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Mike White's high school sports chat: 03.03.20
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Mike White
11:06
Sorry for little delay in getting started. Let's go.
Wilford
11:07
Mike, why no mention of Carmody's outburst at the end of the championship game?  Going after an official?  Why are you glossing over this and not even mention the disciplinary letter with the WPIAL?
Mike White
11:08
Just posted story on web site. Never knew about letter from WPIAL until today. Can't write about something don't know about. It's not as if WPIAL sent out a release about the letter. Anyway, story is now posted.
11:09
Hearing with Michael Carmody and Mars is Wednesday. WPIAL or Mars won't reveal penalty that is in letter because it's a matter of student discipline. But Mars requested hearing. So he is facing some kind of suspension of some kind. PIAA playoffs start Friday.
Brah
11:09
It was a shame to see Allderdice girls' season come to an end without much attention.  They won the city league by an average of close to 50 points per contest, which has to be some sort of record. A little more coverage of that team would have been nice.
Mike White
11:13
They had a nice season. We did a story on Emma Waite this season and her having 1,000 points. We covered City League championship game with a story. Apparently that's not enough. There are about 130 boys and girls teams playing basketball in WPIAL and then the City League. NOBODY ever gets enough coverage if you listen to people. Allderdice girls were nice team but if they did something in the state playoffs they'd probably get more coverage. Look at the coverage the Allderdice boys have gotten in recent years. Because they did things outside the City.
BlueEagle
11:14
Hopefully the refs are much better this time around. They were particularly awful in the STO/OLSH game.
Mike White
11:14
Yes, everyone knows it's always bad officiating.
CML
11:14
Devin Carney is a better prospect than Ethan Morton. Prove me wrong..
Mike White
11:15
Woooo hoooo. Take that comedy act on tour.
B-town
11:15
What offers does that Carney kid have? why is he being slept on?
Mike White
11:18
I don't know of any D-1 offers he has, unless I'm wrong. Yes, he is very good but he is only a sophomore and I don't know what he's done in AAU. He is a tremendous shooter and scorer but I don't know yet what level he will be recruited at. A lot will depend on whether he grows. Not demeaning the kid's talent. But you asked about recruiting and the way recruiting goes is that 6-foot shooters aren't exactly a hot commodity at the major-college level.
Zman
11:18
Mike, I was really struck by the number of fresh-soph-juniors starting for most of the girls finalists this past weekend. Whoa, gonna have some powerhouse teams in next couple years in WPIAL girls. Don’t follow girls closely, but seems much more common to happen than in boys?
Mike White
11:21
I did a big story earlier this season about how freshmen have much more impact in all sports these days. It's been a trend I'd say that started maybe 15-20 years ago but is even more popular now. A few reasons. Kids are trained more at a younger age and are more ready to play as freshman than years ago. Plus, in some sports, not as many kids are playing. So that opens spots for younger kids. Take girls basketball for instance in WPIAL. Many fewer girls are playing. It's been documented. Teams can't even field JV teams sometimes. So with fewer players, young players get more of a chance to play.
WPIAL fan
11:21
Do you know anything about the District 3 teams that are matched up with some of the WPIAL 6A boys teams?
Mike White
11:21
Not really. Other than their records.
ahmed
11:21
Lincoln park is losing a lot of players. Can they be as dominate in 4a without getting new players in?
Mike White
11:23
Supposedly Lincoln Park has talent on bench also. That's what I've heard. It's not totally definite they'll be moving to 4A. But likely. It's the new PIAA competition formula that counts how far you go in playoffs and do you have a transfer in two years. Too complicated to explain in a chat. But bottom line is this: If Lincoln Park makes PIAA quarterfinals, they will have enough points in the competition formula that they will will be bumped up to 4A next year.
Guest
11:24
If crowd size stays the same I see no other option than the Pete for WPIAL.  I just wish they could move student sections down toward the court.  The games at RMU with the student sections close to the court really added to the atmosphere.  I wish both RMU and PITT would make the center scoreboards provide game info such as score, fouls and player stats.  Kind of a pain looking around the gym for that information.
Mike White
11:27
Hey Guest, are you a mind reader or what. Because all of what you said has been in my head. Amen to you on the student sections being allowed in the first level of the end zones at The Pete. With The Pete now being reconfigured, the end zone seats are about the same on both sides. So I agree, put the student sections there. I know WPIAL will say they put them on second level because of security, but c'mon, man. That can be managed. And you're right on about the score. I've been saying for years why can't the score be put on the big board in the center? Makes no sense to me. Maybe it takes more money to have that, I'm not sure. But great thoughts by you and totally agree with them.
