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Mike White's high school sports chat: 02.13.24
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Mike White
10:56
It's the most ... wonderful time of the year. Yes, it is. The high school basketball playoffs. My favorite time. By quarterfinals, you see packed gyms at many places. Basketball attendance has been very good past 10 years and especially past five. Electric atmosphere in some gyms. It all starts Friday - and this live chat starts .... RIGHT NOW!!!
pops
10:56
In years past the WPIAL has come out with some outlandish seedings.  I didn't see any big shockers this year.  Do you disagree with seedings on either the girls or boys side?
Mike White
10:58
I agree with you about the past -- and also this year. I didn't go deep into seeds 13-16, but I don't see anything really out of whack this year, not like recent years when you had to scratch your head and wonder if some teams were taken care of because they might have someone on the committee. WPIAL gets undue criticism sometimes. Let's give them kudos this time.
Tally
10:58
Moon was deserving of a #1.  However, don't you think they are angry that they have to potentially face a second round game vs a section team in NH who took them to OT?
Mike White
10:59
Of course they were deserving of No. 1 seed. And no, I seriously doubt they are angry about who is in the 8-9 game - Fox Chapel and North Hills. Those two teams are exactly where they should be. And that game is a tossup.
Cola
10:59
Can you explain how a team qualifies for the state playoffs?  And how they get seeded? I see 5A boys gets 7 teams.  How is that decided?
Mike White
11:00
WPIAL now uses a playback system. No longer using the "follow the leader" system. So, for example, in 5A boys, seven WPIAL teams go to the PIAA playoffs. The four teams that lose in the WPIAL quarterfinals play off for seeds 5 through 7. There are two games, and the two winners play for seeds 5 and 6. The two losers in the first two games then play for No. 7 seed. Got it?
Curious chuck
11:01
Mike, i have Bored and checking out schools enrollment numbers and such and came across Westinghouse on their website. Shows in grades 9-11 they have 188 males but saw they only reported 127 to the Piaa. This is public knowledge so it seems Wild to try and pull a fast one. Anything you know about  this ruse?
Mike White
11:01
A ruse? Please.
BucWild
11:04
How did the Burrell Girls Basketball Team Finish 2nd in their Conference but were seeded 9th and did not get a home game? That seems like a shame the only team they lost to in league play was Shady Side Academy
Mike White
11:09
Well, there are four sections in 3A girls. Burrell was a second place team. That means there are 8 teams that finished 1st or 2nd. Burrell finished with a 16-4 record. Other second-place teams had similar records. I know OLSH, Keystone Oaks and Seton LaSalle all tied for second in their section. KO and OLSH got higher seeds. I know OLSH played pretty good non-section schedule. Burrell's section was pretty weak, you must admit. And Burrell had some tomato cans out of section. Could Burrell have gotten a 7 or 8 seed? Maybe. But I don't have a real problem with them at No. 9.
BucWild
11:09
Wpial wrestling individuals start this week.  Why do you think high school wrestling is not very popular? seems only popular at certain schools and areas but you dont really see much media coverage of it until the state finals and even then its kind of limited.  Just wondering
Mike White
11:11
High school wrestling is very popular in some pockets of Western Pa. Just not all over Western Pa. And I totally disagree with you about media coverage. I know we at Post-Gazette have at least one story every week on wrestling. We run individual and team rankings every week. We cover the team playoffs. We cover the major tournaments during regular season. We will cover the individual championships. Sorry, but I think you are way off base saying there isn't much media coverage. I think they get plenty.
Hsfan
11:11
overall, I thought the committee did a good job, then only seeds I questioned were Yough behind Olsh and SLS, and giving Bethel the 11, do you have any disagreements?
Mike White
11:15
As I said above, I don't see anything out of sorts. As for Yough being seeded below Seton and OLSH ... those two and Yough were all section champs. Seton and OLSH tied for section title. Somebody had to be 7th out of those three. It happened to be Yough.
Alice Gretch
11:15
Mike, we've seen predictions for boys' Fab 5.  How about your predictions for the girls?  Thank you.
Mike White
11:16
I have never made any predictions for a complete Fab 5. I've said I think there are 3 players who are locks so far, but I never named a complete Fab 5. And I think the girls Fab 5 is more open than the boys. It never does any good to predict Fab 5 names right now. Some people lose their minds when they see that.
Dave
11:16
Who is the team to beat in 6A for basketball playoffs this year?
Mike White
11:17
Well, Mt. Lebanon got the No. 1 seed. So I would guess them. But I think 6A is really wide open. Been saying it all year. Only eight teams in 6A playoffs. I could see 5 or 6 making a run at championship.
Jeff
11:17
Mike does Franklin Regional have a legitimate shot at winning 5 A ? Theyve never won WPIALS ?
