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Mike White's high school sports chat: 01.27.26
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Mike White
10:57
Well it's certainly freezing out. So that means stay inside and have some hot high school chat. Can you believe section play for high school hoops ends next Friday? Some good story lines heading down the stretch. Now open for questions.
11:00
A number of games postponed last night are being played tonight. A number of games are on for tonight. One thing I'm glad I'm seeing is this: It used to be most schools had this policy that if school was called off, games couldn't be played at night. To me, this is silly. Yes, if roads are bad, games should be called off. But you know how it goes. Sometimes a few inches of snow calls off school. By noon or 1 roads are cleared. By night, roads are fine. Why did the games have to be called? Now this wasn't a few inches of snow we got Sunday. Many schools are off today but are playing tonight. Good. Because many roads are just wet. There are still some schools that won't play if school is called off. So be it.
TW
11:00
Enjoyed watching the Pittsburgh Basketball Club games at North Hills on Saturday….best was seeing great players that I had not seen before.  Calix Clark, Amon Hawthorne, Teagan Finucan, Evan Golvash, Max Marzina, Jackson Long, Nate Schanbacher, Ben Detisch, James Armstrong, and Kaleb Servick all have great futures ahead of them…
Mike White
11:02
Yes, some good players at the event no doubt. One of the kids who really impressed me was Amon Hawthorne of Penn Hills. I've seen him before. But he's very good. Plays at a fast pace. Attacks the basket. I'd put him maybe in top 10 players in WPIAL.
Mr Ed
11:08
Freedom is bad so I imagine they aren’t exactly on your radar but I grew up there and still keep tabs; do you know much about Chase Andrews, freshman averaging 18 a game? In 3A, that’s pretty impressive. I hear he is good football player too.
Mike White
11:09
I haven't seen Chase but heard good things. He's 6-3 and averaging 17 a game as of last week. Darn good for a freshman. Worth keeping an eye on in future. Nice size. I do not know anything about his football.
HsFan
11:09
Excellent article on the lack of competition in girls basketball. I think an issue is that too many girls view sports as a recreational activity. Basketball must be worked on almost year round from a young age to be successful.
Mike White
11:11
It's not one issue that's the problem. It's a few issues. The thing is that wanting girls to work on the game year round turns some of them off. They don't want to do that. Especially the ones who might be average or below average. Not all want to play a sport year round. On the other hand, specializing in one sport causes participation to drop in others. But here's the thing. I don't see it getting any better.
3A Boys
11:13
Would you put Mohawk/Quip 1 - 2? Would you put Seton/SP over Canevin and Southmoreland? Seton has losses to Wash/KO, South Park to SM, but Canevin/SM records aren't great.
Mike White
11:14
Mohawk definitely No. 1 and Quips No. 2. After that, it's pretty much a crap shoot. Seton I think has to be in top 4 now after beating South Park this time. Canevin has played a really good schedule. Don't put too much into their overall record.
HsFan
11:14
Wha are your thoughts on  enrolling in college early and skipping winter/spring sports. Do you believe that there is a real advantage? I personally don’t feel that a few months head start is worth giving up another chance to compete for your school.
Mike White
11:19
I think it's a case by case basis. More factors involved today. With colleges promising large amounts of money to some nowadays, they have control over these kids. "Look, we're giving you xxxxx amount of money, we want you her for spring." And for someone like a top quarterback, going to spring ball would help some. But I don't think it's for everyone. I think it's overblown. Lot of players don't need it and I don't think it makes much of a difference for a lot of players. I think it's a shame that Scoop Smith couldn't finish the season for Woodland Hills. You only get that senior year of sports once. That final semester of high school can be memorable. Call me old school, but that's the way I feel. But because of the money, colleges can force these kids into some things. Many, many people still watch college sports, but don't tell me it's not screwed up nowadays. Guys playing professioally for a few years, like in the G League, and then coming back to play college. Absurd. I admit I've lost interest a bit.
Hoops fan 75
11:20
Big one this Friday with Seton @ South A. Seton knocked them off in the first matchup
Mike White
11:20
South Allegheny has struggled a little. Still think they are a team to watch and I'll take them this Friday.
Ryan
11:20
What do you think about the Kiski cavaliers i think they are having a good Season Go Kiski
Mike White
11:21
Ahhhhh, the weekly Kiski Area comment or question. They're righting for third and fourth place in section.
5a
11:21
lots of good games on 5a what about playoff pairings
Mike White
11:22
Yes, there are a lot of good games in 5A. But what about playoff pairings? You can't make any becacuse so much up in the air the next week and a half.
