Kane denies commitment

 Mike White | 6:40 p.m., Monday, December 29

Former Schenley basketball star Deandre Kane has attracted the attention of some major-college programs while playing at The Patterson School, a prep school in North Carolina. But Kane said he has not made a verbal commitment to a college yet.

A recent internet report quoted Patterson School coach Chris Chaney as saying Kane had made a verbal commitment to Seton Hall. But Kane said that is not true.

Kane's recruiting over the past two years has been a bit peculiar, ever since he made a verbal commitment to Duquesne before his senior year, except to say he was still leaving his options open. This is just another chapter in the unusual story.  But Kane said he probably will not make a decision until April.

Kane, a guard, said he will choose from Pitt, Seton Hall and Marquette. He did make a visit to Seton Hall recently and he also visited Pitt. He has not visited Marquette, but plans to in the future. He said he likes Pitt, but said the Panthers aren't recruiting him that hard. He said Pitt, Seton Hall and Marquette have offered him scholarships.

USC makes 19 3-pointers

Mike White | 12:40 a.m., Sunday, December 21

The Upper St. Clair boys' basketball team spent the past few days playing in a tournament at Disney World in Orlando. The warm weather gave the Panthers an extremely hot hand.

"I've never seen anything like it from a high school team," Upper St. Clair coach Danny Holzer said after his team Eaglecrest, Colo, 92-89, Saturday in the championship game of the Barack Obama Bracket of the KSA Classic.

Holzer was talking about an unbelievable shooting performance by his team. Upper St. Clair made 19 3-pointers against Eaglecrest. Yes, that's correct. To spell it out: n-i-n-e-t-e-e-n.

USC attempted 26 shots beyond the arc.

"The game was like a track meet," Holzer said. "They pressed full court and trapped. We beat their traps pretty well, and as a result, we got a lot of good looks and were making the extra pass."

Leading the 3-point barrage was Christian Shea, who had seven 3-pointers. Steve Limberiou had four, Brett McCormick four, Pete Serio three and Dave Steen one.

"It was a great win for us," Holzer said. "They were supposed to be ranked No. 1 in their class in Colorado."

But the hot 3-point shooting was nothing new for Upper St. Clair. The Panthers made 12 3-pointers in the first and second games of the tournament.

Shea led the 3-point shooting with 21 over the three games.

The wins lifted Upper St. Clair's record to 7-1. If USC beats Bethel Park Tuesday, USC will most likely be the new No. 1-ranked WPIAL Class AAAA team. Central Catholic, ranked No. 1 since the start of the season, lost Friday to Shaler.

 "Fresh" 3-point shooter

Another 3-point shooter to watch the rest of the season is Highlands' Micah Mason - and he's only a freshman. Mason has 27 3-pointers in six games. He is averaging 18 points a game.

Gateway football getting a transfer?

Colin Dunlap | 12:12 a.m., Wednesday, December 17

Much was made about Gateway's loss against Bethel Park in the WPIAL Class AAAA football championship game this year at Heinz Field.

Much has also been made of how much talent the Gators are losing, with Fabulous 22 members Dorian Bell, Corey Brown, B.J. Stevens and Brian Williams all headed off to college next year, having played their final games in a Gators uniform.

Well, in addition to talented quarterback Rob Kalkstein coming back next season (he will be a senior), it appears Gateway will be getting an unexpected boost from a running back named Brendon Felder -- pictured to the right --, who is heading to Monroeville from St. John's Prep in Massachusetts. According to this story in the Salem (Mass.) News, Felder will be playing for coach Terry Smith's Gators come next Fall.

Remember these big men?

 Mike White | 10:40 a.m., Friday, Dec. 5

The centerpiece on the front page of our Varsity Xtra section today was on McKeesport's Zeke Marshall, a 7-footer from McKeesport who has signed with Akron, turning down scholarship offers from Pitt, Duquesne, Xavier and a few Atlantic Coast Conference schools. Marshall is one of the biggest players to come out of the WPIAL in the past few decades. For whatever reason, this area doesn’t produce many “big” players. But here are a few guys who came out of the WPIAL and City League and went on to some significant things. Do you remember them?

DeJuan Blair, Schenley – OK, so he’s only 6-7, but he plays a lot bigger. After helping Schenley to a PIAA championship, he is now a sophomore standout at Pitt.

Dan Fortson, Shaler – He was listed at 6-9 at Shaler in 1993, and then 6-7 in the NBA. He was an All-American at the University of Cincinnati and played 10 years in the NBA.

Maurice Lucas, Schenley – One of the best players to ever come out of the City League. A 6-9 bruiser who helped Schenley to the 1971 PIAA championship, Lucas went on to star at Marquette and had a long NBA career.

John Naponick, Norwin – One of the WPIAL’s first “big men.” A 6-9, 240-pound center, “Big John” led Norwin to the 1963 PIAA Class AAA title game before going on to play at the University of Virginia.

Barry and Garry Nelson, Fox Chapel – These were truly twin towers. They were 6-9 twin brothers and 1967 Fox Chapel graduates. They went on to highly successful careers at Duquesne University.

Kevin Salvadori, Seton-LaSalle – Led Seton-LaSalle to a WPIAL title in 1989 and went to play on a national championship team at the University of North Carolina.

Keith Tower, Moon – A burly 6-11 center, he went on to play at Notre Dame and had a cup of coffee in the NBA.

Bethel Park ranks nationally

 Mike White | 8:15 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 2

The Bethel Park football team is undefeated, upset Gateway in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship and is now in the PIAA semifinals. Apparently people are starting to notice the Black Hawks - outside of Pennsylvania.

Bethel Park is ranked No. 15 this week in the National Prep Poll and No. 21 in USA Today. Bethel Park plays West Lawn Wilson in the PIAA semifinals Saturday.

One other Pennsylvania team is ranked in the National Prep Poll. North Penn, a suburban Philadelphia school in the Class AAAA semifinals against Bethlehem Liberty, is ranked No. 11.

Lakeland, Fla., the team that crushed Pittsburgh Central Catholic in the season opener, is No. 23. Glenville, Ohio, the only team to beat Thomas Jefferson this season, is No. 23 in the Prep Poll, even though its season is over. Glenville's only loss was to St. Ignatius in the state playoffs.

Pitt recruit in semifinals

Liberty High, a Class AAAA semifinalist, features receiver Devin Street, who has made a verbal commitment to Pitt. Street has 43 catches this season. For Pitt fans, it would be nice if Liberty somehow beat North Penn and made it to the PIAA final. The championship games are televised live by PCN.