Patience paying off for Upper St. Clair’s O’Grady
Tanner O’Grady’s patience is finally paying off for the Upper St. Clair boys basketball team.
A senior, in his first year in the starting lineup, he leads the Panthers in scoring with a 15.5-point average. He dishes up 4.5 assists per game, too.
“Every since sophomore year, I believed I could play at the highest varsity level,” said O’Grady, who has been a member of the varsity team since entering high school. “I have been super hungry. It got a little frustrating because I have always been ready to show what I could do but I always knew my time would come.”
O’Grady has played on some of the school’s most accomplished teams.
In 2020, the Panthers placed second in the section with an 8-2 record before falling to eventual WPIAL champion Butler in the district semifinals as well as the second round of the state playoffs.
In 2021, USC captured its first WPIAL title in 15 years with a lineup that featured five seniors, three of whom have gone on to play football at Cornell, Yale and Case-Western. The Panthers posted a 21-2 record and reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
“It was crazy being part of (last year’s) championship group. Even practicing against them was great. I have always been on such good teams,” O’Grady said. “We were always winning.
“Coach (Dan Holzer) has built such a great program,” O’Grady continued. “It’s a next-team-up mentality. New players come in and people are always like ‘wow, they are really good’ but everybody wants to leave their legacy.”
O’Grady and his 2022 teammates are well on their well to fame. The Panthers are currently tied for first place and in a position to defend their section title. They are 10-4 after a 54-53 loss to Fox Chapel and a 64-51 win against Obama Academy.
In the loss to the Foxes, who are one of the top Class 6A teams, O’Grady fired in 19 points. He pumped in 14 points against Obama while Porter Rauch and Mike Pellicci provided 16 and 10, respectively.
O’Grady’s efforts came on the heels of his game-winning bucket during USC’s come-from-behind 48-46 victory over rival Mt. Lebanon. O’Grady topped out with 17 points, 13 coming in a pivotal third quarter.
It was the second time this season, O’Grady provided the decisive points for the Panthers. His buzzer beater enabled USC to defeat Pine-Richland, 68-67.
“I guess the ball just finds me,” O’Grady said. “When it does, it’s time to go to work.”
Holzer agreed. He said O’Grady lives for moments like those against Lebo.
“Tanner is so driven to be a team leader and to keep our program going after winning a championship last year,” Holzer said. “He wants to continue our tradition and he has worked very hard to keep things going.”
O’Grady spends most of his waking hours thinking, practicing and playing basketball. He said 95% of his day is devoted to the sport.
Since eighth grade, he has worked out at the recreation center. During the summer months, he spends five hours a day doing solitary drills. Occasionally, he plays with other people.
“I like to practice by myself because I know what I need to get better at,” he said.
“It can’t get boring because you are always getting better.”
O’Grady said his strengths are his shooting and confidence. He hopes to improve his defense.
USC averages 61.6 points per game thanks to O’Grady. They allow only 48.9 points per game.
“Last year’s team was better than us defensively. We are a better shooting team though,” O’Grady said. “That was a great group of players, obviously, because they won it all. But that team has given us a lot of motivation. We have a lot to prove.”
O’Grady has demonstrated he can play with the best of them. He scored a career-high 30 points during a 54-45 win against Peters Township.
“That was definitely one of the best varsity games I ever played but Lebo was my best moment in basketball because it came against our biggest rival,” he said. “To be honest, it was pretty cool walking into school the next day. Everybody was saying ‘great shot, T.O.’ and congratulating me.”
O’Grady now plans to lead USC to a section title, which should set the Panthers up with a good seed in the WPIAL tournament.
“We want to win the section and the WPIAL,” he said. “By leading my team every day in practice, building good habits, getting our defense where it needs to be and shooting well will help us accomplish those goals. Once we are in the playoff, then anything can happen.
“We are such good friends, especially the seniors,” O’Grady continued. “We definitely want to leave our legacy on the program. When we look back in years, we can say ‘yeah look at that banner, that was us.'”
Age: 18
Birthday: Aug. 13
Parents: Donna and Jack
Siblings: Molly, 30, Garrett, 25
School: Upper St. Clair
Sports: Basketball, volleyball
Activities: NHS, Pickelball Club
College choices: Penn State-Behrend, St. Vincent, Chatham and other DIII schools.
Major: Business or education
Food: Chicken and fries
Restaurant: Chick-fil-A
Color: Blue
Music: Rap….Dre
Book: Ready Player One..
Movie: Space Jam
Favorite athlete: Steph Curry
Dream Destination: Los Angeles.
People might be surprised to know this about you: I’m pretty boring. I love all sports, especially basketball, and at night I might play video games.
Person you would like to have dinner with: Steph Curry
Lesson sports has taught you: You have to be hard-working. Sometimes you will be at the top and sometimes you will be at the bottom but you can be consistent by being hard-working.
In 15 years, I will be: A basketball coach
Tanner O’Grady has had a memorable basketball career at Upper St. Clair High School. He’s even played through a pandemic.
After Upper St. Clair captured a WPIAL championship last year, he and several of his teammates came down with the disease. They missed the PIAA playoffs where the Panthers reached the state semifinals for the first time in program history.
“It was a bad couple of days. Nothing terrible,” O’Grady explained. “It was pretty hard just watching (instead of playing.)”
As the illness continues to rage, O’Grady and his teammates continue to take precaution so as they can continue their march towards the playoffs.
At the start of the week, the Panthers shared the section lead with rivals Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park and Baldwin. They sported a 10-4 recorded heading into their battle against the Highlanders on Jan. 28.
The Panthers maintain physical distances during practices sessions and don masks.
“Coach (Holzer) makes sure we are separated in practice and we wear those basic, blue masks in the locker room.
“This (disease) has scared all of us a bit,” continued O’Grady. “If one or some of us get this, then we are not going to be able to play. We want to play basketball and have the opportunity to defend our title.”