May 28 2009
Mike White| Thursday, May 28, 11:05 a.m.
Jordan Paskorz said Hampton's football team will have a new defense for next season, one in which Paskorz will play a position that is a cross between defensive end and linebacker.
"It's actually the same position I'll be playing at Michigan," Paskorz said.
Paskorz, a junior at Hampton, made a verbal commitment to the Michigan Wolverines Wednesday while visiting the university with his parents. Paskorz (6 feet 4, 230 pounds) also had scholarship offers from Pitt, Virginia, Minnesota, Bowling Green and Ohio.
Paskorz had visited Michigan two other times and had the Wolverines at the top of his list ever since they offered a scholarship in April.
"I felt like there was no need to wait around," Paskorz said. "I had the scholarships I wanted. I don't think there was a need to go out and try to get more."
Paskorz met Wednesday with Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez.
"That's basically what sealed the deal," Paskorz said. "The first time I went up there this year [in April], I didn't get to meet him. This time I talked to him and I really felt like he wanted me there."
Paskorz's brother, Steve, is a fullback at Notre Dame.
Opinion on Jordan Paskorz: He's a good player, not a great player. He didn't have a slew of scholarship offers, but enough that he had some variety. Some schools weren't enthralled with him, but others like him because of that "P" word - potential. He has good size and has run the 40 in 4.74 seconds. Time will tell about him and a lot of eyes will be on him this season to see if he takes his game up another level. Time will tell if he reaches that potential.
May 25 2009
Mike White| Monday, May 25, 8:30
Sports message boards are quite popular among college fans. Rivals.com and scout.com have message boards for just about every team in the country and they are wildly popular.
Posters on the boards like to debate their sports team and the boards can sometimes provide worthwhile news. But posters are often out of control, with ridiculous, nasty and downright ignorant comments, ripping everyone from coaches, to players, to fans. Media members are a favorite object of the rips. The ridiculousness occurs on Pitt, Penn State and West Virginia boards. Sometimes the personal comments on people show such a lack of intelligence and class that they're downright laughable.
Why are posters so negative and nasty? Because it's easy. People are so brave to rip others when they don't have to put their names behind their remarks.
But one sports message board recently cost the Wisconsin basketball team a recruit, because the recruit read the nasty messages about him on the board. But don't let me tell the story. Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com has a column on it. It's a great read. Here is a link to it
http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/11776517
May 23 2009
Mike White| Saturday, May 23, 10:45 a.m.
Day two of state track championships from wonderful Shippensburg
2:35 - The individual events are over and Peabody's Pierre Carr just did the "daily double." Carr won the Class AAA 200 title. He won the 100 earlier today. I was a little off in my prediction earlier in the day that the WPIAL was done winning gold medals. In the past hour, Belle Vernon sopomore Matt Green was the winner in the Class AAA long jump with a personal-best mark of 23-7 1/2. Monessen's Tarelle Irwin won the Class AA boys' 200. Hempfield sophomore Rachel Serafin won the Class AAA discus. Also, Freedom's Ashley Adams did indeed win the Class AA shot put. the WPIAL won 12 individiual titles this season and one relay. That's a pretty good showing.
1:07 - Ooops I take that back. Freedom's Ashley Adams should win the Class AA shot put.
12:56 - Finally a state gold medal for Latrobe's Natalie Bower. She had won 12 WPIAL gold medals in cross country and track, but won her first state title this afternoon by placing first in the Class AAA 1,600. The WPIAL and City League is up to seven gold medals in individual events for the weekend. I doubt whether they will win another one.
12:35 - What a nice touch the PIAA added to the awards ceremony for the 100-meter dash. The man giving out the medals was Herb Douglas, a 1940 state champion in the 100-yard dash and a graduate of Allderdice High School. He went on to attend Pitt and won a bronze medal in the long jump in the 1948 Olympics. He presented the medal to Peabody's Pierre Carr, who finished first.
12:22 - Peabody's Pierre Carr made the City League proud again when he won the Class AAA 100-meter dash championship for the second year in a row.
