WPIAL playoff berth means a lot to Hillel Academy, a tiny Orthodox Jewish school in Squirrel Hill

By: Chris Harlan
Wednesday, February 14, 2024 | 11:33 PM

As the boys basketball coach at Hillel Academy, Yoni Eglash has fielded a number of questions since his team joined the WPIAL two years ago.

Questions like, “What is Hillel Academy?”

“No one knows, unless you talk to the Jewish kids at Allderdice,” Eglash said with a laugh. “They know.”

Hillel Academy is an Orthodox Jewish school in Squirrel Hill founded in 1947, and its boys basketball team will make its debut in the WPIAL playoffs this week. Hillel went 7-9 and tied for fourth in its section, an accomplishment worthy of celebration for a team that was playing youth-league competition only a few years ago, said Eglash, the team’s 24-year-old coach.

“It’s honestly incredible,” he said. “When I took over in the spring of 2022 — mind you, I was 22 — I thought I was coaching a CYO team. I’m just really proud of them.”

No. 12 seed Hillel Academy visits No. 5 Union (12-10) at 7 p.m. Thursday in the first round of the Class A playoffs. The game was initially scheduled for Friday night, but the game was moved to avoid Shabbat, the Jewish day of rest that starts at sunset Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday.

Hillel, whose players wear yarmulkes on the court, had no games on Friday nights or Saturdays in the regular season either.

“Pretty much every team has been super accommodating,” Eglash said. “I want to give credit to Union and the WPIAL, too. It was so smooth. I think our athletic director made two phone calls … and it was changed. There was no problem whatsoever, and it’s been like that the past two years for the majority of games.”

Shabbat is the holiest day of the week in Judaism. Eglash said it’s an observance that Hillel students celebrate earnestly.

“These kids are not on their phones, no electronics,” he said. “They’re walking rain or shine to their synagogues to pray. These kids are very, very religious.”

Hillel has nine players on the roster this season but only six might be available against Union, in part because of conflicts with other school-related activities. But Eglash said the team is eagerly anticipating Thursday’s trip to Lawrence County.

The existence of the team might be credited in part to senior Noam Azagury, who took it upon himself to convince some classmates to join the roster two years ago.

The school has 30 boys in grades 9-11, the grades used by the PIAA to determine enrollment. That makes it the smallest basketball-playing school in the WPIAL.

“Noam was the only kid that showed up for workouts two months straight,” said Eglash, remembering back to when he accepted the job. “He completely cultivated everyone to come. It was a struggle last year for sure, as you can see in our schedule, but kids bought in.”

The team went 0-10 in the section a year ago with four losses by forfeit.

A catalyst for this year’s on-court success is Yonah Itskowitz, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who averages a team-best 19 points. Eglash said as basketball became more of a priority, some of Hillel’s players sought out pickup games with members of Allderdice’s team.

Itskowitz was among those determined to find ways to improve.

“In the Jewish culture, they go to summer camps or visit Israel, so they don’t play basketball in the summer,” Eglash said. “But before they went, 6 a.m. every morning, me and Yonah were working out. He was putting in the work because he wants to do it.”

Yoni Kanal is another team leader and part of a strong senior class. But two of the team’s starters are newcomers to basketball entirely.

“And I’m not talking football players, either,” Eglash said. “These are basically dudes off the street, so I was a little worried. But they’re all smart kids. You can show them a video and tell them once and they can do it.”

Hillel shares a section with five other private schools representing students from a variety of religious and social backgrounds. Eglash said opposing players and coaches have been respectful but curious, which often led to good conversations.

One of his favorite questions: How do the yarmulkes stay on their heads?

“I think the kids love it, for sure,” Eglash said of the conversations. “The teams talk to each other respectfully after the games. They’re happy to be accepted.”

The only scheduling issues they encountered were with Imani Christian, so Hillel took forfeits in both games with the Saints this winter. Hillel wanted to move those games to different dates, but WPIAL administrator Vince Sortino blamed a “communication breakdown” for the impasse.

Eglash graduated from nearby Allderdice but didn’t play varsity basketball for the Dragons. He was coaching a middle school team when he was asked to coach Hillel’s varsity.

He wasn’t sure what to expect in the WPIAL but said this season has surely exceeded all expectations.

“This group is special,” Eglash said. “I get that we’re 7-9 — that’s nothing crazy — but for this school, that is ridiculous.”

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.