Starting 5: A-K Valley basketball teams, players and storylines to watch in 2021-22

By: Michael Love
Thursday, December 9, 2021 | 8:58 PM

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Starting 5s

Girls

5 Teams to Watch

Knoch: With three starters back, including Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star selection Madilyn Boyer and second-team pick Nina Shaw, the Knights hope to make waves again. Knoch went 7-0 in section play last year but was denied a section title because of the unbalanced finish to the section standings. The Knights made a run to the WPIAL semifinals before losing to Beaver Area.

Deer Lakes: There was an offseason coaching change in the program, but optimism abounds with three starters back, including VND second-team all-star Reese Hasley, and several newcomers hoping to make an impact in the rugged Section 1-4A. Deer Lakes went 4-3 in the section last year and finished 6-8 overall.

Highlands: The Golden Rams continued their climb to the upper half of Section 1-4A last year with a young group that posted a 6-6 mark and went 9-13 overall. With a new coach in recent Highlands assistant Jason Kerr, four starters back and several top newcomers, a continued push to the top could be in the offing in Natrona Heights.

Plum: The Mustangs lost the WPIAL’s leading scorer from last year in Kennedie Montue, now a freshman at Division I Oakland, but they boast a youthful, deep and potentially balanced group led by the lone senior, Kai Johnson, and junior Dannika Susko. Plum won its first WPIAL playoff game in 20 years last year, but covid denied the Mustangs the chance to play in the quarterfinals against Chartiers Valley.

St. Joseph: Youth is served as the Spartans enter the season with only one senior and a number of freshmen and sophomores. St. Joseph returns three key starters, including senior guard Trinity Lockwood-Morris and VND all-star in sophomore Julie Spinelli, as it hopes to improve on last year’s 6-13 overall mark and 5-3 record in Section 3-A.

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5 Players to Watch

Madilyn Boyer, Sr., G, Knoch: The Knights’ veteran starter again will be the focal point of opposing defenses in Section 1-4A and beyond. The two-time VND first-team all-star averaged 11.2 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds last season to help Knoch go 10-2 and reach the WPIAL semifinals.

Elsie Smith, Jr., F, Fox Chapel: Smith is eager to take on a central role on and off the court for the Foxes, who hope to make a return trip to the WPIAL playoffs in Class 5A. The lone starter back for the Foxes, Smith, who averaged 8.8 points and 6.7 rebounds last season, is expected to share the starting lineup with a number of sophomores and freshmen.

Melaina DeZort, Jr., G, Freeport: DeZort was the go-to scorer last season for a young Freeport team that went 10-3 overall and 9-1 in Section 1-4A. She averaged 15.5 points and 5.7 rebounds to help the Yellowjackets win 10 games and take No. 6 Mt. Pleasant to the limit and beyond in the WPIAL first round.

Reese Hasley, Sr., G, Deer Lakes: While the Lancers worked through a coaching change in the offseason, one thing remained the same: Hasley was there as a veteran presence to help lead the team into a new era. The four-year starter hopes to increase her impact after earning VND second-team recognition a year ago.

Allison Fisher, Sr., G, Burrell: The Bucs hope to be in the mix in a Section 1-4A filled with talented veteran players and contending teams. Fisher is a veteran presence in her fourth year as a starter. She garnered VND second-team all-star honors last season after averaging 12.4 points and 4.2 rebounds over 20 games.

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5 Storylines to Follow

New leadership: Only two Alle-Kiski Valley teams started last season with new coaches. This season begins with that number tripling to six. Taking over programs are Jill Catanzaro at Riverview, Rich Mull at Plum, Sam Salih at Deer Lakes, Jason Kerr at Highlands, Shaun Reddick at Burrell and Marta Regus at Valley. Catanzaro served six years as an assistant to longtime Raiders coach Keith Stitt, and Mull and Reddick have coaching experience at their respective schools. Kerr had head-coaching tenures at Valley and Redbank Valley, and Salih enjoyed a successful three-year stint at Greensburg Central Catholic.

A new state of mind: What has been tradition is new again as the PIAA has returned to a qualification format that will allow more than the WPIAL champion to advance to states after covid uncertainties forced the state organizing body to make last winter’s restrictive ruling. Knoch, which made the WPIAL Class 4A semifinals, was denied the chance to compete in the state tournament, an opportunity it would’ve had under normal circumstances.

Avoiding the sophomore slump: A number of area standouts broke onto the scene last year as freshmen and made impacts for their teams. Now, the time has come to see what they are able to do as the spotlight shines even brighter on them this year. Those sophomores hoping to make that leap into even greater prominence include St. Joseph guard/forward Julie Spinelli, Highlands’ guards Kalleigh Nerone and Kate Myers, Kiski Area’s Abby Johns, Freeport’s Morgan Croney, Apollo-Ridge’s Sophia Yard and Plum’s Megan Marston.

A new scoring leader: Plum’s Kennedie Montue led the Alle-Kiski Valley and the WPIAL in scoring last year at 23.3 points a game. After four years as a starter, she made the move to college at Oakland. Who will take over as the A-K Valley scoring leader this season? Several players: Naturelle Ewing from Knoch, Melaina DeZort from Freeport, Elsie Smith from Fox Chapel, Allison Fisher from Burrell and Reese Hasley from Deer Lakes all are candidates to light up the scoreboard.

Going streaking: Several teams maintained playoff-appearance streaks last year, regardless of the WPIAL going to an open format for postseason participation. Deer Lakes heads into the season hoping to maintain its A-K Valley lead by qualifying for an eighth consecutive season. Freeport and Plum seek their sixth playoff appearances in a row, and Riverview and Knoch hope to make it for the fifth time in as many seasons. Fox Chapel qualified for the third straight time last year.

