It’s taken some time, but Damien Lewandowski has found his niche at Oswego East.
And that’s all part of the process, the 6-foot-5 senior forward might explain.
Last season, Lewandowski saw more bench time than court time, but he still took advantage of his duties in that secondary role to prepare for more this winter for the Wolves.
“We’re looking for guys to step up every night, and he’s definitely been a kid in the last three or four weeks that we inserted into the starting lineup,” Oswego East assistant coach Patrick Molinari said. “He really owns his role of doing a lot of the dirty work and fronting the bigs and playing some of the bigger guys that we get to face.
“He fights really hard with his feet and does a good job rebounding for us as an unselfish kid fulfilling a role we need.”
Contributing more than usual on offense, Lewandowski scored 14 points Wednesday night at home to help the Wolves hold off shorthanded Metea Valley 58-54 in a nonconference game.
Junior guard Mason Lockett led Oswego East (14-5) with a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Andrew Pohlman made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the verdict, capping a seven-point night.
“I can see it being nerve-racking to watch,” Lockett said. “We don’t want to be in that position, but to be honest, it’s fun playing a close game at the end. It means something.”
With three potential frontcourt starters sidelined by injury, Metea (9-7) relied heavily on four guards to stay close. Junior Tre Watkins led the way with 18 points, including three 3-pointers.
Seniors Tyler Miller, Khalil Jones and Anthony Hildreth scored 15 points, 10 and nine, respectively with Miller making four 3-pointers and Hildreth three.
For the 190-pound Lewandowski, however, inspiration can be found in Pohlman.
“I feel like my role is similar to Andy — I’m just a little bigger,” Lewandowski said. “We’re like the dirty work people. We box out, find a man and play defense, then we work within the offense.
“I’m not trying to look for shots but always looking to get the putback.”
Lewandowski made himself available down low in the lane and along the baseline, scoring all seven of his baskets within six feet of the basket.
He added four rebounds, following up his 12-point game from the night before when the Wolves squeaked out a 52-47 Southwest Prairie Conference crossover win at Romeoville.
Lewandowski, who averages just 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds, had a team-high nine rebounds three days before that in a 60-46 win over crosstown rival Oswego.
“Damien does all the little things that don’t fill up the stat sheet,” Lockett said. “But watching the game, you see he does a lot.”
Lockett added that Lewandowski’s work last season didn’t go unnoticed, either.
“Every single game, when we prepare for the next opponent, we have about seven guys who play the roles of the other team to get us ready,” Lockett said. “They run their offensive plays, out-of-bounds plays, defenses, everything.
“It’s huge for us. We start every practice with seven minutes of stretching, and they’ve gotta go through the scouting report and learn those roles in those seven minutes, and they do it perfectly every single time.”
While he would have liked starting, Lewandowski understood his role. He said he was helped by the motivational sayings Molinari always seems to have.
“The same boiling water that softens a potato hardens an egg is one I remember,” he said of the analogy stressing that everyone has a role but their circumstances just may be different. “Last year, any big man on the opposite team, I tried to provide good looks for our starters.
“I feel like I gave them a challenge every practice.”
