Coaches, players reunite on Westmoreland basketball courts

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, January 23, 2018 | 1:39 AM

High school basketball season in Westmoreland County has been about getting reacquainted.

Relationships seem to be sewn tight into the county's fabric, no matter where coaches go.

Veteran coaches have seen the effects, but so have some outsiders.

Another reunion will happen Monday night at Franklin Regional when Courtney Callas, the girls head coach at Franklin Regional, goes against her former coach, Armstrong's Kirk Lorigan.

Lorigan coached Callas at Freeport.

This will be their sixth meeting in opposite coaching boxes. Callas is 4-1 against Lorigan after Armstrong held off Franklin Regional earlier this season 40-36.

It's almost always a defensive struggle when the teams play.

“It's always a good, competitive atmosphere and always a good game,” Callas said.

In 2003-04, Freeport made the WPIAL Class AA championship game with Callas a key guard.

A number of other on-court reunions this season:

• Penn-Trafford coach Jim Rocco went against his former team at Penn Hills.

• New Hempfield girls coach Lindsy Muchnock led the Spartans against her alma mater at Latrobe.

• Franklin Regional first-year boys coach Steve Scorpion coached against a former college teammate, Westinghouse coach Eugene Wilson. The pair played together at Pitt-Johnstown. Scorpion also played with Kiski Area coach Joey Tutchstone at UPJ.

• Greensburg Central Catholic boys coach Jim Nesser returned to coach against Jeannette, where he once led the Jayhawks to WPIAL and PIAA titles.

Jeannette assistant Dan Shipman was Nesser's assistant at Hempfield.

• Penn-Trafford boys assistant Gary Ingelido returned to Woodland Hills, where he was a long-time head coach.

• Latrobe assistant Ryan Yarosik on Friday faces Penn-Trafford, where he used to be a head coach.

• New Derry girls head coach William Johnson went against Mt. Pleasant, his alma mater.

• Jeannette guard A.J. Sharp and Greensburg Salem's Rylan (Bumoskey) Crise switched schools in the offseason, then went against each other in the Greensburg Salem holiday tournament.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.

Tags: Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Greensburg C.C., Greensburg Salem, Hempfield Area, Jeannette