North Allegheny boys stick together during trying season

By: Brennan Valladares
Saturday, February 15, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Seniors Carter Melzer and Carson Burns walked out of North Allegheny’s gymnasium for the final time Feb. 8.

Although the last game of their careers ended in a loss — and there were more of those than they wanted this season — both players were proud of their team’s perseverance and commitment to winning throughout the year.

“On paper, there weren’t many accomplishments for the team,” Melzer said. “But what stood out was how we stuck together and persevered through the challenges as a team. Each one of us fought to the end even though we knew the outcome.”

Burns echoed Melzer’s sentiments.

“I feel like our biggest accomplishment was staying together and staying a united team,” he said. “I don’t feel like there was a day anybody woke up and was not coming to practice or throwing fits. It just seemed like every day we woke up and grinded out the season.”

The season was a grind for North Allegheny (7-15, 2-12) as it won only two Section 1-6A games and suffered a third straight losing season.

After starting 4-1, including a double-digit win over No. 3 seed Butler, the Tigers lost nine of their next 10. The team faced a seres of hurdles that turned out to be too much to overcome.

After the 2024 season, the Tigers returned only 102 of their 1,351 points scored. With a huge scoring void and eight departing seniors, coach Dave DeGregorio turned to three rising 12th graders to step up. Among the three, Melzer proved to be the biggest revelation.

As a junior last season, Melzer averaged 3.5 points. He described himself as a “solely defensive player” in the previous two seasons, but he knew he would have to become a threat offensively.

“As the only returning starter, I put a lot of emphasis on working on my all-around athleticism in the offseason,” Melzer said. “The main aspect of my game I worked on was my confidence and belief in myself to be the main guy this year.”

That work on nurturing and cultivating his confidence paid off almost immediately, as he scored double digits in the Tigers’ first three games. His coming out party, though, was in the game against Butler, a team North Allegheny hadn’t beaten on the road in nearly four years. Melzer scored 24 points, then a career high, in guiding the Tigers to the 66-56 win.

“That game for me was one I will remember for a long time,” Melzer said. “It felt special to finally go onto their court and get a win, especially since I have been part of the losses the prior two seasons. It was also my first 20-point game in high school, so it meant a lot to me.”

While Melzer took care of business in the scoring column, Burns — a first-time starter — reflected on his elevation into a leadership position and how proud he was of how he handled it.

“I think, individually, for me, it was just being a leader and being able to lead the guys and be a representative of how we should play and how things should be like,” Burns said. “I felt like I gave it my all and gave all the effort I could.”

Both players controlled what they could, which permeated throughout the roster. The result of a play, a game or a season is often beyond controllable. What is controllable, though, is the attitude one has and the effort one gives.

“Despite all the losses we had, the mindset that we will win when preparing for the next game,” Melzer said. “No one ever blamed each other for the losses, and (we) stayed determined throughout the year. We kept our faith in the coaches, and it just didn’t go our way.”

Burns credited DeGregorio for the team’s ability to stay together, even during a losing season.

“I think Coach D kept saying all year that our biggest power was our team and just staying together,” he said. “It was just everybody was trying to do what was best for the team.”

With four graduating seniors, DeGregorio will again have to find new players to step into new roles. Among the individuals he listed, Justin Stalter could be a key returner who could take a leap. In his second-to-last game of the season, Stalter scored 24 points and made three 3-pointers.

Tags: North Allegheny