City of Basketball Love

Aron Minkoff (@AronMinkoff)
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All eyes in AAA are focused on defending state champions Neumann-Goretti, winners of five of the last six state crowns.

Three teams from the West are looking to crash the Saints’ party and steal the crown away from the kings.

New Castle

A storm is brewing in Western Pa. and it is coming in the form of the Hurricanes of New Castle.

Sitting at a perfect 17-0, the Hurricanes are without a doubt the AAA team to beat in the Western region of the state. They are currently ranked fourth in Michael Bullock’s rankings.

This New Castle team has proved that it is not about how tall you are, but how tall you play.

“We are a very typical New Castle team in terms of our size, our efforts, how hard we play,” coach Ralph Blundo said.

The Hurricanes’ tallest player stands at 6-foot, which is not the traditional recipe for success in high school hoops. That has not been a problem for them this season, though.

In a matchup with District 7 foe Beaver Falls, the seventh-ranked team in AAA, the Hurricanes prevailed 75-53, cementing their status as the top-dog in the Western Pa. portion of AAA.

Nonetheless, it can still be difficult to contend with a huge deficit in the size department.

“We play with some really good ball pressure, try to make it a 94-foot game,” Blundo said. “It is really the only recipe for us in terms of keeping the ball out of the hands of guys that can hurt us around the basket.”

One of those guys that can really crank up the pressure is senior guard Marquel Hooker. The 5-foot-11 team leader has averaged 23.6 ppg along with six rpg, seven apg with five spg.

“He is always scoring and just fills up the statsheet,” Blundo said. “He is really good defensively, has good hands, rebounds the basketball. He is a really really good passer, just has had a great season for us and certainly a big reason why we are undefeated.”

Hooker has garnered interest mostly at the Division III level, but Blundo is confident that with more exposure he could play competitively at the Division II tier.

His younger brother, Marcus, a sophomore, has not been too far behind. The 5-foot-11 younger Hooker has a knack for crashing the boards, averaging 15.6 ppg along with 10.2 rpg. He has been lethal from deep, connecting on 46 percent of his 3-point attempts.

New Castle won the AAAA state championship in 2014, before dropping down to the AAA-tier. In their first crack at the AAA bracket in 2015, the Hurricanes fell to Archbishop Carroll in the state quarterfinals.

Beaver Falls

Another District 7 contender, the Beaver Falls Tigers may be the toughest opponent to New Castle outside of the East and currently sit ranked seventh in Bullock’s rankings.

The polar opposite of the undersized New Castle, Beaver Falls is led by a trio of juniors in Josh Creach, Donovan Jeter and Bryce Strati. The 6-foot-6 Jeter is the younger brother of Pitt basketball standout Sheldon Jeter and is a four star football recruit. He has offers from schools such as Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State and Ohio State.

Jeter hit the 1,000 point mark this season and averages 17.7 ppg along with 9.5 rpg. He is flanked by the 6-foot-7 Creach, who chimes in 19.8 ppg along with 12.3 rpg. The third, a 5-foot-11 guard, Strati chimes in 10.3 points of his own and leads the team in 3-pointers made with 39.

The sheer size of Beaver Falls, anchored by Jeter and Creach is enough to pose a threat to New Castle. Although as noted above, New Castle disposed of them by 22 points, the two teams will play each other at least two more times this season.

The Tigers fell in the second round of the PIAA tournament last season to a third District 7 contender, Mars.

Mars

The third and final contender from the west also comes from District 7. The Mars Fightin’ Planets finished last season in the quarterfinals of the PIAA playoffs, a loss to Cathedral Prep. The quarterfinals trip marked the furthest that Mars had made it in the state playoffs in program history.

The Fightin’ Planets are led by steady sophomore Robby Carmody, who also happens to be head coach Rob Carmody’s son.

“As a parent you feel very very proud because I know how hard he is worked,” the elder Carmody said. “As a coach it is exciting because you get a guy that has gone from loving the game of basketball to being addicted to it.”

The 6-foot-4 Carmody has prospered in his two years at the high school level, tallying offers to numerous high-major Division I programs such as Pitt, Cincinnati and Penn State. It is rare that a basketball player in Western Pennsylvania gets enough exposure to garner offers in their sophomore year, much less from some of the region’s premier programs.

The Fightin’ Planets did not graduate any players last season, but that does not necessarily mean that the lineup looks completely the same.

“We have had different guys who have really improved over the course of the season and we have been dealing with some injuries throughout the entire year, so our lineup is a little different than it was last year,” Carmody said. “The majority of that team did all come back though, and the exciting part about that was we had some guys grow and improve and get better.”

An example of one of the guys on Mars who really pulls his weight is 6-foot-5 senior forward John Castello. The big man was as second-team all-state selection last season, and averages 18 ppg and 14 rpg. He has already eclipsed the 1,000 point scoring mark and is nearing the 1,000 rebound mark as well.

Fellow senior, Christian Schmitt, a 5-11 guard, chimes in 12 ppg of his own and will be a preferred walk-on at Furman next year. Last but not least, senior Steve Castello, a 6-foot-3 guard puts out 11 ppg.

A final senior, