Oakland Catholic teammates to join forces in college, too

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sierra DeAngelo and Jayde Boyd first met at a basketball camp while they were in third grade.

As first impressions go, Boyd didn’t make a good one, DeAngelo said.

“I didn’t like her at first because she could shoot a left-handed layup and I couldn’t,” she joked.

But as years passed, DeAngelo and Boyd grew closer together, eventually becoming good friends and standout basketball players at Oakland Catholic High School, where they are now seniors.

In June, Boyd committed to play at Fairleigh Dickinson.

DeAngelo has decided to do the same.

Not often do high school basketball players continue their careers at the same college — especially at the Division I level — but that’s what DeAngelo and Boyd plan on doing at the school located in Teaneck, N.J., just across the Hudson River from New York City.

DeAngelo is a 6-foot forward who lives in Kennedy Township. Boyd a 5-10 guard who resides in Highland Park. The two led Oakland Catholic to the WPIAL Class 5A final each of the past two seasons.

When DeAngelo made her college commitment Sept. 8, one of the first things she did was FaceTime Boyd, who had become one of DeAngelo’s biggest recruiters.

“That was something we always talked about. ‘What if we went to the same college and played together again?,’” DeAngelo said. “Jayde committed. Then they offered me. Then it was like, ‘This could actually be happening.’”

DeAngelo chose Fairleigh Dickinson over offers from Central Connecticut State and Canisius. Boyd also had an offer from Navy.

Brisker picks Niagara

Adia Brisker became the second member of her family to commit to a Division I school this year when she recently committed to play basketball at Niagara. Brisker, a 5-8 senior guard at Penn Hills, averaged 13 points per game as a junior when she was named allsection. Brisker’s brother, Jaquan, was a standout football player at Gateway who now plays at Lackawanna Community College. He committed to Penn State in May. Needless to say, it has been a good year for the Brisker family. “Yes, that’s what everybody is saying,” Adia Brisker said, laughing. She becomes the third Penn Hills player to commit to a Division I school in recent years, joining Jade Ely (Cleveland State) and Desiree Oliver (Temple).