If you want to know who has the best high school boys basketball team in southwestern Pennsylvania this season, regardless of classification, maybe look in the City League.
The Allderdice Dragons are experienced, have some size and certainly some talent. They won 20 games last year, won a City League title and beat WPIAL Class 6A semifinalist Central Catholic in the first round of the PIAA playoffs before losing to WPIAL champ Fox Chapel in the second round.
Allderdice has four starters returning from that team. The Dragons were impressive in spring, summer and fall leagues against some of the WPIAL’s best teams. But that’s out-of-season stuff and not always the best barometer for teams.
But considering the offseason success, coupled with what the Dragons have done so far this year, there is plenty of reason to believe this team is built for a run in the PIAA tournament. A number of coaches in the WPIAL have said they think Allderdice might be the best team in either the City League or WPIAL. Included among Allderdice’s six wins was a 92-89 victory against Imani Christian, which is long on individual talent.
The state playoffs are a long way away, but even Allderdice coach Devin Crummie isn’t shy to acknowledge what’s on this team’s mind.
“A lot of our kids have grown up watching Allderdice play and saw some teams [coach] Buddy Valinsky had that went far in the state playoffs,” said Crummie, who is in his third season at Allderdice. “They kind of understand the precedent is set. I think it would mean a lot to them to continue this.”
There is a banner hanging in Allderdice’s gym for the 2016 team that made it all the way to a PIAA championship game before losing to Roman Catholic.
“We don’t talk about it on a day-to-day basis, but there’s a constant reminder there of what coach Valinsky’s teams did,” Crummie said. “It’s like an intrinsic motivation every day.”
The four starters back from last year’s team are 6-foot-1 junior guard Logan Golle, 6-foot senior guard Ethan Anish, 6-foot-4 senior forward Sam Kelly and 6-foot-3 junior forward Major Rainey. The fifth starter is either 6-foot-5 senior Antwone Ward Thurman or 5-foot-10 sophomore guard Jack Segall.
“I think it’s realistic enough for us to look at the state playoffs as a goal,” Crummie said. “That’s not being overconfident. That’s just being realistic.”
Cornell has girl player
Cornell, a tiny school in the WPIAL, recently folded its girls team due to a lack of players. But the girls team’s loss was the boys team’s gain.
The Cornell boys team has added McKenna Griffith to its roster. She would’ve been on the girls team. The boys team could use players. The Raiders roster is small; they dressed only eight players for Tuesday night’s game against Springdale, including Griffith.
“I wasn’t told to invite the girls to the boys team, but it was strongly suggested,” Cornell boys coach Sean Crummie said. “So we asked them if anyone wanted to come play. Hey, the more the merrier.”
A girl on a boys basketball team is extremely unusual in the WPIAL. Don’t expect Griffith to be a major factor, though. She’s only 5-foot-4. But she did play about four minutes against Brashear last week and foul trouble caused her to play about three minutes against Springdale.
“She listens well and does all the stuff you’d want from a player,” said Crummie, brother of Allderdice coach Devin Crummie. “But the main thing is she’s a freshman, 14 or 15 years old, playing against 18-year-old and maybe 19-year-old players. The freshman thing is more of a factor than the girl thing.”
Top players mending
Three of the WPIAL’s top players had injuries and missed time recently. North Hills’ Royce Parham, who is ranked one of the top 75 juniors in the country, suffered an injury last Friday against Seneca Valley and did not play Tuesday against Montour. Parham was averaging 23.8 points per game.
Seton LaSalle senior guard Connor Spratt has missed the past three games because of a wrist injury. Spratt averaged 32.6 points in the first three games but has not played the past three.
Dante DePante, leading scorer for Central Catholic (ranked No. 2 in WPIAL Class 6A) was injured in a game in a Kentucky tournament and didn’t play the next two.
But the good news is Parham, Spratt and DePante all are expected back soon, possibly next week.
Bryce is nice
He might not be as well known as some other WPIAL players, but South Allegheny’s Bryce Epps deserves mention among some of the top guards in the WPIAL. He’s experienced (four-year starter) and talented, a left-handed senior guard who can score in various ways. Epps, who averaged 22 points last season, is coming up on two milestones.
The 5-foot-11 Epps needs only 20 points Thursday night against Blackhawk to reach 1,500 for his career. He has a good shot at breaking the long-standing school record of 1,631, held by 1983 graduate Mike Kurka.
Epps, who has helped South Allegheny to a 5-0 start, would seemingly have a shot at reaching the 2,000-point milestone later this season.
Is Beaver for real?
Beaver started the season 5-0. But what really opened eyes was the Bobcats’ performance against Lincoln Park last Friday. Beaver took the No. 1-ranked WPIAL Class 4A team to the wire before dropping a 78-76 decision.
Beaver, under first-year coach Casey Kaiser, is now 6-1. That’s a significant improvement over recent years. The Bobcats haven’t finished above .500 since the 2012-13 season, and they won eight or fewer games in each of the past five seasons.
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1975 and Twitter @mwhiteburgh.
First Published: December 21, 2022, 6:43 p.m.
