Black Hawks hope to be the team to beat
With four returning starters and a 6-10 center, who is drawing Division I attention, one could easily predict Bethel Park is the team to beat in boys’ basketball this winter.
Not so fast says Black Hawks’ head coach Ben O’Connor. He states that the goal of any WPIAL program should be threefold: One, make the playoffs. Two, win a section title. Three, see how far a team can extend its season. “Those have been our goals every year and this year is no different.”
No different, too, is the magnitude of the competition. Survival precedes any objective. To just make it out of their league, the Black Hawks must battle past geographic rivals such as Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair not to mention Peters Township and Canon-McMillan. And, O’Connor must match wits and outfox opposing coaches such as Dany Holzer, Joe David and Gary Goga, all of whom have guided their teams to WPIAL titles.
“Danny, Joe and Gary as well as Rick Bell have extremely successful track records and the programs have always reloaded and are used to continued success. That will not change this year,” O’Connor predicted.
Lebo returns the tandem of Tyler Roth and Troy Apke. USC returns Jordan Grabowski along with a new transfer, too. CM features Brett Haney while Peters boasts Gabe Pritz. And, Moon returns its entire team.
“The toughest section opponents by far are Peters, USC and Lebo,” O’Connor said. “Lebo and USC getting new transfers mixing in with their already solid returning players make for a very tough game. Peters returns good players with experience plus the section’s best returning player. Canon-Mac will surprise a lot of people. (Haney) is a high profile player that seems to have been at Canon-Mac for 10 years.”
Folks may say that about the Hawks in a few years with upcoming talent such as freshman Levi Metheny as well as sophomore Sam Volpatti and Dan Breit but they hang their hat on potentially five senior starters.
Wyatt Hagerty is the player to watch. The senior is 6-10, 250 pounds. James Madison University just offered him a full scholarship. Among the other schools recruiting him are Northern Illinois and New Hampshire Universities.
“Wyatt has really put in the time to make himself a better basketball player as well as a better athlete. You cannot teach his size,” O’Connor continued, “but his work ethic has put him in a position to be recruited to play at the Division I level.
“Wyatt has worked really hard on his footwork, strength and conditioning in the offseason and it is paying off. His best days are way ahead of him.”
Cody Gilchrist has had some fine playing days already. He is BP’s top returning scorer and pressure player. “He is a battler and someone who can come up big for us when we need him,” O’Connor said. “He’s versatile and he plays well in crunch time.”
While Rohan Young will be BP’s leader on and off the court as he’s basically a coach on the floor says O’Connor, Kenny Gilmore is as versatile as any big man he has coached. At 6-7, he naturally understands how to guard the post but he can also guard the perimeter. “That is a quality that not many kids his size have,” O’Connor said. “He has a good outside shooting touch and he can bang underneath on offense. He also runs the floor like a gazelle.”
While O’Connor appreciates all those things, so too have the smaller colleges. Gilmore is being recruited by Wesminster, Pitt Greensburg and Penn State Behrend.
Joey Mascaro, a standout in football, completes the starting line-up. According to O’Connor, he is a quick, gifted basketball player not to mention competitor. “He complements our other players well. Joey does a lot of simple things well for us.”
Off the bench, Bobby Huntington fills that role. A 6-4 senior he provides leadership. Plus, he has the ability to play all five positions. “He is our unsung hero,” O’Connor said. “He does a lot of the dirty work on the court. He is capable of being a very good player this year.”
Though he missed all of last year due to a knee injury, Josh Krafycznski exhibits scoring capabilities for the Hawks. O’Connor also expects Matt Fowler to contribute once he recovers from a knee injury. He is a 6-3 senior forward.
Additionally, junior guard Jake Murphy is competing for time.
“We are excited to begin a new season in the new gym and to continue to improve,” O’Connor said. “I am excited about seeing our hard work get put into action and see how we develop when it counts.
“We hope to build upon our success in past years,” O’Connor noted of last year’s playoff run and 15-8 season. “In order to achieve our goals, we have to continue to improve every day and buy into the defensive philosophy that has built our success. We have a great group of guys. I’m fortunate to coach them. We are excited to get going.”
The Hawks get it going early as they host their own tipoff tournament. Bethel Park plays at 1:30 Friday, Dec. 7 against Thomas Jefferson. They open section action at Canon-McMillan Dec. 14.