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Mike White's high school sports chat: 01.26.21
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Mike White
11:00
How goes it, everyone. Hit the "on" switch and let's go. Fire away with any questions.
WPIAL Dude
11:00
I was watching a couple games last night, and it was weird to see some teams playing in masks vs. teams not wearing them.  I really thought it was a strange to see a coach not wearing a mask who was screaming the whole night right around the play in front of them.  How are coaches allowed to not wear the mask?
Mike White
11:04
Well WPIAL dude, yes, I believe all coaches should be wearing a mask. Honestly, I haven't seen any high school coaches not wearing them. Obviously, I haven't seen them all - so maybe some aren't. As far as players wearing masks, it is a joke with many of them. They are chin straps to many players. But I don't blame the players. There are no "mask police" at games. It's not the job of the officials. I don't think most people realize how hard it can be to wear a mask covering both your nose and mouth and run up and down the court. Some schools have mandated mask wearing. I think they should re-visit that thought.
11:06
And just FYI WPIAL Dude, I have a story (column) running later this week on mask issue - and the ridiculousness of how it is being worn by some. There are some doing an OK job of wearing them. But if you're going to wear them around the chin, what's the point? Should schools just let them take them off?
Iron-man
11:06
Fox Chapel beat USC. Central had two nice wins against Penn Hills and North. Seneca Valley beat Butler. Baldwin looks tough. After several weeks of play, what are your thoughts on 6A Boys?
Mike White
11:09
I wrote a little about Class 6A last week and myself, Brad Everett and Steve Rotstein chatted about it yesterday on our new Pick n' Roll podcast that we will now do every week. Bottom line is this: There is an open tournament in WPIAL playoffs this year. How appropriate in 6A because it looks very open. There are good teams, but I don't think any great team. If I had to do a top 5 now, I think I'd still put USC at 1, North Allegheny at 2, Fox Chapel at 3. From there, it's tough.   There are reasons to rank teams, but you can also poke holes in their resumes.
WPIAL Dude
11:09
I think the lack of a statement from the PIAA (or WPIAL) as to who or how players should be wearing masks has lead to this confusion/inconsistency between school.  This will only get worse as the playoff approach and good teams will be forced to either break with their school's policy or forfeit their season away.  The "hands off" approach by the PIAA has been easy on them, but made it very difficult for the member schools.
Mike White
11:12
Totally disagree with you. It's not the PIAA or WPIAL's job on how a kid should wear masks. It's not game officials, either. Look, if it's up to a school whether to have in-person classes or virtual. ... if it's up to a school to develop their own health policies regarding COVID. ... if it's up to a school to decide other things with COVID, why shouldn't it be up to a school to decide mask policies for sports? I mean, what do you think? The PIAA and WPIAL start hiring mask police who go to games and stop games to tell a kid to put up a mask. Give me a break.
Matt
11:13
Good morning Mike. Do you see any competition for Bishop Canevin in class A?  Are all of their transfers eligible for a title run?
Mike White
11:15
No question they are head and shoulders above everyone in Class 1A. At least right now. But don't think they can't be challenged. Look at some of the teams over the years that we think are heavy, heavy favorites. And they get challenged at some point. As for transfers, I'm not sure about playoff eligibility for all of them. I know the ones from Vincentian are eligible because the school closed. I'll have to check on the others. But Gino Palmosina is doing really good job at Canevin.
WPIALMAN
11:15
Mike-Enjoyed reading your Q and A with Coach Botta.  We are losing many great long tenured coaches to retirement.  Who are the longest tenured football coaches in the WPIAL currently?
Mike White
11:16
I don't have all the years in front of me. But Fox Chapel's Tom Loughran (also South Park) might be longest. I think Mars' Scott Heinauer was around longer than Botta also. But not many.
Be Like Mike White
11:16
Mike, do you agree when I say that the quality of basketball is way down this year. Probably because of the inconsistency of the off season and regular season for some teams ? But down nonetheless ?
Mike White
11:19
No, I wouldn't say it's way down. Look, the biggest class in the WPIAL usually doesn't have a lot of great teams anyway. It's been that way for a lot of years. But it's competitive. And a few of the other classes have strong teams. I think OLSH has a legit chance at a state title in Class 2A. I don't know if WPIAL wins state titles in other classes, but there are some good teams. Is quality down? Hard to say. It would be understandable considering lack of offseason practicing and less practice time because of shutdowns. But I still see a number of teams putting up a lot of points. Heck, New Castle made 20 3-pointers in one game.
Guest
11:19
i'm sorry but the kid from aquinas is starting to seem more and more like a gimmick of some sort. yes he's obviously good but come on. are his teammates even allowed to shoot? imagine all the kids around the area who are scoring half his average but are twice the player.
Mike White
11:24
First off, you're talking about Vinnie Cugini. Let's give the kid some credit. He obviously can score and let's not cut down a high school kid just because he is good at something. Let's take him for what he is. A player who is at a very small school and who obviously has some talent and good for him for what he does. Congrats. But I agree let's not overhype the kid. I'm not going to cut the kid down, but the last three games, he has shot 43, 43 and 45 times. Yes, I said over 40 three consecutive games. That's unreal. Bradley Beal takes the most shots in the NBA - and it's 24 a game. Cugini averages 36 shots a game. Wow! I would hope he would score a lot taking almost 40 shots a game. But that's the way Aquinas plays and that's what he's allowed to do. Maybe they need him to do that. Let's face it, Aquinas shouldn't be confused with New Castle. I don't know how much other talent they have. But I don't know how I'd feel if I played on a team where someone shot about 40 times a game. Maybe because I never did.
