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CoBL hires Stephen Pianovich as managing editor

08/27/2015, 2:15pm EDT
By CoBL Staff

Stephen Pianovich (right), here interviewing Penn State's D.J. Newbill in 2014, is CoBL's first managing editor. (Photo courtesy PSU Athletics)

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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City of Basketball Love is pleased to announce the hiring of Stephen Pianovich as the site’s new managing editor.

The first-ever full-time employee of the site, Pianovich will play a vital role in all aspects of CoBL, including serving as a lead writer for the website, mentoring the site’s staff of 20-plus writers and helping plan CoBL’s clinics, camps and team events.

“I am incredibly excited to welcome Stephen to the CoBL staff,” CoBL editor-in-chief Josh Verlin said. “He brings so much to the table from a journalism perspective that will allow us explore new avenues as a news organization, and a love of basketball that will make him a perfect fit amongst the CoBL staff and here in Philadelphia."

A 2014 graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in journalism, Pianovich spent his undergrad years in State College covering the Nittany Lions’ football and basketball programs for multiple outlets including the Philadelphia Daily News, the Centre Daily Times and the school’s student paper, the Daily Collegian. He has also worked for MLB.com, the Harrisburg Patriot-News and the Citizens’ Voice in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.

For his coverage of the Penn State child sex abuse scandal and the ensuing fallout, Pianovich won numerous Hearst Journalism and Student Keystone Press Awards, including first place in the Hearst’s “Breaking News” category for his story “NCAA levies sanctions upon Penn State” and first place in the Keystone’s “General News” category for his story “Joe Paterno’s statue removed from Beaver Stadium.”

“Stephen’s resumé speaks for itself, with all he’s accomplished already in his young career,” Verlin said. “I couldn’t think of a more perfect person to help guide our site’s vision over the months and years to come, with his passion for both the sport of basketball and the field of journalism.”

Founded in 2012 by Verlin and former site editor Andy Edwards to cover the area's high school and collegiate basketball scene, CoBL has since grown to a staff of more than 20 writers and photographers that have covered thousands of games, from the Philadelphia Public League to the NCAA Tournament, plus hundreds of offseason events since the site's inception.

Recently, the organization has expanded into hosting high school events, including a series of Performance Clinics and College Exposure Camps as well as team events and more.

Pianovich can be found on Twitter @SPianovich, and can be reached at spianovich@gmail.com. He officially starts with CoBL on Sept. 7.

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