein, Chris Gancarz, Clay Thompson

Top returnees: Seniors Adis Kadiric (6-1, G, 9.3 ppg, 54 3s), Sargon Youssef (6-5, F, 3.3 ppg), Stewart Turner-Jackson (6-3, G), Jimmy Orlowski (5-8, G, 3.1 ppg, 17 3s); juniors Tommy Solis (6-7, C, 6.6 ppg)

Newcomers: Senior Lucious Wright (6-2, G, transfer); junior Bojan Balaban (6-3, F)

Outlook: The Warriors have nowhere to go but up after a season where 1 of their 3 wins was via forfeit. And that's where McNeill expects them to start heading. ''It's just a new beginning from last year,'' McNeill said. ''Obviously (last) season was a difficult season because of the success we didn't have.'' The key will be success on the outside with long-range threats Kadiric and Orlowski. ''If both of those guys are clicking, things are going to happen for us,'' McNeill said. He believes Orlowski will be one of the surprises. ''He's the best shooter I've ever coached,'' McNeill said. ''You look right by him when you see him, but he can put the ball in the basket.'' Turner-Jackson could be a matchup problem with his size at the point and Youssef and Solis, who was called up midway through last year, should be bigger factors inside with Youssef doing more rebounding and Solis providing more scoring. Balaban was up on the varsity the first four weeks last year and is another scoring threat. Wright had to sit out last year because of his transfer from a private school but is another athlete. ''One thing I've noticed is we can score pretty quickly,'' McNeill said. ''We won't hesitate to take the first open shot, especially with our shooters. I think we'll be an exciting team to watch.''

St. Viator

Coach: Joe Majkowski (21st year, 303-233)

Last year: 10-16, 5-5

Key losses: Pat Guth (All-area, 9.5 ppg), Tony Marino (8.4 ppg, 52 3s), Mike O'Keeffe (6.2 ppg, 30 3s), Andrew Aboona, Nick Nolan, Brian Martinez; senior Emmett Cleary (concentrating on football)

Top returnees: Seniors Mike Landuyt (6-1, G, 4.5 ppg), Jim Platania (6-3, F, 4.4 ppg), Matt O'Malley (6-2, F, 3 ppg), Eric Huber (6-4, F, 3 ppg, 14 3s), Ryan Cortese (6-3, F)

Newcomers: Juniors Bryce Hensley (6-3, F), Dan Faerber (5-10, G); sophomores Alan Aboona (5-10, G), Richard McLoughlin (6-3, F)

Outlook: The Lions hope to avoid the long dry scoring spells that have plagued them the last couple of years. ''We've tried to address that we can't have stretches in games where we don't score,'' Majkowski said. So even though the Lions are faced with their traditional height disadvantage, Majkowski hopes they can find a way to get more scoring in the post and by breaking down defenses. ''We'll be more of a perimeter team given our personnel, which always concerns me,'' Majkowski said. ''We'll end up shooting a lot of jump shots again and that's a variable.'' Landuyt showed his ability to lock people down defensively last year and will be counted on to score more. Platania is battling through ankle trouble but Huber is fully recovered from football and is another outside scoring threat. O'Malley has the bulk to play inside but can also shoot from the perimeter. ''He's a great team player,'' Majkowski said. ''He does all the little things and maybe of all of our players understands the game on this year's team better than anybody.'' Majkowski will also have his first sophomore starter at point guard in Aboona, who can shoot and is a solid defender. ''He's doing a nice job for us and he really understands the position and his role,'' Majkowski said. ''We know it will be a learning process for him during the year but we're prepared for that.'' Cortese will play a bigger role this year and Hensley and McLoughlin are scoring threats. Faerber could also help defensively but his status is questionable from a season-ending football injury. Right now I'm pretty optimistic and feel like we can be a very competitive team with a lot of balance and some decent depth,'' Majkowski said. ''I feel real good about it (defensively), when they want to .''