Rarity: Four averaged at least 30
Like every sport at every level, this WPIAL basketball season was said to be unlike any other, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But when it came to scoring, four players also made this regular season like no other in at least 40-some years.
Aquinas Academy’s Vinnie Cugini, Winchester Thurston’s Jackson Juzang, Butler’s Devin Carney and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Jake DiMichele all finished the regular season averaging at least 30 points a game. The Post-Gazette started keeping basketball statistics for the WPIAL in the 1979-80 season. Since then, this is the first time that four players have averaged in the 30s.
All four of the 30-something scorers are non-seniors. Cugini, a sophomore, led with a 39.4 average. Juzang, a junior, averaged 31.4. Carney, a junior, averaged 30.8, while DiMichele, another junior, averaged 30.5.
Since the 1979-80 season, only one time had three players averaged 30 in the regular season. That was 2011 when Highlands’ Micah Mason averaged 34.1, Norwin’s Matt Palo 30.1 and Trinity’s Josh Valentic 30.0. Only four other times did two WPIAL players average 30 a game.
Who knows, without league-wide statistics before the 1979-80 season, this could be the first time that four players averaged 30. Teams did not play as many games this season because of the pandemic, but the scoring of those four was still impressive. Carney played 18 games and DiMichele 17. The PIAA limit for regular-season games is 22.
• Cugini’s average of 39.4 is the highest in the WPIAL in more than 40 years. Laurel Highlands’ Rob Kezmarsky had the previous high with 36.2 in 1990. So, again without statistics before the 1979-80 season, it’s safe to say Cugini is one of the highest scorers in more than 100 years of WPIAL basketball.
Cugini also became the first WPIAL player in at least 40 years to average more than 30 in two consecutive seasons. This is no knock against Cugini’s ability. He obviously has talent and ability to score often. But his volume of shots is eyeopening. Aquinas Academy had shooting statistics for 12 of the team’s 14 games. In those 12 games, Cugini averaged 37.7 shots a game and shot at least 40 times in half of those 12 games. His shooting percentage was 41. The rest of the team took only 43 shots a game.
That’s a ton of shots for a player. But hey, that’s how Aquinas Academy plays.
• Carney is only the eighth player since the 1979-80 season to average 30 in the WPIAL’s largest classification.
• While this was a monumental year for WPIAL boys individual scoring, it was the opposite for WPIAL girls. Only six girls averaged 20 points a game this season, the lowest total since only four in 2011. Plum’s Kennedie Montue led with a 23.6 average.
• I still say the WPIAL basketball semifinals are the best moments of the entire high school sports year. It’s mostly packed gyms and the electricity is almost palpable. It won’t be the same this year with limits on fans. Then again, at least the games are being played.
• The Lincoln Park boys team has won 10 consecutive section titles in a row, which ties for sixth in WPIAL history. Washington also won 10 from 1950-59. The record for consecutive section titles is 14 by Blackhawk from 1990-2003, while Ford City won 12 from 1928-39.
• The Washington boys won their 48th section title this season, second in WPIAL history to Uniontown’s 49.
• The North Catholic girls won their 38th section title, by far the most in WPIAL girls history.
• The Knoch girls won a WPIAL section title this season for the first time. That left Mapletown, Plum
and South Side Beaver as the only WPIAL girls teams that have been around for at least 14 years and still don’t have a section title.
Six boys teams have been around for at least 14 years and still don’t have a section title — Beth-center, East Allegheny, Ellwood City, Laurel, South Side Beaver and West Greene.
• The North Catholic girls are the No. 1 seed for the WPIAL Class 4A playoffs, which means the Trojanettes are the favorite for an unusual drive for five. North Catholic could become only the third girls team in WPIAL history to win five consecutive titles. The others were Penn Hills (seven from 1986-92) and Vincentian (five from 2012-16).
• The Our Lady of the Sacred Heart boys, No. 1 seed in Class 2A, could become only the 10th boys team to win three consecutive WPIAL championships. It would be a monumental upset if OLSH (17-0) didn’t win the WPIAL title and become only the 13th team in the past 50 years to win a WPIAL championship with a perfect record.
• The schedules worked out so that the Ellwood City’s Roth brothers can continue their unusual postseason run combos. Freshman Joseph Roth and junior Alexander Roth are two of the top players on the Ellwood City basketball team that has made it to the WPIAL Class 3A first round. Ellwood City plays at Avonworth Thursday.
But the Roths are two top swimmers for Riverside under a cooperative sponsorship agreement because Ellwood City doesn’t have a team. The Roths have some of the top times in WPIAL Class 2A in their events and also will help Riverside challenge for championships in relays. The Class 2A swimming championships are Saturday. If Ellwood City would possibly defeat Avonworth in basketball, the quarterfinal game wouldn’t be until Monday.