HUDSON – The Hudson High School boys varsity basketball team is ready to hit the court.
Head Coach Mike Notaro said he is “excited about everything” this season, noting that the Hawks basketball team is “senior heavy” for the first time in a while.
Last season, the Hawks qualified for the state tournament as one of the Division 3 “Sweet 16” teams and finished with an overall record of 16-8.
“Let’s get it going; these kids are hungry,” he said.
Notaro said players to watch out for this season are Mikey DiCarlo, Max Person, Jackson O’Brien, Jake Attaway, Kyle Arias, Caleb Luz and Logan Garcia.
“These are some kids we are going to count on big time,” he said.
Notaro noted that many of the players on the basketball team play football.
“They came in here Monday after a tough Thanksgiving football game and worked their butts off right off the bat. I am really pleased to see how hard they worked and how hard they are still working,” he said.
Notaro said the Hudson basketball team is close-knit in part because the coaches taught them the importance of a “family atmosphere” when they entered the basketball program in eighth grade.
The team treats each other “like brothers” and knows that “coach will always have your back,” he said.
“I bring the JV and varsity kids to practice together, so the varsity kids kind of look out for the JV kids right from the get go,” Notaro said. “Every night they practice with them and they become better teammates and better players.”
Hawks look ahead to the season
This season, Notaro said the Hawks are eyeing the league championship title and the Clark High School Basketball Tournament title as well as making their mark in the state tournament.
Barring injuries and maintaining determination will allow the team to reach those goals, Notaro said.
He noted that in 2019, the team had the best record in the history of Hudson basketball.
Now, three years later, the brothers of three of the 2019 players – Person, DiCarlo and O’Brien – have big shoes to fill.
Person, who is a captain and younger brother of Tim Person said his team “doesn’t want to live in the shadows” of the 2019 team.
“We want to make a name for ourselves. We want to be known as the 2022 team,” he said.
“These guys got it in their heads that they are going to top what their brothers did,” Notaro said.
However, Notaro said, “We have enough good players that every game someone different can be the difference.”
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