WPIAL Friday Players To Follow
In this article:
Friday night is always the main event for high school basketball in Pittsburgh and as the season progresses, matchups become more intense, mistakes become more costly and tensions run high. Let’s look at some of the contests to follow on…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingFriday night is always the main event for high school basketball in Pittsburgh and as the season progresses, matchups become more intense, mistakes become more costly and tensions run high. Let’s look at some of the contests to follow on January 20th.
In the City League, Allderdice can all but guarantee itself the regular season title with a win over Obama. It’s been a balanced offense in the backcourt for Devin Crummie’s team this year as rock solid guards Ethan Anish Ethan Anish 6'1" | CG Taylor Allderdice | 2023 State PA , Logan Golle Logan Golle 6'1" | PG Taylor Allderdice | 2024 State PA and Jack Segall have been consistent performers and the Dragons depth has been its backbone–They’ve got a first ten that can all play in college. The frontcourt muscle is provided by 6’5″ senior Antwone Thurman-Ward…but the highlight reel of the Dice Dunk Show this year has been the dynamic duo of 6’5″ senior Sam Kelly Sam Kelly 6'5" | PF Allderdice | 2023 State PA and electric 6’4″ junior wing Major Rainey Major Rainey 6'3" | SG Allderdice | 2024 State PA . Allderdice may have the deepest team in the region.
In 4A, Round Two between Lincoln Park Charter and Beaver could be equally exciting to the first nailbiter, which LPC won. With Pitt commit Brandin Cummings Brandin Cummings 6'3" | SG Lincoln Park | 2024 State #132 Nation PA and Meleek Thomas Meleek Thomas 6'4" | CG Lincoln Park | 2025 State #5 Nation PA , one of the top players in the country, Lincoln Park has high expectations for this season. Their loss to Central Catholic may look bad given the inconsistency from the Vikings, but when they’re at their best, they’re good–It’s a loss that can be forgiven. Beaver, on the other hand, is enjoying its best season in some time. Senior guard Sawyer Butler Sawyer Butler 5'11" | PG Beaver | 2023 State PA is receiving recruiting interest, as is 6’3″ forward Aiden Townsend Aiden Townsend 6'3" | SG Beaver | 2023 State PA . Can Beaver get over the hump?
In 3A, the KDKA Radio game of the week pits two of the top scoring seniors in the region against each other in a matchup of two teams that came into this season with sky high hopes and have underperformed to this point. Steel Valley senior Makhai Valentine Makhai Valentine 6'3" | SG Steel Valley | 2023 State PA is one of the elite scorers in Western Pennsylvania and has gone over 40 on the regular. Seton LaSalle struggled without Connor Spratt Connor Spratt 6'3" | PG Seton LaSalle | 2023 State PA , but with him back in the lineup, they’ve begun scoring wins again. Spratt is a dangerous shooter–When he’s hot, 40 isn’t out of the question.
In a non-divisional game, Penn Hills takes on North Allegheny. Penn Hills featured 6’4″ Quinnipiac commit Daemar Kelly Daemar Kelly 6'3" | SF Penn Hills | 2023 State PA and North Allegheny counters with 6’5″ Joey Dopirak Joey Dopirak 6'5" | SF North Allegheny | 2024 State PA and 6’10” Ty Iwanonkiw Ty Iwanonkiw 6'10" | C Central Catholic | 2024 State PA . The duo teamed up to hand Central Catholic a defeat on Tuesday and keep the door open in a wild divisional title race in 6A. Penn Hills is one of the top teams in the region–They’ve only lost to Central and Archbishop Wood of Philadelphia.
Eden Christian continues its impressive run on Friday by taking on Jimmy Giannetta Jimmy Giannetta 6'0" | SG St. Joseph's | 2023 State PA and St Joe’s of Natrona Heights. Eden has scored back to back wins over Bishop Canevin and Propel Braddock Hills. Eden is led by Malachi Manges Malachi Manges 6'1" | CG Eden Christian Academy | 2023 State PA as fellow senior guard Damon Astorino Damon Astorino 6'2" | CG Eden Christian Academy | 2023 State PA continues to slowly work back from injury and should he be included in the mix come crunch time, he’s a quality guard, who recently passed 1,000 pts, that the coaches can count on to deliver if called upon.