Mike White
11:18
No, they have no shot. They should not even compete. Put away the uniforms for the year. C'mon, man. They are 19-2 and got the No. 2 seed for the playoffs. Doesn't that say enough that they have a legitimate shot? They're good.
11:20
OK. Sending a message out right now. You Mt. Lebanon students that keep sending in idiotic questions and comments, please go back to your kindergarten class. Recess is over. Mommy should be there soon to pick you up after your half day. I mean, do you really think I'm going to publish your idiotic comments?
Ryan
11:21
Good Prediction about Mars playing Franklin regional who wins that game on Monday i think The Planets do go mars
Mike White
11:22
Mars has struggled some past few weeks. They aren't exactly peaking going into the playoffs. Franklin Regional is good. Unless things change a lot, and unless Mars makes something like 20 3-pointers, I can't see Franklin losing this one.
KA ALL DAY!
11:22
Someone put PETERS on Upset Alert!!! Here come the Cavs!
Mike White
11:22
Peters is still good, but I agree that Kiski Area is dangerous. A sleeper team in 5A.
Joseph Wow
11:22
Mike, who do you have in the 6a championship? Mt. Lebanon with a very good draw of their side of the bracket, and USC with a terrible first round draw.
Mike White
11:23
I'll got Mt. Lebanon and Central.
WPIAL Lifer
11:23
6A and 3A boys definitely appear to be the most wide open on the boys side. I think Mt. Lebo shoots its way to a title and I'll go off chalk and say Mohawk wins 3A from the 2 spot. They won 12 straight down the stretch and I like their draw on that side of bracket.
Mike White
11:24
I would agree with you. 6A and 3A are pretty balanced. The other thing is that I think there are a number of pretty good teams in 5A. I still like Moon to win it, but there are a number of 5A teams that could make some noise.
Coach O
11:25
In your many years covering the WPIAL basketball playoffs, what is your all time favorite venue in terms of providing a great crowd  atmosphere? Mine was the Pitt Field House. Especially when the great City teams like Fifth Ave, Schenley, would play the WPIAL champ.
Mike White
11:27
Well, this goes back a ways. But in the old days of the Civic Arena, the crowds were great for WPIAL playoff and championship games. I was young in the 1970s, but saw a few games there and I used to watch all the time when Channel 13 would television the games. Did you know they used to sometimes get capacity crowds at the Arena sometimes in the 60s and 70s? Great stuff. I agree that I liked Pitt Field House also when it was filled. And Palumbo (Duquesne) had a great atmosphere when it was filled. Problem with Palumbo was it became too small to handle larger classification doubleheaders.
WARRIOR
11:27
TJ scoring the ball...  Can they stop anyone though? Maybe they're that good that they don't need to.  Thoughts?
Mike White
11:29
I've seen TJ twice. They were very impressive the second time I saw them against Central Catholic. Berger is a big guard and one of the best all-around players in the WPIAL. They don't have much size otherwise, but players who just know how to play. Five-out system on offense. Some guys who can shoot it and some who can drive it. Scored 99 against Belle Vernon last night. Belle Vernon scored 90. That must have been some kind of game. Would've loved to have seen it. The Moore kid from Belle Vernon is a flat-out scorer. Could TJ be a sleeper in playoffs? You're right. Their defense might be key.
Little bulldog.
11:30
The last 4 games Eli Teslovich has put up these numbers vs. Derry, Deer Lakes, SA and Knoch , 30,28,24 and 24. Do you like their chances to win 3a? They played a tough out of conference schedule.
Mike White
11:31
Eli is our athlete of the week. And if you look at my playoff forecast, you'll see who I picked to win 3A: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/high-school-basketball/2024/02/12/...
Ellwood Fan
11:31
How does Washington tie for first in their section and get a #8 seed?
Mike White
11:34
OK let's examine this. There are four sections in Class 3A. Plus, two of the sections had a tie for first place. So that's six first-place teams. Then you can definitely make a point for second-place teams Shady Side and Neshannock being in the top eight. So there you have your eight teams. Someone has to go at No. 8. It didn't help that Washington lost a non-section game to Shady Side Academy, a second-place team who got a higher seed than Washington. I have no problem with Washington at No. 8. Doesn't mean Wash High can't go far in playoffs, but somebody had to go to No. 8 that maybe won or tied for a section.
11:35
South Allegheny is a team that probably no one wants to play in 4A. Gladiators have defeated a few strong teams. A dangerous team in these 4A playoffs.
WPIAL schedulers
11:36
Why does the WPIAL allow AD's to schedule non-conference games for basketball and baseball, but will only allow the AD/School to schedule the Week -0 game for football?  Why can't schools go schedule who they want for the 3 non-conference games on their schedule?  We could see some much better matchups.  Just seems strange they allow them to schedule what they want for basketball/baseball/wrestling and probably the rest, but not football.
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