Laguna Hills Needs a Confident Scaglione : Basketball: The Hawks usually play as well as their senior standout, who has a tendency to be hard on himself.

Mike Scaglione is facing his toughest test as a member of the Laguna Hills basketball team.

A three-year starter, Scaglione realizes that how he handles playing, not just how he plays, will probably determine how well the Hawks do.

Therein lies the challenge. Scaglione sometimes takes his role too seriously.

“He tends to get a little frustrated with himself sometimes and he needs to conquer that feeling,” Coach Dave Brown said.

A case in point is a scrimmage almost three weeks ago. Scaglione, who was up late studying for an advanced biology course the night before, thought he stunk up the gym.

“It wasn’t me out there. It was a different guy,” he said. “I never played like that before.”

Things seemed better a week later, though, when Scaglione, with a full night’s sleep, lit up the gym in a pickup game against some alumni.

The second example is the Scaglione that Laguna Hills needs--the confident, I can-do-it-over-and-over-again and I’m-happy-with-myself Scaglione.

That seemed to be the guy who showed up for Laguna Hills in the first week of the season. Scaglione scored 22 points in a 63-57, triple-overtime victory over El Toro, then 24 in Laguna Hills’ 79-58 victory over San Clemente.

Thursday, he had 18 points in a 50-43 victory over Long Beach Wilson. As he goes, the team goes: He had two points Saturday in a 58-38 loss to Mission Viejo. All four games were in the Mission Viejo tournament.

“Coach told me that the way I play is the way the team plays,” Scaglione said. “He gets on me to play hard because he wants everyone to play hard.”

Scaglione averaged 21 points last season and was named first-team All-Pacific Coast League. But the Hawks finished only 12-10, 5-5 in league, barely good enough for third place.

The finish was frustrating for Scaglione, whom Brown calls “the most gifted kid I’ve had here at Laguna Hills.”

Scaglione predicts a better result this season. The Hawks played well in the off-season, according to Scaglione and Brown, so there are high expectations. Three starters return. Then there is 6-foot-7 senior center Matt Houser, who complements Scaglione with his scoring ability. Houser, a reserve last season, averaged 17 points in the tournament.

“We have much of the same team as we did last year and our only real trouble last year was with Estancia,” Scaglione said. “This year, we’re looking to beat them both times.”

The key to the season, Scaglione admits, will most likely be his ability to temper himself, to find a delicate balance in a pressure-packed environment, to play hard, but not be too hard on himself.

“He’s very gifted,” Brown said. “He has Division I potential if he makes everything go his way. As a senior, he needs to be more consistent mentally, more of a consistent leader for us.”

Few can blame Scaglione in his quest for perfection, though he already possesses many of the tools that brought out college scouts to watch him and others last week at the tournament in Mission Viejo.

Scaglione, 6 feet 3, is playing at a wing, but he will probably be a point guard in college. He could play as a short forward, because he plays more like 6-6. He went high above the rim for rebounds several times in the tournament.

Shooting is his forte, though. He’s comfortable with the three-point shot, and if opposing defenses sag when he has the ball, he can drive, pull up and take the short jumper. He’ll get inside points once in a while and when confronted on the perimeter, he has no problem squaring up in a hurry.

“I feel like I can score any time I want to,” Scaglione said. “I like getting the ball on a three-point attempt and if the guy comes out on me, I’ll let him look at me and then shoot it in his face.”

Brown and others have told Scaglione he needs to let his play do the talking. That he should polish up his defense, that the breathers he was accustomed to taking while on the court in previous years won’t do, that it is his job as a senior to lead by example.

“If he’s on, then the team is on,” Hawk guard Mike Morton said. “Pretty much the key to our team’s success will gear around his intensity. He can get very intense. It’s just up to him how he handles it and how much he gets done.”