North Allegheny expected to hire Dan DeRose as boys basketball coach

By: Chris Harlan
Monday, May 18, 2020 | 9:55 AM

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Another high-profile WPIAL basketball coach is expected to switch schools this week.

Dan DeRose is expected to be hired as North Allegheny’s boys basketball coach Wednesday, pending school board approval, according to a source. DeRose coached at Penn Hills for the past five seasons and won a WPIAL Class 6A title with the Indians in 2018.

He would be the second title-winning coach to change jobs this spring, following Jeff Ackermann, who moved from Pine-Richland to Baldwin.

The North Allegheny school board meets Wednesday night.

DeRose declined comment until after the board votes.

The Beaver Falls native has had coaching success at both the high school and college level. At Penn Hills, his teams averaged 20 wins a season and reached the WPIAL playoffs all five years. He also led the South Park boys to the WPIAL playoffs in 2015 during his one season with the Eagles.

His career record in the WPIAL is 116-33.

He would replace Keith Noftz, who resigned after four seasons. The Tigers went 46-44 under Noftz with three WPIAL playoff appearances but never advanced past the first round.

DeRose twice led Penn Hills to the WPIAL quarterfinals, twice to the semifinals and once to the championship. His Indians defeated Pine-Richland in the 2018 WPIAL finals at Petersen Events Center.

North Allegheny has never won a WPIAL title but has come close three times. The Tigers were runners-up in 1995, ’99 and 2015.

DeRose coached college basketball for more than a decade, including a successful six-year run at the Community College of Beaver County from 2003-09. He went 139-45 at CCBC and won a conference title each year.

He also had stints as head coach at Penn State McKeesport (2000-01) and Chowan University (2010-12), an NCAA Division II school in North Carolina.

North Allegheny graduates five seniors, including leading scorer Grant Timmerson, from this past season’s roster that went 11-12 overall, 4-6 in Section 1-6A. The Tigers do return junior Khalil Dinkins, a Division I football recruit who averaged 10.6 points and 7.7 rebounds.

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: North Allegheny, Penn Hills