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Starting 5s

Boys

5 Teams to Watch

Leechburg: The Blue Devils were a half a minute away from last year’s WPIAL Class A championship game. However, Rochester held on for a three-point victory. It was a sudden end to a strong season. With four starters back — juniors Braylan Lovelace and Ashton Redmond and seniors Eli Rich and Dane Davies — excitement remains high for another run at a WPIAL title. Lovelace was a VND third-team selection last year.

Deer Lakes: The Lancers won 10 of 14 games last year and went 4-3 in a covid-shortened Section 1-4A slate. Deer Lakes has its sights set high under sixth-year coach Terrence Parham. That optimism is fueled, in part, by four returning starters: seniors Armend Karpuzi, Justin Brannagan and Lucas Tiglio and junior Bryce Robson. A guard, Robson earned VND second-team honors last year. Karpuzzi was a third-team pick.

Freeport: A new era has begun for the Yellowjackets under first-year coach Sean Devinney. With many of the players on the football field in the fall, the team came together quickly over the past month. As with Deer Lakes and Leechburg, Freeport is led by a group of four returning starters: seniors Vinnie Clark and Cole Charlton and juniors Parker Lucas and Ben Lane. Six newcomers also are hoping to provide depth and impact.

Kiski Area: The returning players who experienced a tough 5-15 season, including a 2-10 Section 3-5A mark, a year ago are feeling a sense of optimism. That positive outlook increased with the offseason arrival of new coach Corey Smith to his alma mater. All five starters from last season — seniors James Pearson and Brayden Dunmire, junior Lebryn Smith, and sophomores Isaiah Gonzalez and Jason Flemm — are back.

Plum: With four starters moving on from last year’s team, which went 1-1 in the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, it would be easy to assume the Mustangs are behind the 8-ball this season. But senior forward Cam Moss is confident the mix of newcomers and others looking to increase roles can give the Mustangs the ability to surprise some people in and out of Section 4.

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5 Players to Watch

Eli Yofan, Sr., G, Fox Chapel: The reigning Valley News Dispatch Player of the Year is one a lot of opposing teams will be watching closely. Yofan helped lead the Foxes to a 20-3 record last season with 22.4 points a game while adding 7.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks. The multi-sport standout — golf and volleyball also are in his portfolio — is hoping for another season full of team accolades.

Jimmy Kunst, Jr., G, Highlands: The veteran presence will be a key component of a Golden Rams squad hoping to make a lengthy postseason run after going one-and-done last year. The third-year starter earned VND first-team all-star honors last year and averaged 17.3 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Eli Rich, Sr., F, Leechburg: A big body inside for the Blue Devils, Rich hopes to help a team looking to make some noise with four returning starters. The versatile multi-year starter, also a potent receiving threat for the Leechburg football team, averaged 10 rebounds and added 14.6 points in his team’s run to the WPIAL Class A semifinals. Rich was selected to the VND first team last year.

Ryan Lang, Sr., G, Knoch: Another high-scoring team leader in the A-K Valley, Lang will be a focal point in the gameplan for every team he faces this season. Knights coach Alan Bauman called Lang the best-kept secret in the WPIAL last year. But after averaging 22.5 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, he is, no doubt, not a secret any more.

Brandon Coury, Sr., G, Burrell: The Bucs won just a single game two years ago. Last season, they were victorious nine times and went 5-6 in Section 1-4A. Coury was at the center of the improvement, providing more than 22 points a game. He is back for more and is looking to meld his abilities with a nucleus that includes three other returning starters.

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5 Storylines to Follow

New coaches ready to roll: Six coaches are ready to make their debuts with their new teams over the next couple of days. Corey Dotchin takes the helm at Highlands after nine years as an assistant under Tyler Stoczynski. Sean Devinney is the new man at Freeport after five years as an assistant at Fox Chapel. Phil McGivney comes to Riverview after most recently serving as the coach at Keystone Oaks. Former Leechburg coach Corey Smith returns to his alma mater at Kiski Area. Springdale’s Kobi Phillippi was an assistant the past four years at West Allegheny, and John Stone, the new coach at Valley, played and coached at Central Catholic.

State of the art: The state tournaments are expected to return to normal this year, and the WPIAL is expected to return to the follow-the-leader format to determine the state qualifiers from each classification. The top four teams in sections with seven or more teams, and the top five from sections with eight-plus teams will make the WPIAL playoffs.

Playoff streaks on the line: Consistency is what every high school basketball team strives for. To that point in the A-K Valley, Highlands enters the season as owner of the longest streak of consecutive playoff appearances at seven. The streak includes its magical run to the WPIAL Class 4A championship in 2020. Leechburg, behind a nucleus of four returning starters, hopes to make it seven in a row this season. Deer Lakes and Fox Chapel will attempt to build on five-year qualification runs, and Springdale is gunning for its fifth trip to WPIALs in as many seasons.

Tournaments return: The covid pandemic drastically changed the normal December landscape for high school basketball. A state-wide shutdown from Dec. 11 to early January last year wiped out several section and nonsection games as well as the traditional tip-off tournament and holiday classics between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Those tournaments are back in full force. Several A-K Valley teams kick off their seasons this weekend in tournaments all across the region.

One for the thumb: Highlands hopes to keep a streak alive this year as it goes for its fifth straight section championship. The Golden Rams are a combined 36-4 in section games the past four years. The team made an uncharacteristic first-round playoff exit last year after winning the WPIAL title in 2020 and making the WPIAL semifinals in ’18 and ’19. Three returning starters and a bevy of newcomers hope to add another season to the Golden Rams’ section-title banner.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.