Big D
11:25
How far will the playoffs be played at the top seeds school before neutral sites come into the picture? Didn’t know if Wpial decided yet
Mike White
11:25
Yes, the WPIAL decided. Games will be played at the home site of higher-seeded team through the semifinals. Only championships will be played at neutral sites. Those sites have not been determined yet.
D9 Dave
11:26
Doesn’t the PIAA transfer rule seem unfair to all parties involved? To rule a student/athlete eligible for the regular season but ineligible for the playoffs; seems it ought to be one or the other for both regular season & playoffs. Puts coaches in a tough position & could lead to chemistry issues in my opinion. Your thoughts.
Mike White
11:29
PIAA put the rule in to maybe curb so many transfers. Has it worked? I don't know. Honestly, I don't have a problem with the rule. At least it's something. But you're right. It has to be a dilemma for a coach to figure out how to use someone who is not going to be eligible for the playoffs. Do you play them a little less? Do you play someone else a little more? Or do you just go with it and treat it like an injury happened right before the playoffs? Interesting stuff.
Mr.C
11:29
Haven’t watched a lot of girls basketball over the years but I have watched NA a few times this season, Jasmine Timmerson definitely sees the game on a different level. Is she going to be one of the top point guard to come out of the wpial in a while?
Mike White
11:30
I have not seen Timmerson this year. Yes, she is good. But one of the top point guards to come of the WPIAL in a while? C'mon, man. We've had some pretty good ones "in a while." Good luck to her, but let's just relax a little with saying she's one of the best in a while.
D9 Dave
11:30
Are you surprised how well Highlands is doing this season?  Graduated their top 3 scorers in Crise, Cochran, & Myers from last season’s WPIAL championship team & bumped up to 5A this season. Had a nice road win over Mars. Seems Tyler Stoczinski is building a nice program there.
Mike White
11:34
Yes, Tyler Stoczynski has a "program" going. Not just one or two teams. Am I surprised? Not really. You know Highlands is always going to be competitive and Tyler does have the Rams rolling. They are 4-0 with a nice win over Mars. No doubt, they will be reckoned with come playoff time. But the combined records of their other opponents are 3-11. Then again, they blew out those three other opponents.
Guest
11:34
any division I sleepers out there this year in boys basketball?
Mike White
11:35
I really don't think so. Not a great year for college talent in the class of 2021. Someone could still emerge, though.
Iron-man
11:35
Mike - You tweeted out some time ago that Kasper interviewed for the Pitt LB coaching job. Any reason why Kasper didn't get the job? He's a great coach and it doesn't surprise me colleges would be looking at him!
Mike White
11:40
You're talking about Pine-Richland coach Eric Kasperowicz. Yes, he did interview for the job. I think three times, in fact. But didn't get it. I have no idea why he didn't get it. Pat Narduzzi doesn't consult with me on his coaching hires. He hired Bucknell DC Ryan Manalac. He has ties to Narduzzi. I think Kasperowicz would've been a great hire for Pitt. I said two years ago that Pitt should've found a way to give Bob Palko some kind of job when he first retired from West Allegheny. But they didn't. Some college coaches shy away from hiring high school guys. Don't look for Kasper to look elsewhere for a few years, either. His family is all from Pittsburgh. He's got a good thing at Pine-Richland. Plus, his son could be playing for him in a few years. Tough to walk away from that.
Mr.C
11:40
I’m excited to watch her development, I’ve read she has power 5 offers, not sure if we have had many of those around here, but I will take your word for it since I don’t follow like you do.
Mike White
11:41
How about Makenna Marisa from Peters Township and it was just two years ago? She's at Penn State and just had 25 in a game recently.
D9 Dave
11:41
In your opinion has Tim McConnell adjusting his coaching style at all in moving from coaching boys to girls? He is obviously a great coach and has had tremendous teams in both. What adjustments or how hard do you think it would be to make the transition from coaching boys to girls?
Mike White
11:44
Yes, he has adjusted some. He'll even tell you that you can't yell at girls the same way as boys. But as far as style of play, I see the same as the girls and boys. He has guards who can shoot, handle the ball and just know how to play. In fact, he uses a lot of the same offensive sets for for the girls that he used for the boys. Do I hear "Nets" and "Thumb Up" and "Slice 2" anywhere? BTW, he's still one of the greatest coaches in WPIAL history - in any sports.
TravelBaseball
11:50
Is high school baseball is as important as it once was with the proliferation of travel baseball? Do  scouts, college and pro, put more emphasis on those seasons or just skill potential?
Mike White
11:52
No, it's not as important as far as recruiting. It's a little like basketball with AAU. More recruiting done at these baseball showcases and with travel teams and summer games. Especially for top, top level guys.
Hoops lover
11:52
I am glad to see we met our weekly goal of McConnel talk!
Mike White
11:53
It was probably a family member of his - or even one of his assistant coaches - asking the question. Hey, I have to respond.
11:57
And speaking of the McConnells, you see T.J. McConnell is now eighth in the entire NBA in steals per game? And he's not even a starter. Almost had double double last night with 9 points and 9 steals. He must be more relaxed after having his first baby few weeks ago. A boy. Rumor has it that Tim McConnell will stay around long enough to coach his grandson, supposedly at Mapletown High School.
Tim Jr. Jr.?
11:58
Is that the kid's name?
Mike White
11:58
No, T.J.'s son's name is Trace.
Hoops lover
11:59
Trace as in 3!
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