12:15 - Just saw Billy Owens Sr., in his umpteenth year as an official at the PIAA championships. He's the father of former Carlisle High, Syracuse star and NBA player Billy Owens. In almos three decades of covering basketball in Western Pennsylvania and the state, I still say young Billy Owens was the second-best player I've ever seen in a "high school" game, not an all-star game. No. 1? LeBron James, when he played at Mellon Arena as a senior against New Castle.
12:00 - Union's Camern Lewis won her second gold medal of the meet, finishing first in the Class AAA triple jump. She won the long jump yesterday. Quaker Valley's boys' 3,200 relay team won the Class AA championship a short time ago.
11:08 a.m. Just one dispatch from Colin Dunlap here in equally-wonderful Hershey, at the Hershey Racquet Club where the second day of the PIAA boys' individual tennis championships are happening. As you might have read in this story the Timko sisters of Chartiers-Houston were eliminated in the first round of the Class AA double competition. And, to be honest, most of western Pennsylvania didn't fare well at all on the first day. The only players remaining right now are in Class AAA, where Upper St. Clair senior Jay Jones --- perhaps one of the nicest kids in the history of high school sports --- is set to begin a semifinal match against Great Valley senior Mark Milbrandt and the Fox Chapel doubles team of Shankar Rajaput and Brad Portnoy will play heavily favored Matt Savran and Coby Kramer-Golinkoff of Lower Merion. Those matches are starting right now.
10:40 a.m. Beaver Falls' Todd Thomas admits he has no idea about long jump technique. Heck, he never tried track and field before this season.
But Thomas is pretty darn good for someone who is clueless about how to jump. Thomas, a Pitt football recruit, finished third in the Class AA long jump this morning at the PIAA championship meet at Shippensburg University with a leap of 22 feet, 8 inches. Thomas leaped 22-8 on his first jump of the competition.
"I just jump. I have no idea what I'm doing," Thomas said. "Track is alright. I prefer basketball and football, but third in the state? Hey, what can you say about that? I'm pleased."
Thomas, who signed with Pitt's football team in February, said he still isn't sure if he will attend Pitt as a freshman, or a prep school. He is not sure if he will be academically qualified. "I have some final tests to take. We'll see what happens then," Thomas said.
Thomas will run on Beaver Falls' 400-meter relay team later today.
10:30 a.m. - Rochester's Leighandra Williams, the sister of former Olympic silver medalist Lauryn Williams, did not qualify for the Class AA girls' 100-meter dash. Leighandra still has the 200 to run.
10:15 a.m. - Norwin's Leslie Kovach won the Class AAA girls' 1,600-meter run. It was a great way to cap her career. She had never won a WPIAL or PIAA title before.
"I've had some bad experiences at WPIAL. It's never been my meet," said Kovach, a senior.
May 22 2009
Mike White| Friday, May 22, 11 a.m.
PIAA track and field blog below.
Terrelle Pryor did plenty during his football career at Jeannette High School, winning championships and becoming the first player in Pennsylvania history to rush and pass for more than 4,000 career yards.
But Pryor also caused the PIAA to clarify one of its rules.
The PIAA has long had a rule saying postgraduates can't participate on high school teams. But when Dunmore High School was getting ready to face Jeannette and Pryor in the PIAA Class AA football championship in 2007, Dunmore used a quarterback from Wilkes College in practices to emulate Pryor. Nice idea. Dunmore obviously had no one who could come close to imitating Pryor, so Dunmore went to a higher level.
When word of the move got out, Dunmore came under scrutiny. The PIAA examined the situation and said Dunmore didn't break any rules because the player didn't play for Dunmore. But since then, the PIAA used stronger language in its rule, saying alumni or postgraduates are prohibited from practicing with a team.
At PIAA meetings earlier this week, the organization stressed the rule again and said it applies to all sports. The PIAA also is considering a proposal that says a high school team can scrimmage or play a game against an alumni team, but it will count toward the high school team's scrimmages or games played during the regular sesaon.
It's an interesting subject. Consider this scenario. A former baseball player from John Doe High School is home on break and throws batting practice to the high school team. Stuff like that happens all the time, but it can't happen any longer, unless that former player is a coach, or a volunteer coach approved by the school. Want to know the main reason for the rule clarification? Liability.
