Basketball highlights for 2020-21
Like every sport at every level, the 2020-21 high school basketball season in the WPIAL and City League was often called a season like no other. And it was because of COVID19.
But despite the shutdowns, cancellations, protocols and precautions, there was a season and it finished last weekend. So that means it’s time to share some memories and thoughts on this 2020-21 season. Go ahead and open that box of candy. Here are some “Mike & Likes.”
• Story of the year: Tie between the “Stellar Six” of Upper St. Clair boys and the “Splash Brothers” of Ellwood City.
Who can forget the Upper St. Clair team winning a state quarterfinal game with only six players, due to a COVID-19 outbreak on the team? Coach Danny Holzer also missed the game along with assistant coaches. The interim coach was Tanner Gensler, who is not even old enough to drink. Gensler, 20, was a volunteer coach during the season who attended some practices, but never even sat on the bench for a game. And he won a state playoff game.
With apologies to Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, how about the “Splash Brothers” of Ellwood City — freshman Joseph Roth and junior Alexander Roth. Who in world swims and plays high school basketball during the same season — and excels at both? Both Roths won WPIAL swimming gold medals and a gold medal on a relay team at the PIAA championships. Joseph also was second in a PIAA individual event. Both also averaged in double figures for the Ellwood City basketball team that won a WPIAL title for the first time in school history.
In fact, Upper St. Clair and the “Splash Brothers” aren’t just stories of the year in basketball. They might be the best stories this year in all of WPIAL sports.
• Most memorable performance: Chartiers Valley’s Brayden Reynolds scoring 42 points – at New Castle. It was one of the greatest performances by an opponent at New Castle’s hallowed field house. New Castle was ranked No. 1 in WPIAL Class 5A at the time.
• Best player: That I saw all year was Rahsool Diggins, a guard for Archbishop Wood, which lost in the PIAA Class 6A championship. He’s ranked the No. 46 player in the country — and I can see why. He’s also a University of Connecticut recruit. Silky smooth.
• Best comment: Constitution coach Rob Moore after Our Lady of the Sacred Heart blocked 10 shots against his team in the PIAA Class 2A championship: “When we scouted them, we didn’t scout them to be this elite shot-blocking team. Maybe if they’re playing ‘Our Lady of the Poor’ or something like that, but not against good teams.”
• Most heartwarming story:
The “WPIAL/City Basketball Virtual Food Drive” that raised a little more than $66,000 dollars for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. North Catholic boys coach Dave DeGregorio had this idea of maybe doing a food drive involving WPIAL coaches. The Pittsburgh Food Bank turned it into a “virtual” drive where coaches, players, parents and even fans could donate money in the name of a WPIAL boys and girls team. All that money was raised in less than a month. Wow.
• Things I missed this season: Fans, WPIAL and PIAA semifinal games at neutral sites (best days in high school sports year) and full student sections.
• Something I was glad to see: The Cathedral Prep of Erie student section. I have long said they’re the best student section in Western Pennsylvania, but I hadn’t seen the group at a basketball game for years. Then I caught their slimmed down act at the PIAA Class 5A final in Hershey. Priceless.
My favorite memory of that student section came in 2009 when in the second half of a game about 300 of their students started yelling loudly — and a kid dressed in nothing but a Speedo swim suit and waving a towel suddenly appeared on the shoulders of another student. The kid in the Speedo was thrown out of the gym.
• Something I can do without next year: “Chin diapers.” I’m not going to get into the mask debate, but it was comical the way most players wore masks because their school required it. Hopefully, we’ll be at the point next season where masks won’t be required at all.
• Things that need retired: The cheer of “You can’t do that!”
And also fans and parents who yell, “C’mon ref, you’re cheatin’ the kids!” That’s becoming way too popular. I propose the WPIAL comes up with a rule that anybody who yells that has to immediately go to the car — or work the refreshment stand.
• Most unreal turnaround: The Rochester boys. The Rams were 0-21 last year and 1-20 two seasons ago. This year, they made it to the WPIAL Class 1A championship.
• Most unusual 24 hours as a reporter: When I went to cover the state quarterfinal game at Bishop Canevin and the Crusaders forfeited to Berlin Brothersvalley 20 minutes before tipoff — because Bishop Canevin just learned a player tested positive for COVID-19.
Less than 24 hours later, I was covering Upper St. Clair winning a Class 6A quarterfinal without their coach and with only six players, because of COVID-19.
• Things I’d like to see in high school basketball: A 35-second shot clock and an
arc on the court near the basket, like college and NBA, where you don’t get a charging call if you’re standing in the arc. I only have anecdotal evidence, but the number of charge calls seemed way up this year. Something needs to be done.
• Ones to watch: Freshman Brandin Cummings, a 6-foot-3 guard at Lincoln Park, and freshman Royce Parham, a 6-6 forward at North Hills. Their recruiting will depend greatly on how much they grow, but both have fairly big-time potential.
• Did you know?: Many are impressed by Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Dante Spadafora winning 101 games in his four years as a starter, scoring 1,792 points, winning three WPIAL titles and one PIAA title. But how’s this for an impressive career? Former Oakland Catholic star Meg Bulger was a four-year varsity starter and had a 120-10 record in that time (1999-2003) with three WPIAL titles, two state championships and two state runners-up. And she scored 2,044 points.
Considering her talent, her statistics, the number of wins and championships, you could very easily make the claim that Bulger had the best high school career of any WPIAL player.