WPIAL suspends Central coach

Penalty: 2 games and scrimmage

The WPIAL came down easy on Brian Urso, because the league couldn’t prove there was “fire.”

Urso, hired in April as Central Catholic High School’s new boys basketball coach, was facing a possible one-year suspension by the WPIAL for allegedly recruiting eighth-grade students. But Urso will be coaching the Vikings next year, just not for two games.

The WPIAL has told Central Catholic that the team will be barred from the WPIAL playoffs next season unless Urso is suspended for two games and one scrimmage. The WPIAL board of control made its ruling after a hearing with Urso and Central Catholic administrators Wednesday afternoon at league offices in Green Tree. The hearing was closed to the media at Central Catholic’s request.

“Was there smoke in there? Absolutely,” WPIAL executive director Tim O’Malley said. “But [WPIAL attorney] Brian Simmons could not establish fire to go the death penalty.”

Under PIAA and WPIAL rules, the penalty for a coach found to have “engaged” in recruiting is a one-year suspension. But the WPIAL did not feel there was enough evidence to warrant that. Urso, who was hired after Central Catholic fired longtime coach Chuck Crummie, was called to the hearing because the WPIAL was made aware of an email he sent asking eighth graders to attend open gym workouts at Central Catholic, something that could be considered recruiting. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette obtained a copy of the email.

O’Malley said the email was sent to about 80 eighth graders at various elementary schools. But O’Malley said Central Catholic contended the email was sent only to eighth graders who were registered to enroll at Central Catholic. Judging by the ruling, the WPIAL considered Urso’s actions recruiting, but not really.

Sources told the Post-Gazette that eighth graders who weren’t registered to enroll at Central Catholic also were invited to open gyms. But O’Malley said the

WPIAL couldn’t prove that.

“The concern went to the fact that they were from many schools and not necessarily the feeder schools,” O’Malley said. “The board felt there was looseness on how things were administered, but certainly didn’t think it rose to a requirement of a year suspension.”

However, the WPIAL also placed Central Catholic’s basketball program on probation for one year, which is basically a slap on the wrist. Central Catholic’s administration also was censured “for their inability to effectively address the feeder school requirements.”

Besides the alleged recruiting of eighth graders, Urso also put the Robert Morris University men’s basketball program into a questionable situation concerning NCAA rules. Urso was the Robert Morris director of basketball administration last season and sat on the bench with coaches during games. Urso was still representing himself as the director of basketball administration while also being the Central Catholic coach as recently as Monday. Such actions could violate NCAA rules because the NCAA rule states a college “may not employ a high school coach who remains a coach in the same sport as the high school.”

But O’Malley said the WPIAL can’t be concerned about NCAA rules. Ryan Fleischer, Robert Morris’ associate director of athletics-compliance/assistant university counsel, said Urso resigned his position only last week with Robert Morris.

“What he told our board was that [Robert Morris] never told him or counseled him on the NCAA limitations on interacting with high school kids while on a basketball staff,” O’Malley said. “He said they never instructed him in regards to [NCAA] compliance requirements.”

Other WPIAL rulings

• The WPIAL suspended McKeesport girls basketball assistant Tim Blackwell for a year for allegedly recruiting a player from another school through Facebook.

In Blackwell’s message, he wrote McKeesport would “love” to have the player. Charley Kiss, McKeesport’s athletic director, said the school will appeal the ruling to the PIAA. Blackwell was hired last summer by McKeesport as a Community Outreach Liason and one of his jobs is to try to get charter school students who live in McKeesport’s district to attend school at McKeesport.

“His job is to bring kids back to McKeesport. You just can’t do it this way,” O’Malley said.

Kiss said: “A coach made a mistake doing a job he gets paid to do. I respect the hearing process. … We plan to appeal this decision with legal counsel and will go to whatever lengths necessary to protect our district and athletic programs from being made a scapegoat in the district and state battles with recruiting and transfers.”

• The WPIAL also tabled a decision on whether to grant a waiver to give Moon basketball standout Donovan “Puff” Johnson an extra year of eligibility because he repeated eighth grade at a private school. After listening to testimony from Johnson’s parents, Moon athletic director Ron Ledbetter and attorney Gusty Sunseri, the WPIAL tabled the case. The league wants more information and plans to make a ruling June 17.

“We’re looking for them to supply us the record of attendance and his academic record while in Moon his first eighth-grade year,” O’Malley said.

Johnson is a 6-foot-7 guard-forward who has major-college scholarship offers from Pitt, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Arizona and Auburn, among many others. He made an official visit to Notre Dame this past weekend.

Under PIAA rules, Johnson could be granted a waiver for an extra year of eligibility because of “severe and unusual personal hardship.”