Allderdice selects former Central Catholic assistant Devin Crummie as boys basketball coach

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, April 10, 2019 | 5:01 PM

Devin Crummie, a longtime assistant boys basketball coach at Central Catholic, is headed to Allderdice.

Crummie, who coached at Central with his father Chuck for 17 years, will take over the successful City League program pending school board approval. He replaces Buddy Valinsky, who resigned in March after winning his sixth consecutive City League title.

“We played Allderdice all the time in different summer leagues and offseason tournaments. I always respected the job Coach Valinsky and his staff did,” Crummie said. “I also watched the way his kids competed. They played the right way. … I thought, if I have an outside chance of being part of that, I have to make an attempt.”

Crummie, an assistant principal at Central Catholic, looked elsewhere for a coaching job when Central’s administration decided in February to replace his father after 39 seasons. He didn’t apply to replace his father.

“I didn’t apply because I’m working on the administrative team here on the academy side,” Crummie said. “I didn’t want any confusion. I wanted to give those guys some distance to do their job on the athletics side.”

Valinsky is among the Central Catholic candidates.

Crummie, who attended Pittsburgh Public Schools through middle school, has strong ties to the city. He’s a resident of Pittsburgh’s Lincoln Place neighborhood, which is close to Allderdice.

“That’s the public school where people from my neighborhood go to school,” Crummie said. “So when I saw that Allderdice had opened I thought, man, that’s something I have to take a look at.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

Tags: Allderdice, Central Catholic