Sunday, January 25, 2009

O-R boys basketball rankings

If the rankings hold, Tuesday's Latrobe at Peters Township game could ultimately prove to be for the No. 1 seed in the WPIAL Class AAAA playoff pairings.


Class AAAA
1. Peters Township 16-1
2. Latrobe 16-2
3. North Allegheny 12-4
4. Mt. Lebanon 13-4
5. McKeesport 12-5

Class AAA
1. Chartiers Valley 17-0
2. Hampton 15-3
3. Blackhawk 11-5
4. Greensburg-Salem 14-3
5. Highlands 13-5

Class AA
1. Beaver Falls 13-3
2. Quaker Valley 12-3
3. North Catholic 14-1
4. South Fayette 15-3
5. Washington 16-2

Class A
1. Sewickley Academy 11-4
2. Clairton 8-4
3. OLSH 13-4
4. Serra Catholic 14-2
5. Lincoln Park 11-5

47 comments:

VCTMbrian said...

I've only been able to catch a few high school games this season, but getting to see PT play was a treat. It was team basketball at its finest. The passing, awareness, and unselfishness was impressive. They put on a clinic against an athletic CM team.

Anonymous said...

USC needs to be back in the top five with a win over Mckeesport yesterday.

They must have had some people missing in their losses to Baldwin and others. I know Yancey Taylor says there not that good, but that dude is just crazy. USC can play. I think they could upset Peters Township. Christian Shea is every bit as good as the Wilcox kid from Peters.

Anonymous said...

Everyone puts a clinic on CM..

Anonymous said...

Mike not that FC should be in the top 5 but let's be honest they are having a terrific year being that the past 2 years they couldn't get past 7 wins and now they are playing for a playoff spot. Can they be in the paper once. Wash High is also having a great year and they are rarely in the paper South Fayette as well.. I mean there were always local teams for football in the paper almost everyday and during basketball you do nothing for the kids. Honestly the kids look forward to opening the paper and seeing a picture of themselves in it and an article about the team. There are more basketball articles about these teams in the PostGazette then the Observer....Maybe you guys should do something......

Anonymous said...

Christian Shea is a good player but he couldn't wear Nick Wilcox's jock. Nick is as good a shooter as Shea and he has an inside game that Shea will never have.

Your name says it all, no wonder an uneducated youth would spew such stupidity.

Anonymous said...

Wilcox is a good player. He is not the great player only Peters Township people claim he is. If he was great he would getting recruited all over the place.

I think him an Shea are both very good players. I think they are even. Wilcox is not an inside player.

Rod Taylor said...

Shea can shoot the lights out.

mike_kovak said...

"Can they be in the paper once. Wash High is also having a great year and they are rarely in the paper South Fayette as well.. I mean there were always local teams for football in the paper almost everyday and during basketball you do nothing for the kids. Honestly the kids look forward to opening the paper and seeing a picture of themselves in it and an article about the team. There are more basketball articles about these teams in the PostGazette then the Observer....Maybe you guys should do something......"

So I guess I didn't do a South Fayette story on Friday and cover the Wash High-Monessen game Friday night. Must have been the PG.

Maybe, just maybe, the PG has about 25 more people working in its sports department than the O-R.

Trust me, local coaches know, when it's playoff time – the games that truly matter – the O-R is there.

Anonymous said...

"Maybe, just maybe..." Nice Jean Girrad reference Mike

Anonymous said...

The person that left the last anonymous message about Wilcox shouldn't be allowed to write on here ever again, EVER. Obviously you haven't watched much basketball, you haven't watched Wilcox, you haven't watched Peters and you're not very bright. Only Peters Twp. people claim he's good? Wow, you are definitely a Canon-Mac fan.

Anonymous said...

Shea is all that and as far as stupidity goes you need to get some brains to say he couldn`t wear wilcox jock.Shea sees the floor so much better has a better shot and much more aggressive on D.

Anonymous said...

We will see Friday

Anonymous said...

ya no offense but the post gazette does have more local articles than the observer and there in allegheny county. they seem to cover a larger area but yes they do have more people but it would be nice to see a little more local articles from the observer not just dealing with football

Anonymous said...

I think whatever schoo, Rodney Tylor goes to will be in the top 5 very soon. He is a great coach.

I am sure his brother Yancey taught him a lot and he was a great player. Maybe he would even bring Yancey on the coaching staff. They would make the greatest sibling coaching team ever!

Lets hope Yancey and his beloved brother Rodney will soon get a head coaching job. I was thinking Oak Hill Acadamy or Ringgold?

Anonymous said...

Rumor has it that Phil Jackson is in close contact with Rodney and Yancey Taylor to take over the Lakers next year. Kobe Bryant was the one that recommended Rodney and his bro. It sounds crazy but Rodney is a basketball genius!!! As well as his brother.

