Carmichaels coach deserves a shoutout

He is on a short list of WPIAL coaches with more than 500 wins, along with such legends as Ed McCluskey, John Miller and Chuck DeVenzio. But, who in the world of WPIAL basketball is this Don Williams guy?

“Thanks for paying some attention to us all the way out here,” Williams said at the end of a phone interview earlier this week.

Williams coached boys basketball “all the way out” at Carmichaels High School, a small school on the edges of the WPIAL, in Greene County, not all that far from the West Virginia border. Winning high school basketball games doesn’t come all that easy for the few schools in Greene County. But Williams liked coaching at Carmichaels. No, he loved it. That’s why he did it for 44 years before he coached his final game last Friday.

Williams has finally decided to retire from coaching and he deserves a salute as he walks away. Unheralded and not widely known in the WPIAL, Williams was a model of longevity and commitment. That alone deserves a salute. And he did his share of winning also.

Carmichaels isn’t exactly a hotbed of basketball talent, but get this: Williams is one of only 19 coaches in more than 100 years of WPIAL basketball to win 500 games. He lost his share of games, too, but he still had a record of 512452 with five section championships. He started in 1975 and his teams made the WPIAL playoffs 19 times. One of his most unforgettable times was the 1995-96 season, when the Mikes made it to the WPIAL semifinals. Tim Jones, Williams’ assistant coach for 28 seasons, also is retiring.

“We’re not world beaters out here, but we always tried,” said Williams.

Williams, 65, also was a teacher for 36 years at Carmichaels before retiring eight years ago. He and his wife, Diane, have three daughters.

“My family has always been so supportive,” said Williams. “But people always said you’ll know when it’s time to go. Well, I know it’s time for me to move on. It’s getting a little harder to be on the go all the time. The excitement is sort of leaving. It’s time to let someone else try it. There will be no more summer leagues. No more workouts. Now, I get to do what I want to do, and when I want to do it.

“My father used to always say, ‘When something looks greener on the other side, it might not be when you get there.’ I wanted to stay here. Obviously, that 1996 team was a highlight, but just knowing all the young men who have come through here means a lot. It was nice that a lot of them came back to the last game. The gym was packed. It was pretty emotional.”

Mastroianni for 500?

Will the group of WPIAL boys coaches with 500 victories grow by the end of this season?

Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni has a 495-201 record and Quaker Valley would have to win a few WPIAL and PIAA games to reach 500. It’s possible because Quaker Valley is 18-3 and the No. 3 seed for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs.

Mastroianni should most certainly be considered among the best coaches in WPIAL history, regardless of whether he makes 500

this season or not. He is in his 27th season of coaching. Besides two different stints at Quaker Valley, he also coached at Bethel Park and Keystone Oaks. He is one of the few coaches to win WPIAL titles at two different schools. He has won titles at Quaker Valley and Bethel Park.

Like father, like daughter

Ambridge girls player Aniya Walker finished the regular season as the eighth-leading scorer in the WPIAL with an average of 20.7. Thirty years ago, her father, Myron Walker, finished as the 15th-leading scorer in the WPIAL with an average of 23.8. Myron played at Aliquippa and went on to play at Robert Morris. Aniya is a Saint Francis recruit.

Woodland’s super Bowles

Since Woodland Hills High School opened in 1987, it never had a boys basketball player finish among the top 10 scorers in the WPIAL. This season, Woodland Hills had the No. 1 scorer in the WPIAL.

Senior guard Keandre Bowles won the WPIAL scoring title with an average of 29.3. He came close to becoming only the 23rd player in the WPIAL or City League since 1980 to average 30 points or more.

In Woodland Hills’ history, only three other players have finished among the top 20 in scoring average. Carlos Dixon was 13th in 1991 at 22.9; Mike Keyes 20th in 1993 at 21.6; Shakim Alonzo 11th in 2012 at 21.0.

Oh, Deer

The Deer Lakes boys team won a section title outright (without tying) for the first time in 27 years. Now the Lancers have a decent chance at something else historical — winning a playoff game.

It has been 34 years since Deer Lakes won a postseason game. The previous time was 1985, when the Lancers won two games before losing in the semifinals to Ellwood City. The only other playoff win for Deer Lakes came in 1984 when there was an open tournament and anyone could enter the playoffs if they wanted.

Since the 1985 wins, Deer Lakes has lost its first playoff game 10 times.

Coach suspended

The Bishop Canevin girls team has a chance to join an elite group of teams. The Crusaders have won three consecutive WPIAL titles and are a prohibitive favorite to win a fourth championship this season. Bishop Canevin would become only the sixth team in WPIAL history to win four consecutive titles.

But rightly or wrongly, there is a little cloud hanging over Bishop Canevin this season after one of its assistant coaches was recently suspended by the WPIAL for a year for allegedly trying to recruit middle school players. Under PIAA rules, a coach found guilty of attempted recruiting is suspended for a year.

The WPIAL board of directors made its decision after a hearing last week. But the WPIAL did not penalize Bishop Canevin head coach Scott Dibble because the league felt that Dibble didn’t know about Bryce Flenory’s actions.