Scott Dibble resigns as Canevin basketball coach, heads to NBA Finals, U.S. Open

By: Chris Harlan
Thursday, June 13, 2019 | 7:29 PM

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Scott Dibble resigned as Bishop Canevin’s girls basketball coach but that didn’t leave his calendar wide open.

On Thursday, Dibble flew to Oakland, Calif., for Game 6 of the NBA Finals and will travel down the West Coast to watch the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

“That’s my weekend for you,” he said with a laugh. “It’s terrible.”

Dibble resigned this week after two seasons as Canevin’s head coach and two years previously as an assistant. The Crusaders won WPIAL titles three of the four years and were state runners-up in 2017 and ’18.

The 56-year-old also coached three seasons at New Castle and a dozen at Erie’s Villa Maria, where his teams reached the finals six times. He said basketball had become a year-round grind and he decided to spend more time with his family including grandchildren in New York.

“I want to be able to see them more often and spend more time at the holidays with my family,” he said. “I’ve got other priorities in my life. I’ve given a lot and it’s time to take a little bit back.”

Dibble said he contemplated the move for a few months but came to a conclusion last week while overseeing Canevin’s team camp.

“The whole time I was sitting there I was thinking, ‘You know what? I’m done,’” Dibble said. “I told myself years ago when I lose my passion and my drive, I’m stepping off. It’s not fair to the kids if I’m not going to give you 110 percent. I’m not there for a paycheck.”

Canevin went 22-4 last season, reaching the WPIAL Class 2A semifinals and the PIAA second round.

He said there’s never a good time to resign but leaves content with what he’s accomplished as a coach. Among the championships, his Villa Maria teams won three straight state titles in 2009-11.

“I’ve won WPIAL championships, I’ve won District 10 championships, I’ve accomplished everything you could possible imagine as a high school basketball coach and I’m proud of the legacy I left,” Dibble said. “I did it the right way, I had a lot of fun doing it and I feel good walking away where I’m at.”

But he didn’t rule out someday returning to coaching, and already has considered finding a grade school team to coach in a year or two.

“I’m never going to rule it out,” Dibble said. “Maybe I’ll miss the competition.”

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: Bishop Canevin