City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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HERSHEY, Pa. -- In Kennedy Catholic’s basketball history, whenever the Eagles have won one state championship, they’ve won another.

The first PIAA title for the small school up in Hermitage, Pa. -- just across the border from Youngstown, Ohio -- came in 1986, and was followed immediately by its second in ‘87. Then came a string of four straight, from 1998-2001.

So when Kennedy Catholic won its seventh state title in 2016, there was only one reasonable option for what could happen: go out and get number eight.

And after a season that saw the Eagles win the District 10 Region I and overall District 10 single-A championships, Rick Mancino’s group capped it off by going back-to-back yet again, downing Girard College 73-56 to capture the 2017 state Class A crown.

“The hardest thing is we don’t want to stop now,” Mancino said, “but we’re not going to worry about next year (for) at least a couple of days.”

As the game wore on, it became clear that it was a case of a team who had been there before against a team that had not.

Even those Eagles players who weren’t around for Kennedy Catholic’s run to the state championship a year ago certainly handled themselves like the GIANT Center was familiar territory.

Senior forward Marcin Wiszomirsky had perhaps his best game in an Eagles uniform with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The Warsaw, Poland native, a 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward who played last season at a school in North Carolina, gave a lot of credit to his teammates for getting him relaxed headed into the biggest game of his young career.

“We were joking around, I think they tried to relax me before the game because I wasn’t used to playing in that huge of a gym and front of all those people in the state championship final,” he said. “At first, I was nervous of course, I don’t know if I can do it, but then I made my first shot, made my second and it all went with the flow.”

He couldn’t stop smiling during his post-game interview.

“I always wanted to have a ring,” he said. “Because in Europe you get only a medal, you never get a ring. I will brag so much with my ring -- everywhere I go, I’m wearing (it).”

“I’m so happy for him, he committed to us and I just think it’s just been awesome for him,” Mancino said. “I think he’s got bigger and better things to go. He’s a great kid, great student, and you cheer for people like him.”

Wiszomirsky worked brilliantly with Kennedy Catholic senior guard Drew Magestro, who had 15 points and six assists, most of which were to his big man.

“He started scoring so we know if you’re hot, get him the ball,” Magestro said, “So that’s what we did.”

There’s a possibility the two could end up playing a few more seasons together: Pitt-Johnstown, where Magestro is committed to play next year, is also pursuing Woszomirsky, as are Allegheny, University of Chicago and several other Division III programs.

“I’m encouraging him a little bit [to come to Pitt-Johnstown],” Magestro said. “it would be great to play with him for four more years. He’s one of my best friends.”

Also finishing in double figures for Kennedy Catholic (25-8) was sophomore Maceo Austin, who had 16 points, and senior forward Mohamed Konate, who had 11 points. Austin, a 6-4 sophomore who was the team’s sixth man a year ago, showed off why he’s become a high-level Division I prospect, adding in nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks in a terrific all-around performance.

Girard College (24-9), which was playing in its first state championship game since winning the Class A title in 2009, was led by Daiquan Copeland, as the junior guard had 26 points on 11-of-23 shooting. Talented 6-8 underclassman Mikeal Jones added 16 points and six rebounds, but foul issues prevented him from being too effective a defender on Wiszomirsky.

The Cavaliers’ biggest downfall was their 20 turnovers, which made it difficult to mount a comeback from a deficit that was double figures by halftime and never afterwards dipped below six.

Trailing by one early, Kennedy Catholic closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 16-9 lead, then continued to expand it over the second quarter until it was 30-20 at the break. With Wiszomirsky hitting his first four shots in the third quarter, Kennedy Catholic pushed the advantage to 46-34 after three quarters and didn’t look back.

Though he’ll still have Austin and sophomore Manis Norman (who made several nice plays in 16 minutes of reserve action) back next year, Mancino will have his work cut out for him with a class of six seniors -- including four starters -- moving on.

If they do make it back, they might very well see Girard College again, as the Cavaliers don't have a single senior on the roster.

“I don’t know what’s next, it’s going to be hard to replace all of those guys,” Mancino said. “But Kennedy, we’ve been fortunate, the cupboard’s definitely not bare...just because you didn’t see a lot of underclassmen on the floor, we definitely are going to be back and competitive next year.”