Anonymous said...

Nick Wilcox is the best player in the WPIAL everyone. The reason is because everyone in Peters Township said so. Christian Shea isnt even good enough to be his ball boy.

Nick Wilcox is so good inside they are going to re-name the George Mikan drill to Nick Wilcox.

Peters Township is soo great. Everyone on their team will make the all WPIAL team.

Rodney what is your take on Christian Shea vs Nick Wilcox? I would love to hear your expert opinion.

Peters Township haters. Is Nick Wilcox better than T.J. Mcconnell?
What about Nick Wilcox vs Tom Droney? Nick Wilcox vs Todd Thomas?

I am just curious your thoughts. So there is no reason freak out. I just want to see what others opinions are in those match ups.

Thank you have a great New Year.

Rod Taylor said...

I appreciate the praise, but I am not related to Yancey. We just happen to share the last name.

My take is that Nick Wilcox is a more complete ball player than Shea. Wilcox has size and speed (from soccer). Shea and Wilcox are two different types of players. Shea is a shooter. Wilcox is a scorer. I have seen both teams play a lot. Both are outstanding ball players and know how to play the game.

McConnell scored 52 points against West Mifflin and hit 9 threes. That speaks for itself. He is pure.

Anonymous said...

Rodney if you went one on one with Yancey who would win?

Anonymous said...

Nothing like resorting to sarcasm because you really have nothing of substance to say. Shea is a great shooter, Wilcox is a scorer. Both are very good. Don't get mad man...just try to educate yourself a little bit and gain some intelligence. One day, maybe you'll be a little smarter.

Anonymous said...

I am glad we have have an IVY LEAGUE GRAD posting on here now. He is just way smarter than everyone on here.

Anonymous said...

Nick Wilcox and Christian Shea are very good players. I think Shea has better range and probably percentage then Wilcox and right now has better college potiential. The problem with Wilcox, right now it is tough to place him at a position in college. In my opinion, he is not quick enough to play the 2 in college. He will have to play the 3 and guard some of the most atheltic players on the other team. I think he will have a great career as a D3 player. He is the type of player you want on your team because he does so many things that are hard to quantify. I think Shea could have a great college career at the shooting guard position at a D2 level. I belevie this because he has a deadly shot and deep range that all college teams are always looking for. They will also develop him more on the defensive side of the ball. I think McConnell is blessed with alot of talent but also plays in a system that is completely tailored to him and his team. I am not too sure that he will be able to have this kind of success at the next level. I think he has had a tremendous career and putting up 52 in a game is outstanding. He maybe extending himself too far playing at the D1 level but obvisouly smarter basketball minds think he can play there.

I want to say as a former player in the WPIAL that coaches and players should not get too caught up in all of these blogs. I also think Mike K is doing a good job of trying to cover everyone. I am sure that is not an easy job this year as their are alot of teams that very good in the washington/allegheny county areas.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for a great response. See Brian if you could provide answers like that then I wouldnt think you were a joke.

I think you made some great points there. If everyone could post more like that with their opinions it would be great.

I think McConnell might stretching to play D1 as well. At least he will get a great education for free.

I feel the same things about Wilcox. I think he would be a D-III all american. I would hate to see him go D-2 and never get any playing time, but there is nothing wrong with taking on a challenge.

I have watched Shea twice this year. Its hard to say with him because I dont know if he is explosive enough, but I think both could make a D-2. I am not sure if they would get alot of playing time though.

Anonymous said...

Mike, Please explain to me why you have clairton above OLSH in the class A ranking, I mean come on are they really that good this year, i mean honestly who do they have this year?

mike_kovak said...

Clairton beat Serra.

Anonymous said...

Rodney Taylor plays for Clairton. He is their best player he is also their coach.

Anonymous said...

Nick Wilcox is obviously a more complete player than Christian Shea. Shea may be a better shooter, but not my much. Wilcox has a much better inside game, plays much better defense, and has lead his team to the top spot in AAAA and a 25 point win over USC. I don't know how you can say Wilcox is better than Shea.

Anonymous said...

What the hell are you talking about? Christian Shea is one of the best players in the WPIAL. He is a great scorer, solid defender, and a team leader.

Wilcox is having a pretty good year, but you forgot to mention that Shea did not even play in the first USC/PT game. It will be a much different story Friday night.

PT may be#1 right now, but I'm not sure Wilcox is a good enough player to carry his team on his back the whole season like he's done thus far. Overall, Shea is better than Wilcox and USC is better than PT 1 through 5.

dj sanchez said...

I have a question for all the people battling over who is better, Shea or Wilcox. Who would you rather have on you team Shea, Wilcox, or Charles Murphy (who played for Canon Mac and graduated last year)?