If an individual who isn't a coach comes to a high school team's practice and ends up hurting an athlete, who is reponsible? There was a controversial case a few years ago at Methacton High School when a college wrestler practiced with the high school team and a high school wrestler ended up paralyzed.
PIAA track and field notes
From Shippensburg University
11:45 - Stop in downtown Shippensburg and you get a good whiff of manure. I'm just sayin'.
Where it comes from, I don't know. Must be time of year to fertilize.
11:45 - Two athletes from the WPIAL won gold medals this morning at the PIAA track and field championships at Shippensburg University. Connellsville's Rodney Richter won the Class AAA discus for the second year in a row with a throw of 183 feet, 8 inches. His winning throw was 10 feet farther than the second-place throw. Union's Cameron Lewis won the girls' class AA long jump with a leap of 18-5 1/4. Lewis is only the second girl from Union to ever win a PIAA title.
Half of the field-event finals will be contested today, plus preliminary running events. All finals in running events will be tomorrow.
1:55 - Peabody's Pierre Carr ran the fastest 100-meter dash itimes (10.73 seconds) in the Class AAA preliminary heats. He is trying to win the 100 for the second year in a row. The semifinals and finals are tomorrow.
Latrobe's Natalie Bower had the fastest time in the Class AAA girls' 1,600 preliminary and The Ellis School's Janessa Benn the best time in the Class AA girls' 1,600 preliminary.
2:50 - The WPIAL just got its third champion of the day. Freedom's Ashley Adams won the Class AA discus championship. Adams also is the No. 1 seed for the shot put tomorrow.
4:25 - Freedom's Ashley Adams became the third champion from the WPIAL today. She won the Class AA discus and is the No. 1 seed tomorrow for the shot put.
4:30 - It's been a beautiful day weather-wise. Sunny. Temperatures in the high 70s. But some runners aren't quite used to the heat yet. Two have thrown up near me after their races. Seriously. But one eventually got to a trash can to finish "yakking."
The Penn Hills girls' 400 relay team was disqualified in the Class AAA preliminary heat. Apparently, they were outside of one of the exchange zones. Penn Hills was the WPIAL champion and always has a top 400 relay team.
4:35 - I've always thought this and it gets reenforced every year I come here: You have to be a little insane to pole vault.
4:55 - This meet started at 9 a.m. So it's now official: It has become boring.
This won't end for probably another hour or so.
5:05 - PIAA Executive Director Bob Lombardi just stopped at the media tent to inform us that the paid attendance today was 4,405. Also, the meet had 2,518 athletes, the most ever.
5:10 - Here are the WPIAL and City League athletes who had the best times in preliminary heats today:
CLASS AAA BOYS - 100 - Pierre Carr, Peabody (10.73).
CLASS AA BOYS - 800 - Kevin Jewell, East Allegheny, 1:56.56; 200 - Tarelle Irwin, Monessen, 21.87.
CLASS AAA GIRLS - 1,600 - Natalie Bower, Latrobe, 5:00.44.
CLASS AA GIRLS - 1,600 - Janessa Benn, The Ellis School, 5:07.13.
Look for updated blogs from Shippensburg throughout today and tomorrow.
5:15 - I'm wondering if there is any chance I can find an establishment in Shippensburg or nearby Chambersburg tonight that will have the Cavaliers-Magic game on TV? Or will I have to suffer through the Red Wings and Blackhawks? I think I'll just go to my room.
May 21 2009
Mike White| Thursday, May 21, 11:10 a.m.
From wonderful Chambersburg, Pa.
The PIAA Board of Control meetings started last night and resumed this morning, and the No. 1 topic on the agenda was a vote on the proposal to add two classifications to football in the state, starting in 2010.
The meeting started at 8 a.m., and media representatives were asked to leave the conference room at the Four Points Sheraton while the PIAA Board of Control met in executive session to discuss a number of topics. The closed-door executive session lasted almost an hour before the media was allowed back in the room. After the PIAA voted on a few other proposals, the six-class idea was next on the agenda. I was prepared for a long - and maybe heated - discussion on the PIAA's proposal to change the number of football classes from four to six. The proposal had already passed two votes and needed to pass only one more.
