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Mike White's high school sports chat: 01.07.25
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Mike White
11:08
Sorry a little late. Here we go.
Basketball
11:08
Lots of great, meaningful games tonight.  Imani at USC, Mars at Moon, Knoch at Deer Lakes and Avonworth at Central Valley.  What are your thoughts and who do you think will come out on top
Mike White
11:10
Imani at USC is very interesting. Imani doesn't have much size at all. How much will that matter against USC? I'll take USC. Mars and Moon? Depends on how Mars shoots it. But I'd probably take Moon. By the way, is that game out of this world? (Sorry for that one). I like Knoch. And I think Avonworth. Does Rowan Carmichael get 30 again?
Ricardo Colclough
11:10
Will Avonworth complete the trifecta and win WPIAL Football, Basketball and Baseball titles?
Mike White
11:11
Hmmm. That would really be something. They have a chance definitely in hoops, but there are other good 4A teams. They are defending champ in baseball and I think have a decent amount of starters back. It's not out of the question. I'd have to check if that's ever been done. I doubt it. If it has, it's been only once or twice. They have a run on athletes at Avonworth. Girls also.
Popular
11:11
Best Pound for Pound hoops team in the WPIAL?
Mike White
11:11
Upper St. Clair.
4A Hoops Guy
11:12
I went to the Avonworth/Quaker Valley game last Friday at QV.  As a neutral observer, it took me back to the '60s or '70s for what a gym was like!  Anyway, Avonworth really showed how good they are.  It was the first time I saw them this year and in my opinion, they are much more well-rounded than Knoch!   Only negative for Avonworth the whole night was having to watch some of their bozo parents berate the game officials.  I can only imagine what they do when their team isn't winning comfortably.  Anyway, do you think Avonworth is currently the best team in 4A?
Mike White
11:13
I've seen Avonworth and Knoch. Haven't seen Central Valley yet. Saw film of Deer Lakes. I'd say Avonworth and Knoch are two best teams right now. However, that's no guarantee they both win tonight. I think we know a lot more after tonight.
4A Hoops Guy
11:13
Any idea if Lincoln Park's free agent pickup (Rowan) will be ruled eligible for playoffs?  That is, if the great LP coach can actually game plan to get his team there now that he doesn't have 5 AAU all stars.
Mike White
11:14
I don't know yet of his playoff status. He has presumptive eligibility right now because he and family moved here. But WPIAL still has to rule on playoff status. That should be Jan. 16, I think.
4A Hoops Guy
11:18
The 5A Boys Pairing this years could really be wacky.  Everyone among the top 10 or so can beat anyone on a given night.  I really though Uniontown was the best of the bunch but they even had a poor performance over Christmas.  Am I crazy that maybe 8-10 teams have a legitimate shot at a title?
Mike White
11:19
5A basketball is like 5A football in WPIAL. Probably the best class, at least in terms of depth of good teams. Are there 8-10 that have a chance to win it? I don't know about that. But you're not that far off. I mean, in no order, I think you have to look at Uniontown, Baldwin, Peters Township, Montour, Moon, Chartiers Valley, Latrobe. And don't forget about Mars and one or two others.
4A Hoops Guy
11:19
Is the WPIAL going to allow teams to host 1st round playoff games again this year?  Really like that and think it makes the regular season more valuable
Mike White
11:20
I believe so, yes. I like it, too. And to me, there is nothing better in Western Pa. high school sports than the WPIAL semifinals in basketball and even the state semifinals. It's electric.
TM
11:20
Seems like more high school sports seem to be playing/practicing more. Is the WPIAL rule still only 6 days per week? And if so, when does the WPIAL week begin?
Mike White
11:23
Only allowed to play or practice six days in a week. That's a PIAA rule.
4A Hoops Guy
11:24
Saw Joe Salvino moved into 2nd all time with WPIAL Coaching wins?  Anyone else in the WPIAL have a chance to catch ole JoJo?
Mike White
11:24
Joe now has 731 wins. Second behind Don Graham, who had 801 from 1948-99. No active coach is even close to Joe Salvino. But I would not expect Joe to stick around to catch Graham.
Guest
11:25
Coach White, 2 years in do you like the 5 fouls, 2 shot rule change and do you think it has changed the game in any way from a coaching standpoint?
Mike White
11:26
I don't mind it. I really don't think it's a big deal. The one thing I do see more is at the end of the first and third quarters, if a team has only two or three fouls, coaches are yelling out to foul with maybe 10-15 seconds left, and then again maybe with 5. You didn't see that at the end of quarters when there was one-and-one on the seventh team foul of a half.
WPIALOutsider
11:26
Have you heard of or do you suspect any major football coaching changes this offseason?
