Scouting Bartlett Hawks

Bartlett Hawks

Coach Jim Wolfsmith (3rd year, 41-15)

Conference Upstate Eight

Last year 19-8, 7-3 UEC

Top returners seniors Mike Banks (6-1, F), Frankie Cleope (5-10, PG), Luke Labedzki (6-1, G), Larry Whitaker (6-5, F/C)

Top newcomers senior Donovan Coleman (5-10, PG), junior Femi Oyewole (6-6, F/C), sophomore Matt Chaltin (6-2, G); freshman Lance Whitaker (6-2, G)

Outlook Experience blended with an infusion of young talent should translate to another successful season for the Hawks despite a challenging schedule. Returning in the backcourt is four-year starting guard Luke Labedzki (17.7 ppg.). He scored 477 points last season to top 1,000 career points and should eclipse the school scoring record by mid-December. He sank 63 3-pointers last year with a 37-percent shooting percentage from long range. Also returning are third-year varsity point guard Frankie Cleope (22 of 48 from 3-point range) and third-year starter Mike Banks at small forward. Back to do the heavy lifting is leading rebounder Larry Whitaker (7 ppg., 9 rpg). Those four returning starters will be joined by ultra-athletic junior Femi Oyewole, who plays above the rim and can block shots. Point guard Donovan Coleman transferred in from Glenbard East, where he played significant minutes last season. Coach Jim Wolfsmith said sophomore guard Matt Chaltin has a "varsity ready game" and could lead the team in scoring on a given night. He also said freshman Lance Whitaker, Larry's little brother, "has earned his way onto the varsity" and will be an immediate contributor. "I like my top nine or 10 players against anyone in the area," said Wolfsmith, whose teams have averaged 20.5 wins in his first two seasons. "My expectation is to win every game and then figure out what happened if we do lose. We have high standards for our program. The bar has been set by the players who came through here the past two years and we will continue to do the things necessary to remain in the elite category."