OLSH BOASTS SCORING DU0
OLSH’s DiMichele, Spadafora one of top scoring punches ever
Mike Rodriguez was going page by page through his team’s scorebook, reciting the points that Jake DiMichele and Dante Spadafora scored every game this season. He suddenly stopped after the sixth contest.
“Wow. I knew they scored a lot. But now that I’m looking at this, what they are doing really hits you,” said Rodriguez, the coach at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
What DiMichele and Spadafora have done is become a hit duo, one that makes a lot of string music, as when ball hits net. Meet the “U2” of WPIAL basketball. DiMichele and Spadafora have turned into one of the best scoring duos in WPIAL history — and that’s not an overstatement.
DiMichele is a 6-foot-2 sophomore shooting guard and Spadadora a 5-11 junior point guard at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, a small Catholic school in Coraopolis. The way they are racking up points, OLSH becomes Our Lady of the Scorers
Heart on Tuesday and Friday nights.
Heading into Friday’s section finale against Sewickley Academy, DiMichele was averaging 29.5 points (third best in the WPIAL) while Spadafora was scoring at a 23.2 clip. They will most likely finish the regular season as the best or secondbest scoring duo in the WPIAL in at least 40 years.
The Post-Gazette was the first to keep scoring statistics for the entire WPIAL in the 1979-80 season. Since then, only two teams have had two players who both averaged more than 22 points in the regular season. DiMichele and Spadafora will likely be the third.
“I had no idea, and it kind of makes you think that what we have is pretty special,” Spadafora said when told of the history of scoring tandems. “It’s kind of mind blowing to see what we’re consistently doing this year.”
In the 1998-99 season, PineRichland’s Allan MacQuarrie averaged 23.1 points and Mike
Decker 22.5. In the 2010-11 season, Norwin’s Matt Palo averaged 30.1 and Andy Carter 23.0. Those are the only WPIAL duos since 1980 to average more than 22 points. Palo and Carter combined to average 53.1 points. DiMichele and Spadafora combine for 52.7.
Think of it this way: After Tuesday night’s games, DiMichele and Spadafora were averaging more points than 29 (22%) of the WPIAL’s 133 teams.
“I just kind of go out and play and never really think of the statistics,” DiMichele said. “But now that you say this about the past history, it definitely is a little crazy what we’re doing.”
DiMichele lives in McKees Rocks and Spadafora in Sheraden and both come from good bloodlines. DiMichele’s father, Daren, scored 1,162 points at Sto-Rox and averaged 15.5 points a game on the 1983 team that finished undefeated and won WPIAL and PIAA titles. Jake’s older brother, Daren, was a top player on OLSH’s team last year before graduating.
Spadafora’s uncle, former boxer Paul Spadafora, is a former IBF lightweight champion of the world. Dante’s father, Harry, also was a boxer.
Dante and Jake played each other twice when they were on opposing Catholic elementary schools and they came together in 2018 when Jake enrolled at OLSH. They have established a special connection in only their second year of playing together and it has been a lethal connection. The OLSH Chargers are 19-1 and a heavy favorite to win their second consecutive WPIAL Class 2A championship.
“Me and Jake spent an incredible amount of time together in the offseason, working out and shooting,” Spadafora said. “The connection has definitely been stronger because our roles drastically changed since last year. We had five guys who could score double figures every game last year. This year, we need each other to win games.”
OLSH’s two ace scorers have faced junk defenses just about every game this season. Sometimes it’s a triangle-and-two. Sometimes it’s a box-and-one against either Spadafora or DiMichele. But the two keep scoring with regularity. They have both scored 30 points in a game four different times.
“I think why they complement each other so well is because it’s kind of like they need each other,” Rodriguez said. “One guy is quick and can pressure you on defense. The other is a great shooter from the perimeter and handles the ball well. If they were both point guards or both shooting guards it would be different.
“But the nice thing is they’ve been getting most of their points in the framework of the offense. In our program, anyone can shoot. All we ask is that if someone is more open than you, throw them the ball.
What I’m most proud of is they’re looking for their teammates more and more if they’re guarded or double-teamed.”
For certain, Spadafora and DiMichele are different types of players.
“I’d say Dante is more of a flashy kind of guy. He might throw a pass behind his back,” DiMichele said. “I like to say I’m more of the Kawhi Leonard type. I just go on the court and get the job done.”
DiMichele and Spadafora certainly get their share of shots, but it’s not like their right arms need to be iced after games. DiMichele averages 20.6 shots a game and Spadafora 19.
DiMichele has impeccable marksmanship. “I believe Jake is the best knockdown shooter in the WPIAL,” Spadafora said.
DiMichele made 75 3pointers in the first 19 games and is shooting 41% behind the arc. He is shooting 49.6% overall.
Spadafora is shooting 44.5% overall and has made 46 3-pointers (he’s shooting 32.8% from long range). DiMichele is shooting 81.4% from the free-throw line and Spadafora 72.1.
Spadafora and DiMichele have proven to be efficient scorers, but they do more than find the bottom of the net. DiMichele leads the team in rebounds at 8.2. Spadafora leads in assists at 6.5 and has sticky fingers, averaging 3.9 steals a game.
But what they are known most for is scoring. When they are plugged in together, they put a charge in the Chargers. And they score like few duos in WPIAL history.
“What makes me feel great is we know the future is very bright for us. We still have another year together after this,” DiMichele said. “You know we’re going to work hard in the offseason, but we have a lot we want to do this year.”