WPIAL/City League boys basketball preview

On this Thanksgiving, let us give thanks for high school basketball, which gets underway a little earlier than normal this season.

Here are some top boys storylines, teams and players to keep an eye on when the season tips off for WPIAL and City League teams Friday.

Big stories

On the move: We’ve hit the PIAA’s new two-year cycle for section alignment, meaning the WPIAL landscape looks different than it did a season ago. One of the biggest changes is two-time defending WPIAL and PIAA Class 1A champion Imani Christian voluntarily moving up to Class 6A. Perennial power Lincoln Park, which won WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A titles the past two seasons, is now in Class 5A. And yet another reigning WPIAL and PIAA champion, Aliquippa, also moves up, with the Quips going from Class 2A to 3A. Baldwin drops to Class 5A after finishing as the WPIAL Class 6A runner-up last season.

New CEO’s: As is the case every season, there has been some coaching turnover since last season ended. Two new coaches with big shoes to fill are Hampton’s Joe Cangilla and Mars’ Kobe Phillippi. Both are replacing legends. Cangilla takes over for Joe Lafko, who won 548 games at Hampton, and Phillippi succeeds Rob Carmody, who claimed 408 wins at Mars. Cangilla was an assistant under Lafko, while Phillippi comes to Mars from Springdale. Other new coaches to keep an eye on are Bethel Park’s Rico Abbondanza, Chartiers Valley’s Corey Dotchin, Seton LaSalle’s Kenny Klase and Woodland Hills’ Steve Scorpion.

Scoring king: For four seasons in a row, Aquinas Academy’s Vinnie Cugini had a stranglehold on the title of “WPIAL scoring king.” But when Cugini went off to college at Pitt-Johnstown, where he is now a sophomore, Belle Vernon’s Zion Moore put on the crown as he averaged a WPIAL-leading 26.3 points per game a season ago. Moore is now a senior and the preseason favorite to do it again, but he will have lots of competition. Brady Mayo, a senior guard at Beaver, poured in 25 points a season ago, and Union senior guard Lucas Stanley pumped in 22 a game. Other candidates include Chartiers Valley’s Jayden Davis, New Castle’s Ralphie Blundo and Avonworth’s Rowan Carmichael.

The favorites

Class 6A: Upper St. Clair. The defending WPIAL champions are a big favorite to repeat, a major reason for that being the Panthers have one of the biggest teams in the WPIAL. They feature 6-foot-10 forward Tyler Robbins, 6-8 forward Ryan Robbins and 6-6 forward Kaamil Jackson. Also back is senior point guard Julian Dahlem. But the Panthers aren’t just big, they are talented. That’s especially the case with Tyler Robbins, a Miami (Ohio) recruit who averaged 13.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.1 blocks last season.

Class 5A: Uniontown. Uniontown makes the move up to Class 5A after going 23-6 and reaching the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals a season ago. Coach Rob Kezmarsky has one of the area’s top guard tandems in seniors Tori Grooms (14.2 points per game) and Calvin Winfrey (12.6 ppg). Grooms was an all-section choice each of his first three seasons and has scored 1,208 career points. Senior guard Kelan Milsom moves into a larger role after being the sixth man last season and junior guard Isaac Ellsworth is an excellent perimeter shooter.

Class 4A: Knoch. A young Knoch team opened eyes last season by reaching the WPIAL quarterfinals. A season later, the Knights are a little more seasoned and very well could win the program its first-ever WPIAL title. Jackson Bauman (16.5 ppg), a 6-2 guard and all-section choice a season ago, is one of four Knoch juniors who started as sophomores last season. Another is 7-foot Zane “Big Country” Pacek, who averaged 7 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game. Also returning are 6-8 Derek Lang and 6-2 Teegan Finucan.

Class 3A: Aliquippa. Aliquippa moved up from Class 2A, where it won WPIAL titles the past two seasons and a PIAA title last season. Junior guard Josh Pratt (17 ppg) is an all-state guard with Division I offers who poured in 36 points in the PIAA final. His brother, freshman guard Jeremiah Pratt, is also expected to start, as are junior guards Qa’lil Goode and Antonio Reddic and senior forward Michael Gaskins. The Quips are often late bloomers, but with the football team being bounced from the playoffs, they shouldn’t have to wait to have a full complement of players.

