by Andy Watson - Mustangs Athletics
LONDON, Ont. - The Western Mustangs men's basketball team got some more great recruiting news this week as Nathan Di Loreto committed to the program.
Di Loreto, a 6’2 guard/forward, joins a list of other top recruits including Andrew Vincent (Timmins, Ont.), forward Luke Braund (Vancouver, B.C.) and forward Peter Scholtes (London, Ont.). Hawaii transfer and London, Ont., native Adam Jespersen will also be eligible to play at Western in 2010-11, while returning starters Andy Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.), Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.), Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) and Marcus Barnett (Hampton, Va.) are also among those players coming back.
Players who commit to Mustangs teams will be eligible to play at Western provided they are academically admissible to The University of Western Ontario and have applied through the normal process with the Ontario Application Centre in Guelph, Ont.
Mustangs head coach Brad Campbell said he is pleased with the addition of Di Loreto, a standout at H.B. Beal High School in London.
"Being born and raised in London and having been involved in organized basketball since grade school, I am extremely proud and honoured to be attending Western in the fall," said Di Loreto. "Along with being a world-class university academically, I am looking forward to helping the Mustangs basketball team get back to the national finals."
Di Loreto helped lead Beal to two straight London Quad-A titles and three straight trips to OFSSA.
“Nathan is a hard-nosed player and will provide us with toughness and skill from both the guard and forward positions," Campbell said. "Nathan is a winner and comes from a very successful H.B. Beal high school program."
"We feel Nathan also has a great work ethic and will continue to improve.”
This week, Di Loreto was named the winner of the Ted Early Award for London Basketball. This awards combines both basketball and academic achievement.
Another committed recruit, Scholtes won Mr. Basketball for London.
