Kasperek adjusting to unexpected job

As promotions go, this one sure came to Morgan Kasperek out of left field.

Sixteen days ago, Kasperek was wrapping up work at the McCook Athletic Center, preparing to go to girls basketball practice at Hinsdale Central.

Then she got the phone call from Steve Gross with the news: After 15 seasons and 343 wins, he was resigning. No practice that day.

Not 36 hours later, there was the 24-year-old Kasperek, on the bench as head coach of the Red Devils against Benet.

"It's completely overwhelming," Kasperek said.

Overwhelming was a word Kasperek found herself repeating on more than one occasion in the course of a 10-minute conversation.

Can you blame her?

She's barely two years out of college, "replacing" one of the most successful girls basketball coaches in the Chicago area barely two weeks into the season.

Kasperek does so with mixed emotions. Gross is the reason she was even back at Hinsdale Central. A star on the Red Devils' 2002 state championship team before playing at the University of Iowa, Kasperek was asked by Gross to come aboard as a varsity assistant two summers ago. She needed a couple days to consider if she even wanted to stay on to coach the team for the rest of this season, before going forward with it.

"I learned from the best," Kasperek said. "Steve is a friend of mine. A friend, a mentor and a coach. On so many levels this has been very difficult."

At the same time Kasperek's heart is with Hinsdale Central. She's received "a ton" of phone calls from friends and former teammates since she assumed the reins. Many of those same people pass along their best wishes for Gross through Kasperek.

For advice Kasperek has leaned on "anyone I know that knows anything about basketball." That includes co-worker and good friend Andy Borman, whose uncle is Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

In a sense, though, Kasperek's most helpful hand is Gross. She has rarely talked to him since his resignation, but the foundation he set hasn't left the Hinsdale Central girls. The 10-0 Red Devils haven't lost in four games under Kasperek.

"He got the girls to work constantly," Kasperek said, "and got the best out of every girl that came through Hinsdale Central. He's the reason I agreed to step in, to keep what he has brought to the team."

Kasperek and associate coach Kelly Maley will remain on to coach the team through the season. Beyond that, Kasperek's still in wait-and-see mode.

She probably hadn't considered much the idea of being a head coach, at least not this early in the game. Her job down the road at McCook as Director of Programming, running youth sports programs and such, keeps her plenty busy during the day.

Hinsdale Central athletic director Paul Moretta said that if Kasperek is interested, she'd certainly be a strong candidate when they hire a coach for 2009-10. She would not be excluded for not being a teacher in the district, although contractually consideration must first be given to certified staff.

Next year couldn't be further from Kasperek's mind.

"I'm just taking it one day at a time," she said. "The hardest thing still is walking into the gym and knowing I won't get to see Gross. He's an amazing influence. We're dealing with a strange situation the best we can."

jwelge@dailyherald.com