After playoff season, North Hills boys again looking for players to step into new roles

By: Josh Rowntree
Saturday, November 15, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Having to find players to fill big shoes has become a yearly requirement for the North Hills boys basketball program and coach Buzz Gabos. This year is no exception.

Last season, the Indians stumbled early, but managed to find themselves in key moments down the stretch to reach the playoffs. The final record didn’t look great at 7-16, but a 6-8 section mark and trip to the postseason were silver linings in a year that featured a number of close, heartbreaking losses.

“Last year, we were really having a tough time guarding people in the half-court in man-to-man,” said Gabos, who enters his 20th season as head coach at North Hills. “We changed up our defense and ended up playing a ton of zone and, really, it saved us probably. We ended up winning some games we had to win at the right time.”

To get back to the postseason — and win more frequently than last year — the Indians will have to replace three senior starters from last season, including guard Zach Pollaro, who averaged 21.3 points per game and is now playing key minutes as a freshman at Franciscan.

“I think we’ll have a little bit more balance this year,” Gabos said. “We’ll have more guys that will score. We have some guys that we feel and have shown an ability in the offseason to get us double figures.”

While Gabos feels the team will have more depth in 2025-26, he knows that for his team to get back to the top of the WPIAL basketball scene, they’ll need junior Nathan Schanbacher to guide them most nights.

“He realizes that teams are really going to key on him now,” Gabos said of the crafty guard who scored 18 points per game last year. “He’s not going to be the second scorer anymore. He’s the one guy that teams are really going to go after. He’s going to have to stay patient. We saw some of this in the fall where teams were doing different things to him even in the fall league games.

“But he’s really worked. He really loves the game and takes a ton of time on his own and does a lot of things individually to make himself better. He has a unique skill set in that he can score from all three levels. He’s going to have to this year.”

Schanbacher won’t be alone, however. Junior guard Jackson Long scored around 10 points per game last year and will play a larger role as the team’s primary ball handler and a key scoring threat.

“He’s going to be going from the secondary ball handler to our primary guy in the point guard role,” Gabos said. “There’s a fine line with us. We need you to bring the ball up, but also need you to score. He scored 10 per game last year. I think we’ll see a big jump in scoring from him.”

Over the past couple of seasons, Gabos has had to quickly develop players — occasionally unexpectedly — to fill roles previously occupied by skilled players. Before last season, one of the region’s more promising young players in Eric James Jr. transferred out of the program. A year before that, all-WPIAL talent Royce Parham transferred. He now is a sophomore at Marquette and playing significant minutes.

Gabos’ hope is that his more inexperienced players develop not just an overall game to help fill the void left by Pollaro, but also the ability to deliver in close moments and in tight games. The Indians lost eight contests last season by single digits, including three overtime games, before their 71-54 loss to Butler in the Class 6A first round.

Their section will be sure to provide a stiff challenge and perhaps more close games. A perpetually strong group of teams appears to be even stronger in many cases.

“New Castle just kind of reloaded with two all-section guys back,” Gabos said. “They’re adding a freshman (Marino Graham) who is really good. Woodland Hills was the hottest team in our section late in the year. Butler has two all-section guys back. Seneca Valley has four of their top five guys back. Pine-Richland was a team that was on the outside looking in last year, but are getting a big kid back who didn’t play and they’ve got a new coach, as well.

“North Allegheny, with Rob (Niederberger) stepping in there… that’s just a different team than what they had a year ago. Kids kind of play harder for a new coach sometimes. And I haven’t even mentioned Fox Chapel. Zach (Skrinjar) always seems to be in the quarterfinals or semis. It’s going to be a grind.”

Gabos feels like his team will be ready, but still has work to do to prepare for the rigorous schedule they’ll face come December.

“I thought the fall went pretty well,” he added. “We saw a lot of improvement as we went along and played quite a few games. It was encouraging. We have guys who are really going to have to step up. Hopefully, they do.”

Tags: North Hills