11:29
And Guest, about playing at The Pete. People say they should play at new RMU place or Palumbo. They could do that, but only for smaller classes. Places just aren't big enough. Saturday night doubleheaders past few years have had over 5,000. This year over 6,000. Remember, UPMC and new Palumbo will hold only 4,000 or so. That's not big enough. People shouldn't be turned away to see a championship game. For smaller class games, The Pete seems kind of empty. Putting students on first level would help with that. Would two sites be out of the question????
LHzerogravity
11:29
Do you think Rodney Gallagher is a shoe-in for the FAB-5 after leading his team to the 5A Championship as a freshman? Has a freshman ever been on the list before?
Mike White
11:32
No he's not a shoe-in. Nothing has been decided yet. And no freshman has ever made Fab 5 in 40 years. He is very talented, especially for a freshman. The thing you have to do when picking all-star teams like Fab 5 is remove the fact that he's only a freshman. People say how good he is for a freshman. And he is. But I think what you have to do is think of him as a junior and then say, "Is he one of the five best players?" "Is he a better player just right now - not for the future - than a junior or senior?" We haven't decided yet. A number of people will weigh in on the decision.
pants
11:32
I thought Carney had offer from St Francis PA....and that's it....
Mike White
11:33
He might. I'm not sure.
Nation66
11:33
Mr. White, I'm a little confused. Do you happen to know why the PIAA would schedule a game between Laurel Highlands and York Suburban this Friday night, when Laurel Highlands (Uniontown) is only about 35 miles from Greensburg, and the folks from York, Pa. have to drive 200 miles. Am I missing something?
Mike White
11:36
Sites can be hard to figure, I know. But this is not unusual. In these first few rounds, some teams travel to the home district of the other team. It's just the way the PIAA does it. Laurel Highlands is a district champ. York is the No. 9 team from District 3. I don't think a No. 9 team should be complaining about having to travel. Other teams do also.
Joe
11:36
Mike, can you explain why the PIAA uses a set standard for matchups based upon districts for the state playoffs and not more of a seeding based on overall record?
Mike White
11:38
They have never seeded state playoffs. I agree it might be good to do, but it can't be on overall records. Some teams play really good non section schedules. Seeding on records wouldn't be fair. To seed the state playoffs, it would take some people who have some knowledge about whole state in all classifications and have seen teams. There aren't a lot of those people around. It's kind of seeded based on where you finish in your district. For example, Laurel Highlands is a WPIAL champ. They are playing a No. 9 team from District 3.
Wpial Fan
11:38
I believe that Ethan Morton is extremely overrated and gets bailed out by the refs. He’s not even the best player on his team, Devin Carney carries the Butler Team throughout the playoffs.
Mike White
11:39
You're so insightful. I agree with you. I can't even figure out why Morton is in the starting lineup. Makes no sense.
WPIAL1
11:39
Hey Mike, thoughts on Vincentian closing? Catholic schools have had money issues for year, is this something that more with deal with, or is this just a Vincentian problem?
Mike White
11:41
Catholic schools at many places have financial issues. It's not just a Vincentian problem. Look at how many Catholic grade schools have closed.
yoyo
11:41
Do you think that attendance is down for the lower classifications due to them mostly being private schools. They really dont have a fanbase
Mike White
11:43
I don't know if attendance in smaller classes is really any different than it was 15-20 years ago. True, smaller Catholic schools don't bring as many fans but it's always been that way. Nothing new. Where it's really evident is with Philly Catholic schools in PIAA championships. Philly Catholic League championship had more than 9,000 at the Palestra. But those fans don't care at all about states. They won't bring 1,000 to state championships.
hoop junkie
11:43
hey mike, just want to give a shout out to st gabe’s cyo hoop team for winning the state title !!! won their last 6 in a row to win the pittsburgh diocese and state title by beating st joan of arc from harrisburg !!!
Mike White
11:44
Woooo hooooo. CYO is tremendous. Do the St.Gabe's players shop at all at Gabe's??
Myrtle Beach
11:44
Mike, can someone please explain why the WPIAL doesn't give 1st round or 2 games a home game much like football does?  Makes zero sense.  You'd get bigger crowds, more money, and reward teams for regular season.
Mike White
11:45
It's been talked about, but they haven't done it. I don't know about you but when the WPIAL hoops playoffs get to the quarterfinals, crowds are pretty good.
bboy
11:45
where is morton ranked on the all time scoring list?
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