Mt. Pleasant boys basketball coach Allan Bilinsky steps down

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 | 3:08 PM

If he is going to satisfy his basketball fix next season, it looks like Allan Bilinsky will have to do so from the bleachers.

Bilinsky is leaving the Mt. Pleasant boys program after two seasons as coach.

His decision to step down is rooted in family: He has two sons who play on the varsity team at Norwin, his alma mater, where he was a three-sport athlete until he graduated in 1994.

Ty Bilinsky will return as the Knights’ point guard and go-to scorer. He averaged 16.5 points last season.

Adam Bilinsky, meanwhile, saw significant minutes as a freshman.

“My son is going to be a senior,” Bilinsky said. “I don’t want to miss his last year. I missed a lot of his games last year. And I also have a rising sophomore.

“I can always go back into coaching when they are done playing.”

Allan Bilinsky, 44, told his team the news Tuesday via a group message.

Mt. Pleasant was 17-28 under Bilinsky with a WPIAL Class 4A playoff appearance last season. The Vikings showed steady improvement from 2018 to ’20.

The former coach made plenty of memories in such a short stay. He also is an assistant principal at Mt. Pleasant and served as athletic director for about four years.

“There are a lot of (memories),” he said. “The relationships I built were great. Practices were fun. Our kids believed that they were going to win games this year, and we did. Making the playoffs was very exciting, too.”

Bilinsky, who played football at West Liberty, coached for a short time in Warren County, Va., before moving closer to home and eventually catching on with Mt. Pleasant.

He also taught and coached at Penn Hills.

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Mt. Pleasant