My opinion is that I would take Charles Murphy (who now plays for Clarion). I believe he was a complete player and that why I would take him. I am interested to hear what everyone thinks.

Anonymous said...

Charles Murphy isn't playing on Clarion. He's a preferred walk on and is redshirting. Big difference.

dj sanchez said...

Yeah redshirting because of lots of upperclassman and a broken thumb in the fall. Thanks for answering the question chief.

Anonymous said...

We will see what Peters Township does when USC plays with Shea in the line up.

Let the box score tell the story. Thats all we can do. Should be a great one though. I do know that.

Anonymous said...

FC is playing in a big game friday against Canevin..If they win that game they have a good chance of making the playoffs...So can you get these boys in the paper once.. 7-15 to 12-5 is a big difference and i think maybe you can do one article on them.....But it's ok if you don't feel like it

Anonymous said...

Fort Cherry wants the whole paper to themselves. Its ok Mike you can do it just to shut them up for a while.

Anonymous said...

The reason for the Fort Cherry
turn around.... Nate Bellhy. His
presence on the boards and on defense and as a third offensive
option make them a decent team,
without him, lots of points and
lots of loses. He is one of the
WPIAL's best sophomores.

Anonymous said...

lol im pretty sure fort cherry doesnt want a whole paper about them

Anonymous said...

Christian Shea would make a 30 point difference????

I don't think so. Peters beat up on USC in the first game at USC, they were up over 30 at the end of the 3rd quarter. If it wasn't for the fact that our coach has a lot of class PT would have won by 50.

USC is WAY overrated, PT will beat them again with ease. Hopefully all of you USC fans will crawl back under your rock when PT sweeps the series.

Anonymous said...

How about we just play the game and see what happens. We are not over-rated. Lets see what happens.


Christian Shea-

Anonymous said...

Sanchez nice try with the question there. No one answered it. Murphy graduated no one cares.

Anonymous said...

Peters Twp. 69
USC 50

Where are all the PT haters at????????????????????????????????????? Read back at all the comments, we'll see Friday Night!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA We saw alright, we saw PT dominate once again.

Crickets.....

Another dominating performance by Coach Goga and team. Wilcox totally outplayed Shea, nice sweep of the season series.

DOMINATION.

Anonymous said...

Bottom line is that AAAA basketball isnt that good in the WPIAL. Peters Township is the number 1 team and their best player may not even got D-2. I think Wilcox is a fine player and Peters Township is a nice team. However, when they get to the state tournament they are going to run into teams who will beat them by 25-30 points.

It is easy to tell that AAAA isnt that great. Just look what happened when Peters played Washington they only won by 6 points.


AAAA basketball has been down for years. The best chance the WPIAL had at winning a state title was when Uniontown was making a run at it in 2002.

Anonymous said...

woah woah what you tryin to say about washington?? they'll beat alot of class AAAA teams

Anonymous said...

Washington has a great team. I was just making a point that AAAA basketball is not that strong and they should enjoy their run in the WPIAL because in the states its going to get ugly for them.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if you can necessarily say that. PT plays team ball and great defense. True, other teams have more talent, but there's plenty examples of lesser teams that play hard and together beating teams who are more talented. It just seems to me that everyone wants to make an excuse about why Peters isn't for real. What do they have to do? I doubted them, then I watched them dismantle USC and Lebo with intense defense and disciplined team basketball. The kids have bought into that idea and they are rolling. Instead of so many doubting them, how about someone just gives them some credit.

Anonymous said...

Apparently you cant read very well. I said they are having a great season in the WPIAL. However, AAAA WPIAL basketball isnt that great. They will get beat badly in the states. They should enjoy the run they are making, but it is a known fact that AAAA teams in the WPIAL do not fare well in the state tourney. Also, Peters does not have enough talent to go far in the states.

The best team in the WPIAL is Char Valley and I dont even think they will get a state title.

Anonymous said...

Radke will be the key for PT to make it far in the WPIAL/State playoffs. I do not think he has had a great year. Wilcott and Wilcox have made PT go, but he will need to step up big time for them to make a run. Other teams, especially in the state tournament are going to have experienced D1/D2big guys who can score in the post and get to the glass. He will need to not only stop these players but become more of a thrid scoring threat for PT to do well. Good teams/coaches are going to start keying in on Wilcox/Wilcott and the others will need to step up. (Kovac, Radke, etc)

Does anyone know where Wilcox is leaning towards?

Anonymous said...

I hope PT makes a run but I dont think they are going to go far in the state tournament.

But on a sidenote they had a great year and hopefully they can pull off some upsets.

Anonymous said...

CRICKETS.....

PT LOSES...

HAHA... I am not hearing anything now????

PT beating Char Valley you are crazy..