Westmoreland County high school basketball notebook: Some Roundball Classic games to be televised

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Friday, March 15, 2024 | 11:01 AM

High school basketball suddenly will be a part of Memorial Day weekend. And fans will be able to post up on the couch to watch the top players in the district play on TV.

The plan is for KDKA to televise some of the Roundball Classic all-star basketball games set for May 22-26 at North Allegheny.

There will be underclassman games this year, as well as the usual showcase games featuring the top senior players from the WPIAL, City League, District 9 and District 10.

KDKA will broadcast two underclassman games on May 23-24 — the Rising Star Invitational, as they are called — said Allen Deep, who has run the Roundball for 20 years. Select games also will be televised May 25-26, likely the premier games in larger classifications.

This year’s Roundball was originally going to be played May 9-12 but organizers did not want to compete with the NCAA live period for recruits during that time.

For the better part of 20 years, the Roundball had been played at Geneva College.

The complete schedule and rosters will be released at a later time.

No T.O. for Olesky

Tom Olesky has seen dozens of basketball games over the course of the season. In particular this season, he’s followed a talented group of girls that he has coached in AAU.

Olesky brought back the PA Swoosh team about six years ago and his players have become college-level talents. They include Lauren Palangio, Ava Kobus, Kendall Williams and Bailey Snowberger of Norwin; Olivia Pepple of Penn-Trafford; Abbie Johns of Kiski Area; Rachael Manfredo of McKeesport; and Sophia Reitz of Franklin Regional.

The Norwin and McKeesport girls were still alive in Friday’s PIAA quarterfinals.

Palangio (Holy Family), Kobus (Allegheny), Williams (Wilkes), Pepple (Gannon), Johns (Shippensburg) and Manfredo (Edinboro) are going to continue their career in college.

Snowberger will play Division I softball at Holy Cross.

An eighth-grade boys coach at Franklin Regional, Olesky was an assistant to Rick Klimchock with the Jeannette boys and Franklin Regional girls.

The PA Swoosh team also included Olivia Waters of North Hills.

Olesky said the girls have more in common than their fondness for Rita’s Italian Ice.

“They’re all high achievers in the classroom and on the court,” Olesky said. “They’ve all become selfless teammates that all play in the Big 56 (Conference) and have only played for one AAU team.

“As a coach, parent or fan, it’s surely exciting to see the kids play and succeed in such meaningful games. On the flip side, I’m also really proud of my players who’ve been very successful that have not had the long playoff runs.”

GCC falls short

Greensburg Central Catholic boys coach Christian Hyland referenced the past for his team’s potential path to Hershey. GCC was upset by Jeannette in the second round, but the Centurions had hoped for a similar story to the one the 2011 team penned.

That season, when Hyland was a freshman — and Franklin Regional coach Jesse Reed was a senior — at GCC, the Centurions lost by 20 (64-43) to Monessen in the WPIAL final. Four wins later in the PIAA playoffs, GCC was playing for a state title. The Centurions lost to Imhotep Charter, 67-34, at Penn State. This year’s team made the WPIAL final and suffered a one-sided loss to Aliquippa, 69-32.

GCC still is seeking its first WPIAL and state titles in boys basketball.

Cager bound

Three players from Franklin Regional were selected to play in the 27th Cager Classic set for April 6 at Highlands High School.

Cooper Rankin and Cam Rowell will suit up for the East boys team, while Angelina Brush will play for the East girls.

The girls game tips at 5:30 p.m., followed by the boys at 8.

The games will feature senior players from both sides of the Allegheny River. Schools represented are Apollo-Ridge, Armstrong, Burrell, Butler, Cheswick Christian Academy, Deer Lakes, Fox Chapel, Franklin Regional, Freeport, Hampton, Highlands, Kiski Area, Knoch, Leechburg, Mars, Plum, Riverview, Springdale, St. Joseph and Valley.

Making their points

The dynamoic duo of Tyree Turner and Franco Alvarez are done playing basketball at Greensburg Central Catholic after quite a run together.

They combined for 2,530 points. Turner had 1,445 and Alvarez 1,085. With the pair in the lineup, the Centurions went 61-16 with a 32-2 mark in section, made the WPIAL semifinals three times and finished as runner-up this year. The pair made three PIAA playoff appearances together.

Turner also made the WPIAL finals as a freshman.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Norwin