Michigan high school player dies after game-winning shot ….. WPIAL … – Pittsburgh Post Gazette (blog)
Thursday, March 03, 2011 10:33 PM
Written by Mike White
Just a horrible, horrible story out of Michigan last night. You hear something like this and it makes you think any of the teams that lose this weekend in the WPIAL finals, it’s not that big of a deal.
Wes Leonard, a star player at a high school in Michigan, made the game-winning shot in overtime last night as his team capped a 20-0 season. Moments after the game, Leonard collapsed on the court and died.
This story is a tough read, but even moreso if you have kids of your own. But here it is from Jon Schultz of the Holland Sentinel.
TV for finals
* Before we get to some notes and predictions, one quick note about TV for the basketball championships because some people have asked. There will be no live TV. However, Comcast will telecast all the boys and girls games on “On Demand” in the “Get Local” folder, under sports. The games will be available starting the day after.
Yours truly will do color commentary on two of the games. The play-by-play announcers will be Chris Shovlin and Bruce Sakalik. Other color commentators are Ellis Cannon and Jim Elias.
Now onto some news and notes …
Burda out
Chartiers Valley will play without starting senior guard Steve Burda in the Class AAAA boys final against Gateway. You feel bad for a senior who has to miss a big game like this, but Burda sustained a concussion in the semifinal game against Mt. Lebanon Wednesday night. Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell said tonight that Burda is out.
That means Wayne Capers will probably start for Chartiers Valley. But Capers, who didn’t play until the playoffs because of an ACL tear in football, is supposed to play only four minutes a quarter. So the Colts will have to go deeper into their bench.
One for the other hand?
McConnell has proven in the past to be one of the WPIAL’s best coaches. But if Char Valley upends Gateway, McConnell would join some legendary coaches.
McConnell has won five WPIAL titles. Only four coaches in the history of the WPIAL have won six.
Farrell’s Ed McCluskey leads with 11. Blackhawk’s John Miller and Midland’s Ed Olkowski won eight apiece. Duquesne’s Rich Moran won six.
McConnell is 5-2 in WPIAL title games. His only losses were to Blackhawk and West Allegheny.
First timers
South Fayette plays Montour for the Class AAA title game. Neither team has ever played for a WPIAL championship. This is only the second time in the past 20 years that two teams will meet who have never been to a title game. The other time was Moon vs. Knoch in 2004.
Differing traditions
The Class A girls championship matches North Catholic against Fort Cherry. Could there be a title game between two more different teams, at least in terms of tradition? North Catholic has won 15 WPIAL titles. Fort Cherry has never been to a championship game.
Predictions
Who will win? Should you even listen to me? Well, I was 33-19 in the quarterfinals and semifinals. OK, but not great. That’s all boys and girls games. Here goes …
BOYS
Gateway over Chartiers Valley – I’m really having trouble picking a winner in this game. It should be close. It’s a tossup. It will be interesting to see how Gateway defends Chartiers Valley. Gateway usually doesn’t press and plays zone at times. With 6-10, 6-7 and 6-6, you’d think Gateway should get in a zone. But you take a risk of Chartiers Valley’s good shooters knocking down 3′s. If Gateway goes man-to-man, you can bet Chartiers Valley will try to spread things out and pull some of the size away from the basket. I don’t know if some of Gateway’s players can keep Chartiers Valley players from getting into gaps and penetrating to the basket. Not having Burda will definitely hurt Char Valley.
South Fayette over Montour – Montour would probably like to keep the game in the 40s. South Fayette has defeated Montour twice this season. To win, Montour will need a big game from a few key players. One of them is point guard Devin Wilson Will he try to guard Pat Zedreck? Also, questionable if Montour will have an answer for Mike Lamberti.
Greensburg Central Catholic over Monessen – GCC has been No. 1 in Class AA since the preseason. Keep an eye on GCC point guard Jesse Reed. The way he’s playing, he merits serious consideration for Fabulous Five. I haven’t seen Monessen play. With some injuries to players and other issues, Joe Salvino has done a tremendous job getting Monessen this far. And remember, two players who would’ve been among the best on his team this year are at GCC. The Stepoli brothers both transferred from Monessen to GCC in the middle of last season. They quit GCC’s team in January.
Vincentian over Lincoln Park – I’m going with a little upset here. A key to the game is how well Lincoln Park’s 6-10 Devontae Watson plays on offense, and how well Lincoln Park’s guards handle Vincentian’s traps.
GIRLS
Mt. Lebanon over Shaler – Maybe Shaler’s size will give Mt. Lebanon some problems. No matter. The Blue Devils win their third title in a row.
Blackhawk over Ambridge – Two teams from Section 2 of Class AAA. Ambridge has been on a nice run, but it’s about to end.
Seton-LaSalle over Jeannette – A rematch of last year’s title game. The outcome will be different this time. Seton-LaSalle will win.
North Catholic over Fort Cherry – North Catholic made a previously-undefeated Monessen team look bad in the semifinals. What will happen with Fort Cherry?
