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Niles West junior Romeo Magloire knew there were two facets of his game he had to improve as he prepared for his first season of varsity basketball.

The first was his fitness. Magloire needed to slim down to get faster and be able to run the court effectively. Second, the Niles West coaching staff told the 6-foot-1 junior he needed to improve the mental aspect of his game, specifically knowing where to be on the court.

Magloire diligently worked on improving both aspects by working out and playing a lot of basketball this summer, and it’s quickly paid off. Magloire, who slimmed down in the offseason, scored 20 points in Niles West’s 60-46 win over Glenbrook North on Nov. 21 largely because he was in the right place on fast breaks.

“My teammates were finding me on the court,” Magloire said. “I was moving and I was able to get open — they were finding me — and I was getting the easy buckets. ... After rebounds, I was getting on the fast break and then Ahmad (Gibson) was finding me; David (McCoy), Joey (Younan), they were finding me on the fast breaks and I was getting layups.”

Magloire’s big game against Glenbrook North wasn’t an aberration. The junior has scored in double figures in three of Niles West’s four games this season, taking advantage of increased playing time with senior center Mohammed Qureshi temporarily out of the lineup. Magloire said he expects Qureshi to be back for Saturday’s game against Niles North.

Days removed from the Wolves’ 4-0 start to the season, Niles West coach Bob Williams said one of the biggest things that’s impressed him about Magloire’s first four games on varsity has been his on-court intelligence.

“He’s a very smart player,” Williams said. “He’s not going to overpower you with his athleticism, his shooting ability or anything. He’s just a smart player; he gets himself where he’s supposed to be when he’s supposed to be there.

“What I like about this team is that they’re totally and completely unselfish. If a guy’s doing the things he’s supposed to do and working hard, then he’s going to get rewarded. That’s what happened with Romeo. ... It seems to be a theme with him.”