Jan 4, 2024 By Eleanor Bailey 6 min read

In his 23rd season as Mt. Lebanon boys’ basketball coach, Joe David surpassed 400 career victories recently.

Mt. Lebanon High School boys’ basketball head coach Joe David hugs one of his players after the Blue Devils captured a WPIAL title. Among his 401 coaching victories are three district championships.

Mt. Lebanon defeated Baldwin, 73-50, to start the New Year with its first Section 2 victory in Class 6A. The triumph on Jan. 2 also raised the Blue Devils’ overall record to 9-1 and marked the 401st career coaching win for Joe David.

But, who’s counting? Certainly not the Lebo coach, who in his 23rd season hit the 400-win milestone on Dec. 28, 2023 when the Blue Devils beat Bishop Snyder, 69-49, during the Sunshine State Explosion Tournament played at Coconut Creek High School in Florida.

“Well, it just means I have been around for awhile,” David said of the achievement.

“It’s not something I have done by myself. It has taken good assistant coaches, great players and school administrators. It’s not an individual accomplishment but rather a group and community achievement.”

David pointed out his record also reflects 176 losses to go along with three WPIAL championships and one PIAA runner-up trophy.

“You have those nights,” he said. “You learn from it all. The losses make you better. But I never entered into this to achieve coaching goals. I wanted to give back to a sport that I love so much.”

David excelled as a player at Upper St. Clair and the University of Pittsburgh before he settled into his professional career.

Since 1994, he has owned and operated a successful practice. The David Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Center on Castle Shannon Boulevard has now expanded into Southpointe and includes his three sons, Jeremy, Jonny and Justin.

“There have been a lot of memorable moments. Some great, some bad. You coach and participate in sports for the thrilling victories and the agony of defeats. It means you are living and enjoying yourself,” David said.

“Coaching though is about relationships,” he added. “My players mean so much to me. Many of them I’m still in touch with. To have shared in their accomplishments and their lives has been special. It’s fun now to watch those young men have their own families and businesses and see what they are doing is meaningful. Maybe it means you have had a small part in teaching or guiding them along the way.”

With more than a clipboard, David is leading his own peers as well as his players. Most recently, David has become a published author.

His 212-page book titled “The BORA Defensive System” chronicles the techniques he employed when guiding the Blue Devils to the 2019 WPIAL Class 6A championship and the district semifinals in 2020.

The paperback publication describes a disruptive defense incorporating specialized actions and concepts that will result in more victories. The system is an acronym for a “barrage of organized chaos and relentless attacks.”

David’s written work is available online through Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

“I didn’t intend on doing a book when I decided four years ago to start organizing all of my pages of notes but it’s certainly been an interesting process,” David said. “When you write a book, you are vulnerable and you leave yourself open to a lot of criticism.

“I’m proud of the book though. It was a lot of work but I hope it helps coaches and players alike. Maybe they can find something in it and can benefit from it. Again, it’s my way of giving back and my contribution to the game that I love.”

David though has pushed the book and the victories into the background as he prepares the Blue Devils for one of its biggest challenges of the season. Lebo travels to Upper St. Clair to battle its biggest rival at 7 p.m. Jan. 9. The clash as well as the rematch set for Feb. 2 at Mt. Lebanon will go a long way in determining the section champion.

“Make no mistake,” David said. “My focus is on the team. The last thing I want to do is distract from that at any point in time. I think we have the potential to be a really good team.”

Ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, the Blue Devils are riding high after a successful start that included the holiday trip to Florida as well as the win against the Highlanders.

“The Baldwin game was huge because after beating them last year by two and one, they were chomping at the bit to play us. I was anxious to see how things would come out. My job was to get my team ready for that big game and all of our games.”

Against Baldwin, Liam Sheely caught fire, connecting on six 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 30 points. Brody Barber chipped in 17 points for the Blue Devils.

In addition to Sheely, a sophomore, and Barber, a senior, the Blue Devils boast veterans Nate Girod and Riley Farabaugh, both of whom are seniors. Mikey Tetlow, Sam Diebolt, Zach Melanak, Noah Schaerli and Alex Joseph are the juniors on the roster.

Jackson Kraemer, Patrick Smith, Dane Barber, Carter Gould, Joe Malone, Max Hergenroeder, Keller Krowinski, Jake Gyurina, Franco Cortes and Ryan Kokot, all sophomores, along with freshman Michael Davenport, Brady Lowe, Santino Fiumara and Maxton Siegel round out the team.

The Blue Devils started the 2023-24 campaign beating North Allegheny, 83-80, in triple overtime then rolled up wins against Pine-Richland, 54-39, Erie, 71-47, Chartiers Valley, 69-47, Aliquippa, 55-44, and Penn-Trafford, 58-29, before heading to Florida for the holidays.

After opening with victories against Coconut Creek, 88-28, and Bishop Snyder, 69-49, the Blue Devils dropped their first game of the season to Royal Palm Beach, 57-55.

“It was a good trip and it was good to get that undefeated thing off our back,” David said.

The Blue Devils traveled with 11 players and three coaches relaxed in an AirBNB for most of the excursion except for an overnight stay in a hotel.

“It was fun being all together. We watched (game) tape together. Ate together. Went to the beach together and spent a beautiful day there. We got better as a team but we created memories that will last a lifetime. I think when they look back on it years from now they will remember that more than the games they won or lost.”

There was no tournament team but David said each player excelled in their own way.

“Everybody has their moments. We have five to seven guys who help us out. It’s that kind of team we have this year. It’s hard to single anyone out because no one played poorly and they all got better. I could go on saying good things about them all.”