Lincoln Park is team to beat
Clairton: Look for the Bears to mirror the school’s football team from this fall — lots of new faces; similar success. The Bears must replace all of their starters from last season’s WPIAL finalist, but have an emerging star in 6-5 sophomore forward Aaron Mathews.
Carmichaels: Brandon Lawless (21.1 ppg), a 6-3 senior guard-forward, will be a handful for opponents to stop. On the other end, the Mighty Mikes (46.1 ppg) had the stingiest defense in Class A last season.
Others
(16.3 ppg) was named all-section last season. Joining him will be senior forward Justice Rawlins and senior guard Javon Brown.
Contenders
Mapletown: Senior guard Dereck Riggleman (21.6 ppg) led the section in scoring a season ago, when the Maples made the playoffs after a two-year absence.
Avella: Last season’s 3-18 finish in the rearview mirror, Avella will compete for a playoff berth with four returning starters, including leading scorer Brandon Miller, a senior guard.
Geibel: New coach Bill Hughes has a young team that has two seniors and brings back one part-time starter.
Wilkinsburg: Eugene Wilson takes over as coach of the Tigers, who finished as section runner-up last season and should compete for the title this season with senior guard D’Shawn Adair and junior guard Eddie Risher.
Contenders
Trinity Christian: Allsection performer John Wallace graduated, but the Falcons should be strong with senior guards Wes Lavrinc and James Chandler.
St. Joseph: No one player will match the scoring production of John Arcuri — he averaged 25.4 points per game as a senior last season — but a group led by senior guard Chris Gamble could get the Spartans to the postseason.
Others
Imani Christian: Last season’s section champion must replace most of its key players, including all-section guard Troy Simons (21.2 ppg), who transferred to Renaissance Christian Academy.
Leechburg: Senior guard Ben Ritchie, a three-year starter, is the top returnee.
Winchester Thurston: Expect continued improvement from the Bears, who went 1-9 in section play last season, their first in the WPIAL.