‘SAVE OUR SCHOOL’
Vincentian boys basketball team plays for more than just state title
The first thing you see when you enter Vincentian Academy, dead center, is a large statue of the Virgin Mary on a pedestal in front of a blue-tiled backdrop. Look right, and you’ll notice a poster with Vincentian’s dark royal blue and gold crest celebrating the school’s 85th anniversary in 2017.
To the left of the Blessed Mother sits a long white banner with the words “Save Our School!” painted in royal blue block letters along with dozens of yellow handprints and, at the very end of the paper, the rally cry “#VAStrong.” The banner was created by an art class, according to Vincentian Principal Rita Canton, to cope with the Feb. 25 announcement that the school — initially founded in 1932 as a school for young women aspiring to the religious life — will be closing its doors at the end of the school year due to financial struggles.
But before you have time to process the enormity of that situation, you hear the unmistakable sounds of a ball pounding and sneakers squeaking against hardwood. Behind the Virgin Mary statue is the school’s gym, and those noises come from the boys basketball team, which on Feb. 27 — two days after learning Vincentian was closing — beat rival Cornell to capture the Royals’ second WPIAL Class 1A title in three years and fourth overall.
Now the team is preparing for the state playoffs, which tip off for Vincentian against Allegheny-Clarion Valley at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Vincentian finished second last year to Sankofa Freedom in the PIAA championships, but the No. 1-ranked Royals are now playing for more than just what would be the first state title in school history.
“They were already a motivated bunch, but this news has definitely brought them closer together,” said Ron Moncrief, Vincentian’s athletic director and girls basketball coach. “Now they want to do it not only for themselves but for the school as a whole.”
‘Devastation’
No one was expecting much at that Feb. 25 assembly. At the time, the boys basketball team was a win away from a WPIAL title, the spring musical (“The Drowsy Chaperone”) was in full
swing and spirits were generally high.
That’s when the bomb was dropped that Vincentian — run by the Kentucky-based Sisters of Charity of Nazareth — would close.
“It was a little surprising,” said Nate Cullo, a senior guard and team captain. “I don’t think anybody knew it was going to happen. There were a lot of sad faces, and nobody was ready for it.”
Tim Tyree Jr., the boys basketball coach, found out about the closure from his players at practice that night.
“It was left field to the point where I didn’t even believe the kids until I followed up,” said Tyree, who works as a client analyst for financial technology company Fiserv. “... As the head coach, I’m always building toward the future. I had many plans for Vincentian basketball, and this news was completely left field for me.”
Moncrief called the main feeling brought on by the announcement “devastation,” adding, “Everyone is saddened by the news. But we’re there to support each other. That’s what family does during a situation like this.”
It’s worth taking a beat to remember just how many people a decision like this affects: students, parents, teachers, administration, coaches, alumni, etc. And it was clear just how much this news rocked the worlds of all those groups, which was not lost on the students at that assembly.
“Not even just students, even the teachers were devastated,” said Ethan Embleton, a senior forward. “It’s just sad to see how this school has impacted a lot of people, educationally and as a family, how we’re all close together. It’s just sad to see.”
‘A heartbreaking decision’
This certainly wasn’t the plan at the beginning of the school year.
More than 100 prospective Vincentian students shadowed current Royals this fall, according to Diane Curtis, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth’s director of communications. The idea was to continue the school’s stated mission of inspiring “students to achieve academic success, nurture their faith, discover and develop their talents and live the Christian values of respect and service.”
Unfortunately, Vincentian was in a precarious place financially, mostly the result of a steep drop in enrollment. Curtis said the senior class contains about 60 students, while this year’s freshman class could only muster 30. Only 23 students sat for the last school entrance exam.
“This is not at all about the quality of education,” Curtis said. “These students, their ability in sports, in classroom, on the stage, is off the charts. This is a wonderful school and a close-knit community. But you simply cannot run a school unless you have enough students bringing in tuition.”
It was “a heartbreaking decision,” Curtis said, but 90-92% of school expenses are covered by tuition and it was getting to the point where Vincentian couldn’t afford to go on with enrollment being so low.
In addition, competition from other Catholic high schools (particularly North
Catholic), a decrease in the area’s student-age population and an overall downward trend in the number of students enrolling in Catholic schools contributed to Vincentian’s ultimate demise, according to Curtis, who expressed her “hurt, sadness and shock” about the school’s fate.
“This really comes down to wishing we had more enrolling in our school,” she said.
‘One of our escapes’
It’s March 3, the first practice after the Royals won the first of two titles they hope to capture this year. Their reward for their efforts: a heavy dose of conditioning via one-on-one drills and sprints.
The players need a minute to catch their breaths before talking about how they managed to drown out the noise of those dark two days and capture a WPIAL title.
“We just wanted to get a win because the school was closing and it was important to everybody,” Cullo said.
Added Embleton: “Once we go in the gym, everything clears our minds. The only thing we’re focused on is winning the games ahead of us. It’s one of our escapes from everything, getting our minds off it and playing basketball.”
This run by the boys basketball team — along with the musical, which multiple people mentioned as another rallying point for the school — has been the rare ray of sunshine as students begin thinking about what school they’ll attend next year, parents fight for any last shred of hope the school may still survive and Vincentian employees contemplate their plans post-June.
“I thought the future was being at commencement and seeing these kids off to college, but that’s changed drastically,” Tyree said. “You just have to take in everything that was accomplished here and move forward. I can’t thank them enough for allowing me to grow as a coach and person.”
Of course, there’s still one more thing the team wants to accomplish: the first state boys basketball title in school history.
“It would mean everything to go out on top, with a bang,” Moncrief said. “I just think that if you’re going to go out, that’s the way to go out.”
Tyree was on the same page: “It would be the bestcase scenario in this situation. You try to look at the silver lining in situations like this. It’ll be something these kids can have for the rest of their life . ... Their time at Vincentian will be held high.”
Junior forward Angelo “Boom” Reeves said the raucous crowd last Thursday at Petersen Events Center gave the Royals “extra motivation to get the win” and “to go out with a bigger bang.” Embleton concurred: “Knowing that this is our last year ever, we want to get that first state title ever for the Vincentian boys basketball team.”
The three players went back to the gym to get ready for what could be the last game in Vincentian history or the start of a memorable state title run.
Some time between arriving at Vincentian and the conversation with the players, the “Save Our School” banner was taken down.
All that remained was a blank wall, incomplete.