Penn Hills boys look to use playoff run as springboard

By: Josh Rizzo
Sunday, November 27, 2022 | 11:01 AM

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The Penn Hills boys basketball team got a jolt from what it did beyond the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs last season.

While the Indians didn’t bring home a PIAA crown, Penn Hills did leave a remarkable wave behind it during the state tournament. The Indians knocked off Lampeter-Strasburg and East Stroudsburg South before falling to New Castle in the quarterfinals.

Penn Hills, which followed the leader into the state playoffs after being upset in the WPIAL quarterfinals by Highlands, is ready to get after a district crown. Penn Hills will open the season by playing Moon on Dec. 9 at Central Catholic.

“We want to build off what we did last year,” Indians coach Chris Giles said. “We want to keep competing and keep getting better.”

Fortunately for Penn Hills, the Indians are bringing back a lot of experienced players. Senior 6-foot-5 guard Daemar Kelly committed to Quinnipiac in the offseason. Last season, Kelly led Penn Hills in scoring with 17.4 points per game. He also contributed 5.3 rebounds per contest.

Kelly made it clear that he still had a lot to prove during his senior season.

“I want to shoot consistently,” said Kelly after he committed in September. “I’ve made a lot of progression over the last few years. I want to get strong and more fundamentally sound for the next level.”

Julian Dugger, a 6-3 junior guard, Noah Barren, a 5-11 guard, Robert Thomas, a 6-4 forward, and 6-2 junior forward Khalil Wall will also return to a strong lineup. The Indians are hoping that they will be able to fill the void left by graduating players Jaden Dugger and George Mitchell.

“We’re trying to figure that out,” Giles said. “You never know how guys will fill those roles. We have guys that are capable of doing that. Now that it’s their turn, they have to figure it out.”

Penn Hills, which finished 20-6 overall and won Section 3-5A, will see a shakeup in the section as this is the start of a new two-year enrollment cycle.

The Indians will be in a section with Armstrong, Fox Chapel, Plum, Shaler and Woodland Hills. Getting a playoff spot out of that group will require fighting through an intense battle during the regular season.

The Indians have their eyes on something more than just getting into the playoffs.

Penn Hills hopes for a deep run. Giles said the Indians will have to work on getting to that point.

“We always want to work on the fundamentals on the offensive and defensive end,” Giles said. “If they do what they know they can do, we will be fine.”

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