Trib HSSN Boys Basketball Player of the Week for week ending March 28, 2021

By: Don Rebel
Sunday, March 28, 2021 | 8:55 PM

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Senior Dante Spadafora and junior Jake DiMichele made up one of the higher-scoring and more successful dynamic duos the WPIAL has seen in a long time.

As point guard, Spadafora set the table and DiMichele dined and feasted on opposing defenses, averaging more 30 points in what turned out to be a perfect season.

With 55 combined points in the state semifinals and championship game, DiMichele gets the nod as the final Trib HSSN Player of the Week for 2021.

“He had an outstanding season,” Our Lady of the Sacred Heart coach Mike Rodriguez said. “He’s also an excellent defender and relentless rebounder, two aspects of his game that often gets overlooked. He’s a solid all-around player.”

On Tuesday in the PIAA semifinals against Portage, DiMichele scored a game-high 34 points as the Chargers clinched a trip to the state championship game for only the second time in school history with a 74-50 win over District 6 champion Portage.

“His ability to move without the basketball and get open was a key,” Rodriguez said. “With Jake working hard and in constant movement, Dante was able to find him in our halfcourt sets and transition. Jake’s exceptional abilities rebounding and finishing around the basket helped him also create second-chance opportunities for himself and the team.

“With Jake never taking a play off and running and working extremely hard, it also enabled his team to find him for open looks, and of course he was shooting the ball at a high level.”

The Chargers victory set up a battle between WPIAL and District 12 champs, as well as a rematch of the 2018 PIAA 2A title game won by Constitution.

OLSH flipped the script three years later thanks to another big game from DiMichele. He scored 21 points, added 16 rebounds and had five blocks.

“His focus and determination stood out,” Rodriguez said. “While Jake always plays incredibly hard offensively and defensively, his intelligence on the court and overall knowledge of the game certainly puts him in a position to be incredibly effective and impactful.”

When it comes to what makes DiMichele so special on the court, Rodriguez said it was impossible to pick a single aspect.

“It’s not just one thing. His ability to score at all levels, his hard work and desire to be impactful on both the offensive and defensive boards and his ability to get out in transition quickly.”

Rodriguez said improving his game for his senior year will be done because of DiMichele’s work ethic.

“Jake is a tireless worker. He already is trying to schedule workout time in the gym after the championship game. He will continue to work on getting stronger, ball handling and constantly shooting from the three levels to improve his game.”

DiMichele will be the unquestioned leader next season as Spadafora graduates. Rodriguez said nothing will change when it comes to leadership from his star junior.

“Jake has been one of leaders already. Dante’s departure will be incredibly impactful and cannot be measured, however Jake certainly will continue to lead his team, mentor the younger players and continue to provide the desire and determination that he and Dante so successfully provided this season.”

Rodriguez was asked if DiMichele and his teammate’s perfect season was even more impressive because it came during a global pandemic with plenty of question marks before and during the season.

“It certainly is,” Rodriguez said. “Jake was very good on maintaining a high level of focus on the next task at hand. With the pandemic, he and the team understood that games and seasons could be shut down at any time.

“We’ve always discussed that we were fortunate to have an opportunity to play ‘another’ game this year. Last year’s experience of being shut down certainly taught us to appreciate every additional opportunity we were given.”

2021 Trib HSSN Player of the Week:

Week 10 — Brandin Cummings, Lincoln Park

Week 9 — Sheldon Cox, New Castle

Week 8 — Luke Banbury, Upper St. Clair

Week 7 — Michael Dunn, Trinity

Week 6 — Adou Thiero, Quaker Valley

Week 5 — Brayden Reynolds, Chartiers Valley

Week 4 — Damon Astorino, Ambridge

Week 3 — Jackson LaRocka, Burgettstown

Week 2 — Vinnie Cugini, Aquinas Academy

Week 1 — Jackson Juzang, Winchester Thurston

Tags: Our Lady of the Sacred Heart