News & Notes of Interest !!!!!
-
THE CHOPS
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News & Notes of Interest !!!!!
Scholastic Notebook
3/16/2007 -
Todd Thomas. All-time leading scorer in W.P.I.A.L. boys’ basketball. It sounds strange, doesn’t it? And maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. But if you sit down and examine the numbers, the Beaver Falls sophomore might have an outside chance at the title.
At the very minimum, Thomas has a pretty good shot at finishing in the top three – barring injury.
Listen to the rationale. Thomas, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard-forward, heads into the P.I.A.A. quarterfinals Saturday against Aliquippa with 1,108 points. He averages "21" points a game, so let’s assume he gets his average, Beaver Falls loses and he finishes with 1,129 points.
The W.P.I.A.L. record for most points is 2,838, set by "1993" Valley graduate Tom Pipkins. Thomas would need 1,709 points in his final two seasons to catch Pipkins. That’s asking a lot, but it’s not totally out of the question.
Thomas jumped his average seven points from his freshman to sophomore years. He’s good enough to bump his average up four more points to "25" a game as a junior. Let’s say he averages "25" points a game as a junior and senior. Beaver Falls plays a lot of juniors, sophomore and even a freshman or two. So, the Tigers are expected to challenge for W.P.I.A.L. and P.I.A.A. titles the next two seasons. That means they’ll likely play a lot of games.
Let’s say Beaver Falls makes it to the W.P.I.A.L. championship and the P.I.A.A. semifinals the next two seasons and Thomas averages 25 a game each season. That would be "25" times "64" games, which would be 1,600 points. That would put Thomas at around 2,725 career points.
Now consider this: What if Beaver Falls makes it to the W.P.I.A.L. and P.I.A.A. championship games the next two years – and Thomas averages "28" a game as a senior. That would put him over 2,800 points.
We know it’s a lot, but Thomas has a world of potential. He would need about 1,500 points over the next two seasons to push into second place. Duquesne’s Kevin Price had 2,635 from 1990-94. Neshannock’s Kevin Covert is third at 2,612.
Weather Problems...................................
The snow postponed a number of the P.I.A.A. basketball quarterfinals from Friday to Saturday – both in eastern and western Pennsylvania. But basketball wasn’t the only sport affected.
The P.I.A.A. held the first day of the Class (AAA) swimming championships in a different format at Bucknell University. Preliminary heats were scheduled for the morning and afternoon, and finals at night. However, because of the heavy snow, the P.I.A.A. was worried about swimmers and fans getting back to their hotels. So the finals were canceled at night and the preliminary races counted as the finals. Places were determined on time.
The final day of the Class (AAA) meet is Saturday and the P.I.A.A. plans to have preliminaries and finals as originally scheduled.
Understanding the Decision.................................................
Many people have wondered what made Aliquippa basketball star Herb Pope sign with New Mexico State. Well, one reason is because of a tie between a New Mexico State assistant and an Aliquippa assistant.
But another reason was because of New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus and the potential of his program. Now, maybe you can understand about the potential part.
New Mexico State won its conference and made the N.C.A.A. tournament. And with a good recruiting class, Theus’ team is expected to be even better next season.
From All Over for Pryor...............................................
The number of colleges recruiting Jeannette star quarterback Terrelle Pryor continues to grow.
“It’s becoming the elite of the elite,” said Jeannette coach Ray Reitz.
Pryor already has many scholarship offers from big-time colleges. But Reitz said Southern California is now calling and might send a coach to Jeannette. The Trojans haven’t offered a scholarship, but Reitz said if Pryor is interested, USC will offer. Reitz said Texas and Alabama also are now interested.
“All of them are saying he can play basketball, too,” Reitz said.
=========================================================
Fuel for the Critics
The critics of Catholic and private schools always make a lot of noise this time of the year because the P.I.A.A. basketball playoffs. They claim those schools have an unfair advantage because they do not have geographic boundaries.
Those critics will probably be heard from again because six of the eight girls’ teams left in Class (A) are from either Catholic or private schools. Four of the eight Class (A) boys’ teams left are either Catholic or private.
In eastern Pennsylvania, all four of the Class (AA) boys’ quarterfinalists are either Catholic or charter schools.
=========================================================
The Wright Tie..................................
Wright State, Pitt’s opponent in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, had a tie to the W.P.I.A.L. One of Wright State’s assistants is Adrian Townsend, who played at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Think Spring
The W.P.I.A.L. Baseball Coaches Association has announced the dates for its fourth annual all-star games. They will played June 16th at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pa.
The doubleheader pits the W.P.I.A.L. Class (A) All-Stars against the Class (AA) All-Stars. It will be followed by the matchup between Class (AAA) and (AAAA).
A banquet for the players and coaches will be June 15th at the Radisson Hotel in Green Tree. It also is open to the public.
Gateway Added to Classic...............................................................
The Gateway football team has been added to the Kirk Herbstreit Challenge Labor Day weekend in Ohio. Central Catholic already had agreed to play.
The Challenge pits eight teams around the country against eight from Ohio. The games will be played in Canton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
THE CHOPS....