Mike White
11:27
Well there have been some that have opened, and a few noteworthy ones. Like Seneca Valley, Rochester (longtime coach Gene Matsook retired), Latrobe. West Mifflin opened jobs again, but I'm not sure if Rod Steele will come back or not. There are a few others also.
LeboKid
11:28
Good morning, Mike. Can you shed any light on what the specific duties are for Bob Palko with Penn State football?  Is he a liaison between W. Pa high school coaches and the football operation?  The PSU web site doesn't even have Bob listed as a member of the football coaching staff.  Thanks in advance.
Mike White
11:30
When Bob took the job in 2023 his so-called title was "director of high school football relations." Honestly, I think it entails a number of things, including dealing with high school coaches and kids. I don't think he's allowed to be on the road recruiting. But you can see him often during a game on the sidelines. I see him sometimes next to Franklin. Whatever ol' Palks is doing, you can bet he's doing it full tilt.
Sewickley??
11:30
We are writing glowing articles on the success of sewickley, but are we not gonna talk about what go them here? A rich man poured enough money into a district to fire a coach, move in a bunch of kids from out of the country, and hired a coaching staff paying them extreme amounts of money out of his own pocket. We just gonna look past it orrrrrrrrr????
Mike White
11:31
You have not seen any Sewickley Academy stories in the Post-Gazette. The subject has come up in this chat a few times over past few months. People have talked about it. WPIAL hasn't done anything about it.
InventorofFroshBasketballCoaching
11:32
Is 2024-25 the Weakest year in last 25-30 years in WPIAL boys 5A/6A in terms of overall talent/depth/quality? Make it make sense if you don’t think so…
Mike White
11:36
Too early to tell. I mean, Upper St. Clair just beat Central York, the defending state champion in 6A and Central York had most of their players back. I'm not saying Upper St. Clair will win state 6A, but obviously they can be competitive against some pretty good teams. But you know Philly Catholic will have something to say.
Old Timer
11:36
Good morning, Mike. Not discussed much, but the change in how PIAA required schools to count Technology School students and other types of students for classification purposes probably had an impact. Before, only 10% of those students only counted in a school's enrollment, now they are considered 100%. I'm sure that's why we saw so many schools that dominated 4A last season moved up to 5A. Of course, Lincoln Park elevated on Competition Success Formula. But Hampton, Montour and Uniontown among others were elevated. So did Woodland Hills from 5A to 6A.
Mike White
11:39
Yes, Old Timer, PIAA decided to change that as far as counting tech students. They felt if students are in your district, or maybe go to public school half day, they should be counted as whole students. I don't know if I agree with that, but it definitely affected some schools. New Castle is another one.
Old Timer
11:39
As for 4A, North Catholic is laying out there in the weeds. The team no one is talking about and haven't seen while they played out of state. Deer Lakes and Knoch have to prove they can beat North Catholic in that section. That system works year after year after year.
Mike White
11:42
You are exactly right Old Timer? Don't sleep on North Catholic because of their record. 8-4. But all four losses are to teams from out of state (Ohio or Maryland). They just beat 6A Pine-Richland by 13. Definitely watch out for Trojans.
J D
11:42
Mike, how much has Montour's big center improved from last year?
Mike White
11:44
You're talking about Ama Sow. I saw him live once. I think he has definitely improved. I like his potential. Body that can add 20-25 pounds easily. So long also. 6-11. Has to still improve in some areas, but around here, playing against guys that are 6-3 and 6-4, he can dominate. Going to Tennessee Martin (Division I). One of assistants there has a tie to Ama because he's from Senegal, where Ama is from. Ama is a great story. Found basketball - and a life - in America.
4a bball
11:44
Who do you have for Avonworth game tonight?  Who do you have for Knoch game tonight?
Mike White
11:45
We discussed some above. I'll take Avonworth and Knoch.
CollegeGuy
11:45
Great article on Carmichael. Its a shame that D2 windows have somewhat closed for high school kids. His best bet will be to play for his Dad for one year, and then transfer up. It stinks that he would have to do that, but it seems to be the way to go.
Mike White
11:47
Totally disagree. Interest is starting to pick up a little. Wheeling and Pitt-Johnstown offered after last Friday's game. He now has 4-5 Division II offers. But you're right, kids who are D2 or lower D1 prospects, are getting bypassed. Because schools would rather get someone from tranfer portal, maybe Division I, who have a couple years experience and are older. The new junior college rule doesn't help high school kids, either. But Carmichael can go bigger than La Roche. Even his dad knows that.
TM
11:47
Another big game tonight that hasn't been mentioned yet is South Fayette @ Peters Twp. Who you think wins this one?
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