This was a hot topic around the state and opinions on it varied. The WPIAL vehemently opposed it and the WPIAL also was against another PIAA proposal that would shorten the season from 16 to 15 weeks. The six-class idea was brought up shortly before 10 a.m. Surely, I thought, a discussion would ensue among the Board of Control. But immediately after the proposal was brought to the floor, WPIAL President Rich Constantine raised his hand and made a motion to table the vote until a future meeting. The PIAA's next two meetings are in July and October.
Constantine said if a strategic planning committee could meet in the future, maybe a compromise on the six-class idea could be reached. Constantine's motion was immediately put to a vote without further discussion and the PIAA voted, 20-11, to table the final vote on six classifications.
After the vote, Bob Taylor, the male parents' representative on the PIAA Board of Control, said to the Board of Control that someone needs to budge on this idea. The WPIAL and some other districts are against the six-class idea. A number of districts in the eastern side of the state are for it.
John Ziegler, chairman of District 3 (Harrisburg area), was against delaying the decision. He told the board that delaying the vote doesn't make sense because if passed in July, it presents scheduling problems in the 2010 season.
Shorly after the proposal was tabled, the Board of Control took a break. That's when I caught up with PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman. He said he expected the vote to be tabled.
"I wasn't surprised. I anticipated it," Cashman said. "The problem we have is we just don't have anyone willing to give. That's been the problem all along."
Cashman said there are two schools of thought on the subject.
"We have those who would like to see the season remain the same with 16 weeks, move up the starting date by a week and not expand classifications," Cashman said. "Then we have those who believe the season should be shortened to 15 weeks, and I'm one of those. But in order to accomplish that and not have the districts lose so much playoff revenue, we have to expand the classifications to six.
"I'm not strong with the six classification idea. I'm more in favor of the 15-week season."
Cashman said he thought it was a good idea to have the PIAA strategic planning committee to look at the six-class proposal. The strategic planning committee is made up of 16 representatives from all districts around the state.
May 20 2009
Mike White| Wednesday, May 20, 3:45 p.m.
From wonderful Chambersburg, Pa.
The PIAA Board of Control is meeting tonight and tomorrow in Chambersburg, and the item on the agenda creating the most interest in the public is the idea of six classifications in football .
Here is my prediction: the six-class idea will pass, but the WPIAL won't drop out of the PIAA playoffs.
The WPIAL is against the six-class idea and a league survey of schools showed 75 percent would favor dropping out of the PIAA playoffs if six classes is instituted. Currently, there are only four classes in the WPIAL and PIAA.
The PIAA already has passed the six-classification proposal on two previous votes. In order to go into effect in 2010, the idea must pass one more vote tomorrow. The last vote was 17-12 in March. One member of the PIAA board abstained in the vote and one was absent. In March, PIAA Executive Director Brad Cashman had said the third vote needed a two-thirds majority to become a by-law. Cashman knew the final vote might be close, and he pulled an end-around recently, which understandably upset the WPIAL. Cashman said the measure will be a "policy" and not a "by-law." Policies need only a majority vote to pass and not two-thirds.
WPIAL officials feel deceived by Cashman's "policy" move. With only a majority vote needed, is there really a big mystery about this thing? Unless a handful of people have a change of heart, this matter is done. There will be six classes next year. Also, the PIAA will also shorten the season from 16 weeks to 15.
Now onto what the WPIAL will do. Although schools have said they wouldn't mind dropping out of the PIAA playoffs if the six-class idea passes, that is the last thing the WPIAL wants to do. That would be a horrible thing. Can you imagine telling a team like Thomas Jefferson "OK, you won the WPIAL. Season over. No chance for a state championship for you."