3/16/2007 -
Todd Thomas. All-time leading scorer in W.P.I.A.L. boys’ basketball. It sounds strange, doesn’t it? And maybe we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves. But if you sit down and examine the numbers, the Beaver Falls sophomore might have an outside chance at the title.
At the very minimum, Thomas has a pretty good shot at finishing in the top three – barring injury.
Listen to the rationale. Thomas, a 6-foot-3 sophomore guard-forward, heads into the P.I.A.A. quarterfinals Saturday against Aliquippa with 1,108 points. He averages "21" points a game, so let’s assume he gets his average, Beaver Falls loses and he finishes with 1,129 points.
The W.P.I.A.L. record for most points is 2,838, set by "1993" Valley graduate Tom Pipkins. Thomas would need 1,709 points in his final two seasons to catch Pipkins. That’s asking a lot, but it’s not totally out of the question.
Thomas jumped his average seven points from his freshman to sophomore years. He’s good enough to bump his average up four more points to "25" a game as a junior. Let’s say he averages "25" points a game as a junior and senior. Beaver Falls plays a lot of juniors, sophomore and even a freshman or two. So, the Tigers are expected to challenge for W.P.I.A.L. and P.I.A.A. titles the next two seasons. That means they’ll likely play a lot of games.
Let’s say Beaver Falls makes it to the W.P.I.A.L. championship and the P.I.A.A. semifinals the next two seasons and Thomas averages 25 a game each season. That would be "25" times "64" games, which would be 1,600 points. That would put Thomas at around 2,725 career points.
Now consider this: What if Beaver Falls makes it to the W.P.I.A.L. and P.I.A.A. championship games the next two years – and Thomas averages "28" a game as a senior. That would put him over 2,800 points.
We know it’s a lot, but Thomas has a world of potential. He would need about 1,500 points over the next two seasons to push into second place. Duquesne’s Kevin Price had 2,635 from 1990-94. Neshannock’s Kevin Covert is third at 2,612.
Weather Problems...................................
The snow postponed a number of the P.I.A.A. basketball quarterfinals from Friday to Saturday – both in eastern and western Pennsylvania. But basketball wasn’t the only sport affected.
The P.I.A.A. held the first day of the Class (AAA) swimming championships in a different format at Bucknell University. Preliminary heats were scheduled for the morning and afternoon, and finals at night. However, because of the heavy snow, the P.I.A.A. was worried about swimmers and fans getting back to their hotels. So the finals were canceled at night and the preliminary races counted as the finals. Places were determined on time.
The final day of the Class (AAA) meet is Saturday and the P.I.A.A. plans to have preliminaries and finals as originally scheduled.
Understanding the Decision.................................................
Many people have wondered what made Aliquippa basketball star Herb Pope sign with New Mexico State. Well, one reason is because of a tie between a New Mexico State assistant and an Aliquippa assistant.
But another reason was because of New Mexico State coach Reggie Theus and the potential of his program. Now, maybe you can understand about the potential part.
New Mexico State won its conference and made the N.C.A.A. tournament. And with a good recruiting class, Theus’ team is expected to be even better next season.
From All Over for Pryor...............................................
The number of colleges recruiting Jeannette star quarterback Terrelle Pryor continues to grow.
“It’s becoming the elite of the elite,” said Jeannette coach Ray Reitz.
Pryor already has many scholarship offers from big-time colleges. But Reitz said Southern California is now calling and might send a coach to Jeannette. The Trojans haven’t offered a scholarship, but Reitz said if Pryor is interested, USC will offer. Reitz said Texas and Alabama also are now interested.
“All of them are saying he can play basketball, too,” Reitz said.
=========================================================
Fuel for the Critics
The critics of Catholic and private schools always make a lot of noise this time of the year because the P.I.A.A. basketball playoffs. They claim those schools have an unfair advantage because they do not have geographic boundaries.
Those critics will probably be heard from again because six of the eight girls’ teams left in Class (A) are from either Catholic or private schools. Four of the eight Class (A) boys’ teams left are either Catholic or private.
In eastern Pennsylvania, all four of the Class (AA) boys’ quarterfinalists are either Catholic or charter schools.
=========================================================
The Wright Tie..................................
Wright State, Pitt’s opponent in the first round of the N.C.A.A. tournament, had a tie to the W.P.I.A.L. One of Wright State’s assistants is Adrian Townsend, who played at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Think Spring
The W.P.I.A.L. Baseball Coaches Association has announced the dates for its fourth annual all-star games. They will played June 16th at Washington & Jefferson’s Ross Memorial Park in Washington, Pa.
The doubleheader pits the W.P.I.A.L. Class (A) All-Stars against the Class (AA) All-Stars. It will be followed by the matchup between Class (AAA) and (AAAA).
A banquet for the players and coaches will be June 15th at the Radisson Hotel in Green Tree. It also is open to the public.
Gateway Added to Classic...............................................................
The Gateway football team has been added to the Kirk Herbstreit Challenge Labor Day weekend in Ohio. Central Catholic already had agreed to play.
The Challenge pits eight teams around the country against eight from Ohio. The games will be played in Canton, Cincinnati and Columbus.
THE CHOPS....