Boys’ basketball: New Yorker Wolfgang Novogratz adds toughness to Harvard-Westlake

Harvard-Westlake is the recipient of a 6-foot-2 junior guard transfer from Brooklyn, N.Y., Wolfgang Novogratz, and let’s just say he plays with an East Coast attitude. In other words, contact isn’t something he shies away from.

“A lot of kids out here are fundamentally sound and skilled but always kind of the assumption is kids are softer,” he said. “I’m not saying that, but coming from New York, I try to bring that tenacity and toughness and that will to win.”

Harvard-Westlake definitely can use Novogratz, because the team has little height and is filled with guards. He’ll help take away double teams from Yale-bound guard Alex Copeland.

“Wolfgang is a great surprise and great addition to our team,” Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard said. “He’s a very accomplished guard. He’s a facilitator, a penetrator. He plays a good East Coast style of basketball with a lot of physical contact. He’s letting them know that if they run the court and work hard, he’ll get them the ball.”

Let’s hope Novogratz will have a peaceful, quiet time in L.A., because his family gets the public figure label. His parents, Robert and Cortney, have received plenty of TV exposure on HGTV.

When Novogratz played in a pickup game with former Lakers guard Smush Parker and got decked, it was tabloid news.

He’ll have plenty of competition in the Mission League, where guards are talented and plentiful. And he can’t wait for friends back in New York to ask how’s life in Los Angeles when the snow is coming down and he’s hiking in Runyon Canyon or hanging out at the beach.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer