Impact players in basketball have bloodlines with pro athletes
Vincentian, the No. 1ranked team in WPIAL Class 1A. Alex averages 8 points and 6 assists a game.
“He has a huge upside,” said Vincentian coach Tim Tyree. “Technically, he really should be in eighth grade because he’s only 14. I’m impressed with how he has handled things while being on the varsity.”
• New Castle’s Marcus Hooker, brother of Malik Hooker
Marcus Hooker isn’t trying to be like his brother, Malik. But Marcus is walking in Malik’s footsteps.
Malik Hooker was a twosport standout at New Castle before going on to play football at Ohio State and being taken by the Indianapolis Colts in the first round of last year’s NFL draft. Marcus Hooker also is a football-basketball star at New Castle and has signed with Ohio State to play defensive back.
Marcus is a 6-2 senior forward who leads New Castle in scoring at 16 points a game. He is one of three Hooker brothers to score 1,000 career points. The other was Marquel. It is believed the Hookers are only the second family in WPIAL history to have three brothers with 1,000 points.
• Lincoln Park’s Keeno Holmes, son of LaVar Arrington
LaVar Arrington was one of the best football players in WPIAL history at North Hills, went on to become an All-American at Penn State and a Pro Bowl linebacker in the NFL. Arrington lives in West Hollywood, Calif., and his son is making a name for himself in Western Pennsylvania basketball.
Keeno Holmes is a 6-2 junior at Lincoln Park who has blossomed into one of the top scoring guards in the WPIAL this season. Holmes averages 22 points a game. Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski has said Holmes also would probably make an excellent defensive back in football, but Holmes doesn’t play football.
• North Allegheny’s Mike Iuzzolino Jr., son of Mike Iuzzolino
The younger Iuzzolino is a sophomore guard who has moved into the starting lineup for North Allegheny. His father was a star guard at Altoona High School in the mid 1980s who went on to start 44 games over two seasons with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. These days the elder Iuzzolino is a Robert Morris assistant coach.
• Chartiers Valley’s Megan McConnell, sister of T.J. McConnell
When Megan McConnell scored 30 points in a recent Chartiers Valley girls basketball game, one of the congratulatory text messages she got on her phone was from an NBA player — her brother. T.J. McConnell is in his third season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Megan is a 5-6 sophomore guard at Chartiers Valley who averages 18 points a game. She already has a scholarship offer from Robert Morris and a few other Division I colleges are interested. Megan’s other older brother, Matty, plays at Robert Morris.
“She was one who used to love to come to our practices when she was smaller and just shoot on the side,” said Tim McConnell, Megan’s father and Chartiers Valley’s boys coach. “One thing I’ve never done is force anything on any of my kids. But she did fall in love with the game early.”
• Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Dante Spadafora, nephew of Paul Spadafora
Dante Spadafora is a spindly 5-foot-10, 150-pound freshman on the Our Lady of the Sacred Heart basketball team. Butyou won’t find him shying away from physical play. His geneswon’t let him.
“It’s just how I was raised,” said Spadafora. “My dad and uncle made sure I was tough. Theynever let me be soft.”
Spadafora’s uncle is boxer Paul Spadafora, former IBF lightweight champion of the world. Dante’s father, Harry, also was a boxer.
“Yeah, I’ve boxed, but my mom [Jamie] really doesn’t want me to,” said Dante. “I’ll still train a little, go to the gym and hit some bags with my dad.”
These days, Dante is into hitting shots for the OLSH basketball team. He is only a freshman but is averaging 17 points a game for the No. 1ranked team in Class 2A.