Hopedale - Don Klocek, the basketball coach at Hopedale who is two away from 300 victories, has seen a lot of fine players come and go in his 23 years as the coach of the Blue Raiders.

But there aren't many that have put the ball in the hoop with as much regularity as Chris Tattrie.

Tattrie, Hopedale's 6-5 senior co-captain, is only 16 points away from breaking the 1,000-point barrier. With at least one more game to play in next week's districts, Tattrie could become the first Blue Raider since Larry Heron in 1970 to score 1,000 points.

As a three-year starter for Hopedale, Tattrie's numbers have risen steadily with each season. The lefty shooter averaged 12 points a game in his sophomore season; he raised that to 16.8 points a game, and this year the improvement has continued with a 21.5 average through 18 games. He's second in area scoring.

"He has been able to do things for us," said Klocek. "He has been able to play the strong forward and play on the perimeter when we need him. And he has been able to come inside and use his spin moves with his back to the basket when we need him."

"Not only has he scored a lot of points for us, but he has also had a shooting percentage that is way up there. Rarely is there a time when I check the stat sheet after a game and see that Chris shot under 50-percent."

Tattrie directs much of the credit for his scoring totals to his point-guard and fellow co-captain Tim Mooradian.

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"Tim has definitely had a lot to do with it," said Tattrie. "He does a big portion of the scoring. I look for him when he's open and he really tries to help me out as well."

Mooradian also has scored over 900 points for the Blue Raiders, and as a four-year point guard, probably has more assists than anyone in Hopedale history.

The pair has played together for much of the past five years following Tattrie's arrival in Hopedale from York, Pennsylvania. He had never played organized basketball, but he rose quickly in the Blue Raider Hoop program.

After playing on the junior high team as an eighth grader with Mooradian and Jason Bucell, Tattrie found himself on the jayvee team while his buddies were with the varsity.

"We all tried out for the varsity together," Tattrie recalled. "But as a freshman, I knew I wasn't going to get in that much."

"Coach (Klocek) asked us if we wanted to stay on the bench with the varsity or play jayvee. I decided I'd rather play a year of jayvee and I think it really helped me."

Tattrie's performance for the Blue Raider jayvee team earned him a post-season promotion to the varsity which went to the Clark Tournament and the Districts. Although he didn't see much playing time, Tattrie registered eight varsity points in his brief stints.

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"I think all of my points came off rebounds and lay-ups," he noted. "I was afraid to shoot the ball if I wasn't right under the hoop."

"Even in my sophomore year, when I started getting some points, I think all of my points came off fast breaks. I would never take a shot outside of five feet from the hoop."

Through off-season work on his shooting and low post moves, Tattrie became a multiple threat at the offensive end. He attended summer camps, played junior olympic and summer league, and worked out in his driveway, where he has his own court, glass backboard and all.

When he came back he was more than just a threat. He beat you down the floor. He had a perimeter shot from 12-15 feet out and he could hurt you with a variety of low-post, McHale-like spin moves.

"I tried to watch Kevin McHale a lot," said Tattrie. "And in the summer league, I was playing against a lot of kids that were bigger than me so I had to give fakes."

He still leaves most opposing big men staring at this backside in transition, filling the left lane on the Hopedale fast break. It's easy to see how he was able to be perhaps the tallest field player in the area in soccer, helping Hopedale go to the district tourney last fall.

Add to his speed, the ability to beat a defender off the dribble and his feathery soft shooting touch, and he can be unstoppable.

"He runs the floor as well as any big man I've ever coached," said Klocek. "Off of the fast break, he also handles the ball really well for a big man."

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"I've seen great improvement in him over the latter years. He can play with his back to the basket and spin both ways and release a very soft jump shot."

"Last year, Tattrie was the leading scorer for the Blue Raiders' squad which went 19-4, won the Clark tournament, the Central Mass Division III crown, and advanced all the way to the state semi-finals.

With Tattrie and Mooradian, the top two scorers, and three other seniors back, hopes were high for more of the same this year.

"The people that really know Hopedale basketball know that Sean Atherton was a big part of last year's success," Tattrie notes of last year's senior forward. "He grabbed at least 10 rebounds a game and averaged 12 points."

"And Matt McNabb (another senior) was our defensive stopper. He would always guard the other team's leading scorer he usually kept them below 10 points. The people that really know Hopedale basketball know that those two brought a lot to our team last year."

The Blue Raiders have also been hampered by injury and illness. Senior center Kevin Milhomme (6-8) has missed a handful of games with upper respiratory problems. Senior guard Jason Bucell tore ligaments during soccer season, re-sprained the ankle a couple of times and is still not 100-percent.

The absence of the two veterans has forced Hopedale to give sophomores Brian Reickert and Bryan Tattrie, Chris's brother, extensive playing time. The tandem, who go 6-3 and 6-2, has showed steady improvement as their minutes have increased.

"Those two have really come through for us," Chris noted.

The Blue Raiders have gotten quality minutes from senior guard Dan Antonellis, but Tattrie and Mooradian have continued to carry the offensive load. For example, in last Thursday's 76-73 loss to Blackstone-Millville, in a game where Hopedale could have earned a share of the DVC title Tattrie (35) and Mooradian (28) accounted for 63 of the Blue Raider's 73 points.

Tattrie hopes that he will be able to continue to fill it up after his high school career ends. His college plans are still up in the air, but he hopes they will include basketball.

He is considering Division 2 schools Assumption, Stonehill and Bryant as well as Division 3 Nichols.

For the spring and summer, Tattrie will work on a few areas he feels he needs improvement in to play at the collegiate level.

"In college, everybody shoots the three," he noted. "So I want to develop that. Also, I'm more comfortable with a guy on my back. I've got to learn to square, get my man in front me, and make a move to get the guy in the air."

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Tattrie also hopes to add 15-20 pounds to his 195-pound frame by lifting weights in the off-season.

But he's hoping that he'll have a few more high school games to play before he starts focusing on college preparations. Not just so he can reach the 1,000-point mark.

"I didn't really aim for it," he noted. "It came basically because we play team ball and I get a lot of shots. I like to move without the ball and my teammates get me the ball when I'm open."

"It's really been a team thing. I think that my points have come in the scheme of the offense."