If the six-classification idea passes, and the season is shortened from 16 weeks to 15 weeks, don't look for the WPIAL to drop out of the PIAA playoffs. I have no inside information to believe this. I just don't believe it will happen. Look for WPIAL Excecutive Director Tim O'Malley and other league officials to come up with some kind of playoff system that will preserve their four-class format, but yet still send six teams to the PIAA playoffs.
Think of this: For years the City League has played one championship. However, it still sent teams to the PIAA Class AAAA and AAA playoffs. The City League has a system to come up with representatives for the PIAA playoffs. The WPIAL can do the same.
More predictions
* Even if the PIAA passes the six-classification idea and the 15-week season, don't look for the WPIAL to react for months. The league will have meetings with its football committee and won't decide what to do, possibly until early next year. Remember, this six-class idea does not go into effect until 2010.
* Also tomorrow, the PIAA will announce where it will play the basketball championships the next few years. I think they will remain at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center. Some believe they might move back to Hershey, but the PIAA has been happy with the arrangement the past few years at Penn State. Plus, Penn State gave the PIAA a cheaper deal than the Giant Center in Hershey.
Top track seeds
The PIAA track and field championships are Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University. Judging from the seeds, it is not a strong year for track in the WPIAL. In boys' and girls' competition at the Class AAA and AA level, the WPIAL has the top seed in only nine events. They are:
CLASS AAA BOYS
Shot put - Rodney Richter, Connellsville (63 feet, 2 inches). Discus - Rodney Richter, Connellsville (176-3).
CLASS AA BOYS
None
CLASS AAA GIRLS
3,200-meter run - Leslie Kovach, Norwin (10:44.98). Triple jump - Keri Dantley, West Allegheny (39-7). Discus - Rachel Serafin, Hempfield (138-6).
CLASS AA GIRLS
Long jump - Cameron Lewis, Union (18-7 1/4). Triple jump - Cameron Lewis, Union (39-4 1/4). Shot put - Ashley Adams, Freedom (47-3 1/2). Discus - Ashley Adams, Freedom (157-2).
May 16 2009
Mike White| Saturday, May 16, 12:40 p.m.
Notes, thoughts and anecdotes around the high school scene.
If you're a Pitt basketball fan, there is a decent chance you might be able to see a top Panther basketball recruit playing at a Western Pennsylvania school next year.
Isaiah Epps is a junior at Plainfield High in New Jersey and already has made a verbal commitment to Pitt. He is 6 feet 2 and considered among the top 10 point guards in the country by some scouting services. But Epps will be 19 in August, which makes him too old to play his senior year in New Jersey. So Epps plans to attend a prep school for his final year of high school.
That prep school might be Kiski School, located in Saltsburg near Indiana, Pa. Please note: This is a different school than Kiski Area of the WPIAL.
Kiski School is trying to upgrade its basketball program, scheduling other top prep schools out of state for next season. Newly hired Kiski School coach Anthony Cheatham is making great efforts to bring in some top players - and one of those is Epps.
Cheatham said there is a "strong chance" Epps will be at Kiski next season. In fact, Cheatham said Epps will visit Kiski School this Monday.
There is a connection with Cheatham, Epps and Pitt. Cheatham sometimes gives individual workouts to Pitt players, including Sam Young. I don't know if this means anything, either, but Pitt assistant Brian Regan and all of his brothers attended Kiski.
"Forget about the basketball side of things," Cheatham said. "Isaish goes through metal detectors to come through the front doors of his school now. With the resources we have academically and the type of support you have on our campus, if you factor all of that in, it could really be a life-changing situation here [at Kiski]."
It would be nice to see Epps play in Western Pennsylvania. Kiski isn't all that close to Pittsburgh, but it's not hours away, either. And after seeing Epps play at the Pittsburgh JamFest AAU tournament last month, Epps would be worth the trip to Kiski.
By the way, tuition, room and board at Kiski for next school year is $36,300. Ahhh, don't think Isaiah will be paying that. Kiski, you see, does not give athletic scholarships. The school, however, does give financial aid based on need. That works this way: If Kiski "needs" Epps, you can bet they will somehow, somehow find him enough "aid" financially.
