Scholastic Notebook – 12/09/2011

By: Bruce Markey
Friday, December 9, 2011 | 3:14 PM

High school basketball starts in Pennsylvania tonight, and one of the storylines in the WPIAL is transfers.

You can look in every classification in the WPIAL and you will see notable transfers. How good are some of the players? What kind of impact will they have on their new teams? We will start to get some answers to those questions tonight.

Here is a look at some of the notable transfers:

* Mount Lebanon has Kamic Anyang, who transferred from a school in Michigan. He is a 6-5 senior forward who showed plenty of promise and potential in spring and summer leagues. Anyang actually transferred to Mt. Lebanon during his junior year.

* Chartiers Valley has two transfers who might impact their team. One is Deayshawn Martin, a 6-3 forward who came from Langley. He could team with 6-6 junior Spencer Casson to form a formidable inside duo. Martin is very athletic. Chartiers Valley also has Jerrad Tuite, who transferred from Baldwin. Tuite, nephew of Chartiers Valley coach Tim McConnell, scored in double figures in some games last year as a freshman at Baldwin.

* Sto-Rox has Lamontae Harrison, who averaged 16 points a game last year at Oliver.

* Lincoln Park has 6-6 sophomore Ryan Skovranko, who transferred from West Mifflin. Skovranko saw considerable playing time last year as a freshman at West Mifflin. Keystone Oaks’ Ricky Rogers, who averaged 10 points a game last season as a freshman at Keystone Oaks, also transferred to Lincoln Park in the spring, but transferred back to Keystone Oaks.

* Brian Graytok transferred from Latrobe to Greensburg Central Catholic. He is a sophomore who scored in double figures sometimes last year for Latrobe. He has moved in Greensburg Central’s starting lineup at guard.

* Brandon Camic is one to watch for the Serra Eagles. A 6-5 senior forward, Camic averaged 20 points a game two seasons ago at South Allegheny. He transferred to Serra, but the WPIAL and PIAA ruled him ineligible last season, saying he transferred for athletic intent.

* And lastly on the transfer subject, the WPIAL lost a pretty good player when he transferred out of state. North Allegheny’s Anthony Dallier did not come back for his senior season. He transferred to Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts. Dallier reclassified, meaning he is now considered a junior and will have two seasons to play at the prep school.

Mozzetti Steps Down for Health

Eric Mozzetti had turned Shaler girls basketball into a strong program, winning the WPIAL Class AAAA championship a year ago. But just recently, Mozzetti decided to step down at Shaler for health reasons.

Melissa McQuade,a former Shaler player and an assistant under Mozzetti, is the new interim coach. However, Mozzetti is expected to still help as an assistant.

Mozzetti had a 135-86 record in nine seasons at Shaler and that included a 4-18 mark in his first season. He also coached Vincentian for a six years and won three WPIAL titles and one PIAA championship with the Royals. His 15-year record was 274-114.

Basketball Events

John Gimmarco’s Pittsburgh Basketball Club will sponsor four events this season that wil include some of the top WPIAL and City League teams.

The MRIE Holiday Festival is a seven-game boys’ event next Saturday (Dec. 17) at Ambridge. Two of the best games are Beaver Falls vs. Allderdice and Sto-Rox vs. Highlands.

The Pittsburgh High School Classic will be Jan. 22 at Robert Morris’ Sewall Center. It is a six-game boys’ event and one of the top games is Montour vs. Chartiers Valley.

The Girls High School Classic will consist of six games Jan. 28 at Ambridge.

The Jan. 29 Pittsburgh Basketball Club Legends Classic will be played at Ambridge. It is a four-game boys’ event. Notre Dame Prep and Massanutten Academy is an interesting matchup. The best game involving local teams is Shaler vs. Beaver Falls.

Shorter Football Season?

The PIAA Board of Control meetings will be next week in Harrisburg. The big item on the agenda is a vote on shortening football season from 16 weeks to 15. It has already passed two votes and must pass one more by two-thirds majority to go into effect next school year.

Under the plan, the season will finish one week earlier. That means state finals will not be one week from Christmas. Also, districts or teams can choose whether to play the usual two scrimmages, or only one scrimmage and start playing games the next week.

The WPIAL hasn’t decided what it will do. However, the shorter season does affect WPIAL champions. Instead of moving on to the PIAA quarterfinals, the new PIAA plan has the WPIAL champions moving on to the semifinals.

Ward Goes "Positive"

Steelers receiver Hines Ward has formed a group of people that has started a "Positive Athlete" program. The program is designed to help young athletes learn life skills and positive attitudes. Ward’s program will highlight 25 WPIAL athletes who will be known as "Positive High School Athletes of the Year."

Wrestler Paralyzed

A sad high school wrestling story out of North Carolina. Luke Hampton of Alleghany High School (N.C.) was one of the top wrestlers in the state in his classification. But he is paralyzed from the neck down after a match last Saturday. Hampton apparently charged an opponent, trying to go for a pin. But he ended going head-first into a padded wall and injured his neck.

Where Are They Now?

* Former Franklin Regional basketball player Nick Novak, who led the WPIAL in scoring in the 2008-09 season, scored his 1,000th point recently for Pitt-Johnstown. Novak, a junior guard, leads the team in scoring at 19.7 points a game and is shooting 58 percent from the field.

* Pat Grubbs, a graduate of Serra, is Pitt-Johnstown’s second-leading scorer at 17.3 points a game. He also is averaging 9.9 rebounds. Grubbs is sixth on the school’s all-time scoring list at 1,450 points.

* Hampton graduate Bill Luther also is a starter for Pitt-Johnstown, which has a 5-4 record.

* C.J. Hester is doing well as a freshman at West Liberty, an NCAA Division II school. West Liberty is 7-1 and averaging 102.5 points a game. Hester has started four games and is averaging 11.9 points and 5.5 rebounds.