WPIAL Boys Basketball Championship Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, February 28, 2014 | 12:29 PM

Kudos to the WPIAL basketball steering committee for their excellent work in setting up the boys basketball playoffs. In the end, which is their starting goal, they try to get the two best teams playing for gold. This weekend it will be #1 vs #2 in three of the four finals, with the lone exception being the #1 vs #3 matchup in Class A. Here is a look at this weekend four boys championship hoop games.

CLASS AAAA:

The game: New Castle (25-0) vs. Hampton (22-3) Saturday at 7 p.m.

Coaches: New Castle’s Ralph Blundo has won two WPIAL titles. He was a New Castle assistant for a number of years under John Sarandrea. He also has head coaching experience at George Jr. Republic. … Hampton’s Joe Lafko has won one WPIAL title. His son, Joe, is a starting guard for Hampton.

Leading scorers: Malik Hooker, New Castle, 23.3 … Ryan Luther, Hampton, 22.7

Championship history: New Castle has won nine WPIAL titles, which ties Blackhawk for fourth-most in WPIAL history. The Red Hurricanes won in 1927, ’36, ’82, ’93, ’97, ’98, ’99, 20012 and 2013. New Castle also lost in the title game three times in 1928, ’33 and 2002. … Hampton won one championship in Class AAA in 2009. The Talbots have lost in a title game four times – three in AAA and once in AAAA. The losses were last year, 2012, 2010 and 2006.

The lowdown: This is a historical championship. It is the first time in the history of the WPIAL that two teams have played in a title game three years in a row. … This game is usually the second game of a Saturday night doubleheader, but the WPIAL decided to put it first because such a huge crowd is expected. … This is the seventh time these two have met in three years. New Castle has won all seven. Although Hampton is a formidable opponent, the Talbots have come within 10 points of New Castle only once in those six games. … Luther is a Pitt recruit who is 6 feet 8. Hooker is an Ohio State football recruit. Luther always seems to get his points. A key to the game is how well Hampton’s David Huber and Collin Luther play. Watch New Castle’s guards, particularly Anthony Richards. He could be key.

CLASS AAA:

The game: Central Valley (21-3) vs. Chartiers Valley (24-1) Friday at 9 p.m.

Coaches: Brandon Ambrose is in his fourth season. He coached at Beaver previously but was hired at Central Valley when Center and Monaca merged and Central Valley opened in 2010. … Tim McConnell is in his 21^st season at Chartiers Valley and has a 483-112 record with five WPIAL titles. He could become only the fifth coach in WPIAL history to win six titles.

Championship history: This is Central Valley’s first title-game appearance in its four years as a school. The school is a merger of Center and Monaca. Center lost its only title-game appearance in 1969. Monaca appeared in six title games and won four titles, the last coming in 1982.

The lowdown: Central Valley had a size advantage with 6-8 Matt Kline. But Chartiers Valley, which doesn’t have a starter taller than 6-1, was at a size disadvantage against Uniontown in the semifinals and still won, 71-57. Cousins Matty McConnell and Jerrad Tuite lead Char Valley. McConnell averages 21.6. Tuite averages 16.8, but he is averaging 26 in three playoff games. How well Chartiers Valley rebounds will be key, but so will Central Valley’s guard play against Chartiers Valley’s pressure. Ambrose has said his team is built around defense.

CLASS AA:

The game: Seton-LaSalle (24-1) vs. Greensburg Central Catholic (22-2) Saturday at 1 p.m.

Coaches: Mark “Knobby” Walsh, Seton-LaSalle. Walsh had previous head coaching experience at Bishop Canevin. His father-in-law is legendary former Bishop Canevin football coach Bob Jacoby. … Greg Bisignani, Greensburg Central Catholic. Bisignani makes his living as an orthopedic surgeon.

Leading scorers: Brian Graytok, Greensburg Central Catholic, 17.0; Dale Clancy, Seton-LaSalle, 15.7.

Championship history: This is only the second championship game for Greensburg Central Catholic. The Centurions lost to Monessen in 2011. … Seton-LaSalle won one championship in 1989 under coach John Lee. The team had future University of North Carolina player Kevin Salvadori. Seton-LaSalle has lost six times in the title game. The first was in 1974 to Farrell at the Civic Arena when the school was South Hills Catholic. South Hills Catholic’s star was Jim Marshall. The last Seton-LaSalle loss in the title game was to Aliquippa in 2000. Seton-LaSalle had future NFL quarterback Bruce Gradkowski.

The lowdown: Both teams have good, experienced guards in Graytok and Clancy. Clancy is extremely quick. But Greensburg Central also has received good play lately from guard Billy Hipp, who scored 31 and 12 the past two games. Hipp transferred from Bishop McCort before the season. Watch for Seton-LaSalle forward Malik White. He could be a key after scoring 17 and 22 points the past two games. This game could be high scoring.

CLASS A:

The game: Monessen (20-5) vs. Lincoln Park (24-1) Friday at 7 p.m.

Coaches: Joe Salvino, Monessen. Salvino is in his 30^th season and has been highly successful with more than 500 wins. He has four WPIAL titles. … Mark Javens, Lincoln Park. Before becoming coach at Lincoln Park, Javens was also the coach at Hopewell for a few seasons and also the head coach at Beaver County Community College.

Leading scorers: Maverick Rowan, Lincoln Park, 25.2; Clintell GIllaspie, Monessen, 18.9; Elijah Minnie, Lincoln Park, 15.7; Javon Brown, Monessen, 14.4; Antonio Kellem, Lincoln Park, 12.4.

Championship history: This is Monessen’s 14^th championship game appearance. The Greyhounds won five titles, the first in 1919. They have lost eight championship games, the first in 1923. … This is Lincoln Park’s fourth championship appearance in five years. The Leopards won the 2012 title, but lost in 2010 and 2011.

The lowdown: This game could be high scoring. Lincoln Park averages 83 points a game and Monessen scored a WPIAL playoff record 110 in the semifinals against Vincentian. Rowan is a Pitt recruit who is averaging 32 points in the playoffs. Can Monessen hold its own on the boards against a much bigger Lincoln Park team? Monessen doesn’t have a starter taller than 6-1. Lincoln Park has 6-8 Minnie, 6-7 Skorvanko and 6-7 Rowan. Also an interesting storyline to this game is Minnie played at Lincoln Park as a freshman. He then went to Summit Academy and transferred to Lincoln Park as a junior.

Tags: Central Valley, Chartiers Valley, Greensburg C.C., Hampton, Lincoln Park