But Epps isn't the only top player who might be coming to Kiski. Cheatham said Shaquille Thomas, a talented 6-6 junior forward from Beckley, W.Va., also is expected to visit Monday. He and Epps are both ranked among the top 100 juniors in the country.
On top of that, a 7-foot-2 player from Serbia already has visited the school. A 6-11 player from Serbia also might enroll.
"I was at the New York Gauchos [AAU team] practice facility [Thursday]," Cheatham said. "I'm trying to put this all together now. There is a chance on all of these guys coming and a chance none of them will."
Remember when
Butler has made it to the WPIAL Class AAAA baseball semifinals. It brings back memories of the last time Butler played in a WPIAL baseball championship. Two future major-leaguers were on the field that day.
It was 1992 and Butler played Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL title game. Playing third base that day for Butler was Matt Clement. Playing for Upper St. Clair was Sean Casey. Upper St. Clair won. Clement went on to become a pitcher in the major leagues while Casey became a major-league first baseman.
Only one pitcher needed?
I've heard it said - and it also has been written - that teams need a deep pitching staff to win a WPIAL title. Wonder who came up with that ridiculous notion?
For most teams, they can win a WPIAL championship with their No. 1 pitcher working three games and their No. 2 only one. That's because of the way the playoff schedule is set. But get this: There are a handful of teams who can win a WPIAL title by using only their ace pitcher.
How? Well consider this: North Allegheny (AAAA), Pine-Richland (AAAA), Hopewell (AAA) and Serra (A) all received first-round byes in the WPIAL playoffs. That meant they got an automatic berth in the quarterfinals, which were earlier this week. The semifinals are all Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, so those teams' No. 1 pitchers will be ready to go again. The championships are not until the following week, so the No. 1 pitcher can come back again.
Three games. Three starts for the No. 1 pitcher.
Can something be done about this? Bob Bozzuto is North Allegheny's athletic director and also the head of the WPIAL baseball committee. He said he is working on a proposal to the WPIAL that would change the playoffs for next season. He wouldn't get into specifics, but said it deals with series. In other words, maybe the WPIAL championship will be a three-game series. Or maybe even the semifinals.
"I think when the playoffs get to a point of a manageable number, I personally think a series would have a great deal of interest and would allow the best 'team' to move forward," Bozzuto said.
Interesting concept. Wonder how it will go over with the rest of the baseball committee and the WPIAL Board of Control. Personally, I think it would be kind of fun to play the semifinals and championships in three-game series. Weather might be a factor, and so might proms. But the way the playoffs are set up now is a little ridiculous with almost a week off between games. And if three-game playoff series came to fruition, why couldn't teams play doubleheaders when the weather is nice?
Or here is another idea: How about a double-elimination tournament? The first state baseball championship I ever covered was 1980 in Shippensburg. For a few years, the PIAA took every team that qualified for the state playoffs and had a double-elimination tournament at Shippensburg. It was great in one sense because teams certainly needed a "pitching staff" to win a PIAA title. But the idea lasted only a few years. One of the reasons was expenses. A team that kept winning and made it to the state final had to stay in a hotel, or college dorm, from Sunday night through Thursday night. Throw in meals and that is costly for a high school.
And what if it rained? That week might turn into 10 days.
However, it was fun to cover as a reporter. You could see games all day within a few miles of each other. The funny part was watching teams come out of the losers bracket. By Thursday of that week, the few teams left in the losers bracket were pitching back-up right fielders.
Shaler won the state Class AAA title that season. It was a team that I still say is one of the best in WPIAL history, and at least the best in the last 30 years. Two players from that team were drafted in the top 10 rounds - catcher Doug Maggio (third round by the Phillies) and pitcher Wayne Schuckert (ninth round by the White Sox). There hasn't been a WPIAL team that can boast of two top 10 picks since then.
On top of that, three other players from that 1980 Shaler team went on to be drafted out of college - center fielder Matt Stennett (Pitt), pitcher Rich Schlieper (West Virginia) and pitcher Chip Peluso (Point Park). And pitcher-first baseman Ken Karcher probably would've been drafted out of high school, but he had a football scholarship to Notre Dame. He went on to spend a little time in the NFL.
