DeGregorios eye a special run
Isaac DeGregorio knows his time playing for “Coach D” is nearing its end. It’s a coach he has been busting his tail for and learning the game from since he was in third grade, one he refers to as “dad” off the court.
“There’s nothing better,” DeGregorio said. “We’ve spent so much time together. I couldn’t imagine not playing for him and having to play against him. He’s coached me and my brother. He’s taught me a lot.”
The DeGregorios hope to lead North Catholic to a WPIAL Class 3A title later this month. The Trojans (202), seeded No. 2 behind Lincoln Park, play a first-round game Friday against Shady Side Academy (10-10) at Fox Chapel.
Dave DeGregorio is North Catholic’s secondyear coach. Isaac is a senior guard and one of the top players in Class 3A. He leads the team in scoring with 17 points per game. Owen DeGregorio is a junior guard who comes off the bench.
“It’s been fun,” Dave said of coaching his sons. “We’re having a good time with that. Both him and Owen, it’s just good to have the opportunity to spend this much time with them. It goes quickly, so you just have to enjoy it.”
Dave first coached Isaac on a third-grade AAU team that also included Zach Rocco, Hans Rottmann, Michael Carmody, Riley Holzer and Mattix Clement, all sons of successful WPIAL coaches.
“There was no pressure on me, was there?,” Dave said, laughing.
There have been some challenging situations in recent years. Isaac underwent heart surgery in November of his sophomore year at Hampton High School. He recovered quickly and actually played in a game a month later. Dave was an assistant coach at Hampton at the time, but left to take the North Catholic head coaching job after the season. Isaac and Owen followed, but were initially ruled ineligible by the WPIAL, which claimed the transfer was athletically motivated. However, the PIAA overturned the decision, allowing the sons to play.
North Catholic lost to Lincoln Park, 62-50, in last year’s WPIAL championship, but this group of Trojans might be even better. They average a WPIAL-best 79 points per game and have won 14 games in a row, the latest being a 68-67 victory Monday against Class 6A power Pine-Richland. Isaac DeGregorio scored 28 points and made five 3-pointers, and Ryan Feczko banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Trojans the dramatic win. The Trojans only losses were to West Chester East (ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 5A) and a team from Virginia, and they own wins against Class 6A playoff teams Central Catholic and Peters Township and Class 1A topseed Vincentian.
DeGregorio, one of the top perimeter shooters in the WPIAL, has made at least six 3-pointers in a handful of games and scored 30 points in one half against Seton LaSalle, but he has gotten a lot of help. Junior Isaiah Jackson and seniors Feczko and Rottmann have been among the other key contributors in the backcourt, and the Trojans have an excellent frontcourt that includes 6-3 senior Jackson Paschall, 6-5 senior Jake Tomer and 6-7 junior Andrew Ammerman.
“I think the buy-in from everybody [makes this team special],” Dave DeGreogrio said. “Everybody is on the same page. We have really good team chemistry.”
Chemistry that starts with the DeGregorios, who hope to land a first WPIAL title. Dave is 0-3 as a head coach in WPIAL championship games (2000 at Pine-Richland, 2015 at North Allegheny and 2019 at North
Catholic), Isaac 0-2 (he lost one as a freshman at Hampton in 2017) and Owen 0-1.
“That would mean everything,” Isaac said. “That has been our goal since the start of the season. Our guys know what we can do, and we’re really committed to doing it.”
New Castle
If New Castle is to win a fourth consecutive WPIAL Class 4A title, the Red Hurricanes will have to do it as the No. 7 seed. It’s the lowest they have been seeded in 10 seasons under coach Ralph Blundo, who has guided the team to six titles overall. They were a No. 1 seed five of those seasons and a No. 2 the other. New Castle (15-7) plays Mount Pleasant (1210) in a first-round game Wednesday at North Allegheny.
Blundo called this the most wide-open bracket he has seen in his tenure.
“It’s sensational. It really is,” he said. “There are eight or nine really good basketball teams. If there were some upsets early on, it wouldn’t surprise me. If it plays out whatever the chalk is, it wouldn’t surprise me. Anything is possible. It’s balanced.”
Even as a lower-seeded team, don’t be surprised if New Castle makes a return trip to the championship. The Red Hurricanes finished third in loaded Section 2, one game behind cochamps Quaker Valley and Blackhawk. Blundo’s squad closed the regular season with three wins in three nights, highlighted by a section win against Ambridge and a non-section triumph at Lincoln Park. They made 14 3-pointers against the Leopards.
“We had to do it for our own purpose, forget about seeding,” Blundo said about picking up those latest wins. “It was for our own momentum and to feel right going into the playoffs.”
Sophomore Mike Wells (20.6 ppg) and junior Sheldon Cox (18 ppg) are New Castle’s top two scorers.
If New Castle gets past Mount Pleasant, it will meet No. 2 Knoch (19-3) in the quarterfinals.