2015-2016 MSA SPORTS BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-NETTERS

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 25, 2016 | 5:14 PM

The MSA Sports All Netters boys team this season is a junior achievement club. All five players on the first team are juniors. That has never happened before. The second team has a sophomore and four seniors.

The All Netters team is made up of the top 10 players in the WPIAL and the squad is picked by the MSA Sports staff.

The 10 players on this year’s team had a winning way about them. Nine of the 10 made it at least to the WPIAL semifinals and the 10^th to the quarterfinals. Three of the players won WPIAL titles and one of those players also won a state championship.

Presenting the 2016 MSA Sports All Netters team:

FIRST TEAM:

AUSTIN BUTLER, LATROBE
6-4 JUNIOR, GUARD

Austin powered Latrobe to one of the best seasons in school history. The Wildcats were 20-1 in the regular season and made it to the WPIAL Class AAAA semifinals. They finished 22-3.

Butler is a good-sized guard who has great shooting range. He led Class AAAA in scoring with a 25.8 scoring average. Butler scored his 1,000^th point in late January. A few Division I colleges have expressed interest in him.

JOSH CREACH, BEAVER FALLS
6-7 JUNIOR, FORWARD

The “Creacher” was a monster to many Beaver Falls opponents. He averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots a game in leading the Tigers to a WPIAL Class AAA championship. He scored 37 points in a PIAA second-round loss to New Castle and showed his versatility in that game, making four 3-pointers.

Creach has been a starter since his freshman year and finished this season with more than 1,200 career points. He has said he really has no interest in going to college, and might like to try playing professionally overseas right after high school.

NELLY CUMMINGS, LINCOLN PARK
5-11 JUNIOR, GUARD

Often times this year, it was “Whoa, Nelly” for Lincoln Park. Cummings had an excellent season, leading Lincoln Park to the WPIAL Class AA championship game and the PIAA semifinals.

Cummings already has 1,521 points and would seemingly have a good chance to reach 2,000 next season. This season, he averaged 23 points. He is an excellent shooter. He made 86 percent of his free throws and also had 64 3-pointers. Cummings has a handful of scholarship offers from mid-major schools, including Robert Morris and Mount St. Mary’s.

ANDREW PETCASH, PINE-RICHLAND
6-3 JUNIOR, GUARD

“Cash” was money many times for Pine-Richland this season, leading the Rams to the first WPIAL basketball title in school history. Petcash averaged 20.3 points a game as the Rams also won a share of the Class AAAA Section 3 title.

Petcash is a guard with good size and also an excellent shooter. He has been a starter since his freshman year and scored his 1,000^th point this season. He has a scholarship offer from Sf. Francis, Pa.

NICK SMITH, NORTH HILLS
6-1 JUNIOR, GUARD

The last name is common. His talent is not. Smith led North Hills to a spot in the WPIAL Class AAAA championship game for the first time in school history. He finished the season with 1,100 points. He is only the third 1,000-point scorer in North Hills history.

Smith is a point guard with a penchant for scoring. He was the second-leading scorer in Class AAAA during the regular season and finishing averaging 23 points. He scored 30 in North Hills’ two PIAA playoff games. He also averaged five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

SECOND TEAM:

ROBBY CARMODY, MARS
6-4 SOPHOMORE, GUARD

One of the most heavily-recruited players in the WPIAL in recent history. Although he is only a sophomore, he already has scholarship offers from Pitt, Duquesne, Penn State, Xavier, Louisville and Purdue, among a few others. Carmody helped Mars to the best season in school history as the Planets made it to the state Class AAA championship game. Carmody, an excellent leaper, averaged 19.5 points a game and shot better than 60 percent from the field.

KARLYN GARNER, WEST MIFFLIN
6-2 SENIOR, GUARD

Not as heralded as some other guards in the WPIAL, but still one of the finest in the district. Excellent slasher to the basket. Finished regular season as the fourth-leading scorer in the WPIAL and averaged 24 points overall for a team that made WPIAL and PIAA playoffs.

MARQUEL HOOKER, NEW CASTLE
5-10 SENIOR, GUARD

Only a few years after his older brother, Malik, starred for New Castle, Marquel made a big impact on the Red Hurricanes, helping the team to a 25-3 record. He blossomed into one of the top players in the WPIAL this season and averaged 21.4 points a game.

CHUCKY HUMPHRIES, ALIQUIPPA
6-6 SENIOR, FORWARD

A versatile forward for a team that became only the 13^th from the WPIAL to win a state title with an undefeated record. Aliquippa finished 30-0 and won WPIAL and PIAA Class AA titles. It was the second consecutive WPIAL title. Humphries averaged 16 points a game and also led the team in rebounds. Will play next season at West Liberty (W.Va.), an NCAA Division II power.

DWIGHT MOORE, MONESSEN
5-10 SENIOR, GUARD

Monessen was one of the few teams in WPIAL history to average 90 points a game for a season, and Moore was the team’s leading scorer. He only averaged eight points a game as a junior last season, but came on and averaged 21.7 this season for a Greyhounds team that averaged 90.3.

Tags: Aliquippa, Latrobe, Lincoln Park, West Mifflin