May 12 2009
Mike White| Tuesday, May 12, 10:49 p.m.
Kiski School, a prep school near Indiana, is apparently trying to upgrade its basketball program and rumors are circulating everywhere about WPIAL players possibly going to the school next year.
Kiski has hired a new coach in Tony Cheatham, and because the school is not in the WPIAL or PIAA, it can recruit players as much as it wants. I've heard a handful of players from the WPIAL might be going to Kiski next year. I won't use names yet, but the rumors are pretty strong in WPIAL coaching circles. Please note: This is Kiski School, a prep school in Saltsburg. This is NOT Kiski Area, a WPIAL school in Vandergrift.
A pair of promising freshmen at Central Catholic are seriously considering attending Kiski - and that's not a rumor. Lucas Mickens, a talented senior guard who will graduate from Central Catholic in June, said he will most likely attend Kiski for a fifth year. He also said his younger brother, Ben, a 6-4 freshman, might also be going to Kiski. And Lincoln Davis, a 6-foot freshman, is also considering attending Kiski, according to Lucas Mickens. Both Ben Mickens and Davis saw varsity time as freshmen.
The next few months should be interesting in terms of what goes on with Kiski's basketball team - and also how WPIAL coaches react if some talented players start leaving and go to Kiski.
May 11 2009
Mike White| Monday, May 11, 10:40 p.m.
A few high-profile coaches and players will be at Upper St. Clair High School Saturday, June 6 - inside and outside the building.
Two events are bringing these people to Upper St. Clair. One is the Nike Championship Basketball Coaches Clinic. The other is The Youth Football Camp of Champions. On the afternoon of June 6, new Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari will be one of the speakers inside at the Coaches Clinic. In the morning, Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and Buffalo Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny will be two of the workers at football camp.
The Nike clinic is open to coaches at any level - male and female. Calipari will speak from 3:15 to 4:30 on his dribble-drive motion offense. The clinic actually runs June 5-7. Other speakers Saturday are Arizona State's Herb Sendek (graduate of Penn Hills), Ohio State coach Thad Matta, Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt and Davidson coach Bob McKillop. For information on the clinic and registration, call Danny Holzer at 412-833-1600, extension 2263. Here is the link for the clinic: http://www.basketballcoach.com/cgi-bin/basketball/clinics/2009/pittsburgh-pa-basketball-clinic.html
Calipari always is a great speaker, even if you don't want to listen to the X's and O's talk. And I've heard Herb Sendek speak before about his program. It's very interesting to hear him talk about what is needed to build a program. For example, Sendek talks about organization and here is an example. In timeouts, the players in the game have sit in certain seats on the bench. The point guard must be in the middle of the five.
The Youth Football Camp of Champions lasts from 9-noon Saturday, June 6 and is open to boys ages 8-13. Besides Bradley and Posluszny, Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render will also work the camp along with some other high school coaches and Doug Whaley, Steelers director of pro personnel. Connor Lee, a former kicker at Pitt, also is on the camp staff. Here is a link for camp information. http://www.theyouthfootballcampofchampions.com/
May 11 2009
Mike White| Monday, May 11, 1:45 p.m.
The WPIAL baseball committee met this morning and determined playoff brackets. The playoffs will start tomorrow.
The No. 1 seeds are: North Allegheny (AAAA), Hopewell (AAA), Shady Side Academy (AA) and Serra (A).
The WPIAL championship games are May 26-27 at Consol Energy Park in Washington, home of the Wild Things.
Remembering Chuck Daly
I didn't know former NBA coach Chuck Daly and never met him. But I was impressed by him 17 years ago when he came to the PIAA Class AAAA championship basketball game at Hersheypark Arena. He sat a few seats away from me at press row. Why was he there? To see the Punxstuawney Chucks.
Daly's first coaching job was at Punxsutawney from 1955-62. In 1992, He came to Hershey that night and saw the Chucks lose to Steelton-Highspire, 58-49. Certainly, It seemed Daly still felt a bond with Punxsutawney decades after coaching there. Daly brought former NBA coach and TV analyst Mike Fratello with him that night.
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