Class 2A: Neshannock. Class 2A appears to be pretty wide open, but the pick here is Neshannock, a team which wasn’t even in the class a season ago. The Lancers went 20-6 and reached the WPIAL Class 3A semifinals last season before dropping down to Class 2A this season. And with junior guard David Kwiat back, the Lancers could make lots of noise this winter. Kwiat is a 6-3 senior guard and all-section pick who averaged 17.1 points per game. Two other starters return: senior guard Talan Anderton and junior forward Ashton Allison.

Class 1A: Neighborhood Academy. After falling one win shy of a WPIAL title last season, this talented collection of Bulldogs very well could bring a championship trophy to the Neighborhood for the first time this season. Courtney Wallace is a 6-3 guard and Yale recruit who pumped in 24.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game last season. He’s one of two all-section guards back, the other being senior Shamar Simpson (13 ppg). A deep backcourt also includes seniors Syncer Nicholson and Junior Onwubiko and sophomore Kedron Gilmore.

City League: Allderdice. The three-time defending champs are hunting a four-peat this winter. With only one starter returning (6-4 junior forward Lukas Stead), it won’t be a cakewalk, but this is still a promising group with a lot of potential. Keep an eye on 6-3 senior Trey Schachter, a sharphsooting guard who came off the bench last season. Schachter has offers from Green Bay and UC Santa Barbara. Other top players include 6-3 senior guard-forward Asher Schwartz and 5-10 junior point guard Markus Kuhn, who missed last season with an injury.

Finest five

Rowan Carmichael, Avonworth. “Starmichael” might be an even more fitting name for this 6-foot guard who hopes to follow up a monster junior season with an even bigger senior season. Carmichael broke the school’s career scoring mark last season and enters his final season with 1,511 points. He averaged 21.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.1 steals a season ago.

Zion Moore, Belle Vernon. Stopping Moore from scoring is a difficult proposition for any of Belle Vernon’s opponents. A 6-foot-3 senior combo guard, Moore led all WPIAL and City League players in scoring last season with 26.3 points per game, this after averaging 21 as a freshman and 23 as a sophomore. He comes into his senior season with 1,585 career points. 

Josh Pratt, Aliquippa. A first-team all-state pick a season ago, Pratt is a 6-1 junior guard who is an excellent shot maker. He averaged 17 points a game last season while helping Aliquippa win WPIAL and PIAA Class 2A titles. He’s clutch, too. Pratt made a WPIAL championship record seven 3-pointers in the WPIAL final and scored 36 on 14-of-19 shooting in the PIAA final.

Tyler Robbins, Upper St. Clair. Robbins has a knack for stepping up in big moments, too. He collected 22 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in helping the Panthers beat Baldwin for the WPIAL Class 6A title last season. A 6-10 senior forward, Robbins is a nightmare matchup on both ends of the court. He averaged 13.6 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.1 blocks last season.

Courtney Wallace, Neighborhood Academy. This 6-3 senior guard and Yale commit is a stat-sheet stuffer who is the heavy favorite to lead the WPIAL in triple-doubles this season. He nearly averaged one last season when he collected 24.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists per game in addition to 5.6 steals and 2.1 blocks. Wallace has scored 1,397 career points.

Must-see games

Moon vs. Imani Christian at Geneva College, Nov. 29. One of the top matchups of the opening weekend features a pair of defending WPIAL champions. Imani Christian makes the big move from Class 1A to 6A. Led by senior guard RJ Sledge, the Saints should have a strong backcourt, but how will they do in defending Moon 6-5 senior guard-forward Michael Santicola?

Upper St. Clair vs. Montour at La Roche University, Dec. 14. The big man matchup between Upper St. Clair’s 6-10 Tyler Robbins and Montour’s 6-11 Ama Sow is worth the price of admission alone. Robbins is a Miami (Ohio) recruit and Sow is headed to Tennessee-Martin. Both teams are also WPIAL title contenders in their respective classes.

Knoch vs. South Allegheny at North Allegheny, Feb. 8. This is a fun matchup of top teams from different classes (Knoch plays in Class 4A and South Allegheny in Class 3A) that will serve as a nice tuneup for the postseason. Knoch’s headliners include 7-0 Zane Pacek and 6-8 Derek Lang, while South Allegheny counters with a strong backcourt led by 5-7 Cameron Epps and 5-11 Drew Cook.