Rege
11:22
Any word on HS football coaching vacancies
Mike White
11:22
Some have been filled. But as for Mt. Lebanon, I dont know.
6A Parity
11:22
Coming down to the last 4 games for each team and in section 1 all 8 teams could make playoffs. 5-9 record with ties might be enough. In section two 6 teams could still make it. Going to be fun to watch these last 2 weeks. So who will be left out in the end? Besides canon Mac and connellsville all in the mix.
Mike White
11:22
You're talking about 6A.  Yes, Section 1 is a logjam but no way all 8 teams make it. I say maybe 6. Same with Section 2.
5a
11:34
Lincoln park vs Char prediction
Mike White
11:34
Char Valley won the first one at Lincoln Park. Lincoln Park looks to be playing well. But I'll go with Lincoln Park in a close one.
Check that. I'll take Char Valley in a close one.
11:44
To the person who just sent in comments about Ambridge basketball and coach. I'm not going to post the comments because they are somewhat personal. You blame the coach. Well they have had some different coaches there in recent years. They are 4-11 this year. Previous five years were 4-17, 6-16, 7-15, 2-18, 4-10. I haven't seen Ambridge play a regular season game in a while. But I have seen them in fall or spring leagues the past five years. Do you think maybe, just maybe, they just aren't very good and don't have talent right now? I don't know. Just a hunch.
X
11:48
I've been watching a fair amount of PSAC basketball. I never saw these 3 play in high school.  If you were a PSAC coach, which would be your first pick - Brady "hold the" Mayo, Rowan "and blowin" Carmichael, or Vinnie "love the linguini" Cugini?   I had seen a shooting video of you with Carmichael. He got lit up pretty good by a small IUP point guard that I haven't seen anyone stay in front of.   What impressed me was his willingness to get in his grill and challenge him.   What kind of defender was he in high school?  As far as Cugini goes, this is the 3rd year I've seen him at the college level.  I realize he played high school at a very weak program in the lowest level, but I would've never have guessed him to have been such  a prolific scorer.  That said, he's averaging over 13 ppg.  I don't see anything remarkable about him athletically except that he is physically strong.   He rebounds well for a guard.   His assist are astoundingly low for the amount of minutes he gets.
Mike White
11:49
Yes, Cugini and Mayo are having nice years. But Rowan Carmichael is averaging 17 points a game, leads the ENTIRE PSAC with 71 3's, is No. 2 in 3-point percentage and 12th in field-goal percentage. And he's a freshman. Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd take him.
Portal pat
11:49
I watched a few games at North Hills over the weekend. The North Hills v Penn Hills game for my money was the most entertaining. Two guys scored 30 points for North Hills. Has that happened this year on any other teams?
Mike White
11:50
You're speaking of Nathan Schanbacher and Jackson Long. Not sure. Not something keep track of. But it's not something that happens often at high school or college level.
Portal pat
11:50
I thought the Obama versus knoch game was a great ending, but neither of those teams overly impressed me. I’m not gonna say their names, but a couple of those players look more like athletes instead of basketball player for Obama
Mike White
11:51
I look at it the other way. I think both teams are pretty good. Eric James helps Obama. Still don't know if he'll be eligible for postseason. And I think Knoch is good. They have some size and I think their guards are pretty good also.
5A
11:52
Moon beats Char Valley on Friday, thoughts on that, was a great game, CV senior Julian Semplice was amazing, then the Bauman Brothers matched.  Great game with 2 great teams and outstanding players
Mike White
11:53
Didn't see the game, but sounded like a good one. Who should be No. 1 now in 5A - Lincoln Park, Char Valley, Moon?  I guess Lincoln Park-Char Valley will give us a clue.
TW
11:53
Always easy to blame the coach especially if you are a parent of an underachiever…
Pbc watcher
11:53
I watched games in person at  and on TV that were being played at Montour. The North Hills versus Pennhill and Obama versus knoch were entertaining but the other two games were stinkers. How are these matchups put together? The Ambridge versus Montour game that I watched on TV was brutal. Why would they choose to put that one on television?
Mike White
11:54
Those events are Pittsburgh Basketball Club events. John Giammarco has run the PBC for years. He tries to put good matchups together. Sometimes he has good ones. Sometimes not-so-good. But not an easy job.
X
11:54
I think Carmichael will be very, very good at this level.  He's already had several big scoring games.
Mike White
11:54
He arleady is very, very good.
Befuddled
11:54
Weren’t the Bauman brothers at knoch last year? Are they eligible for post season?
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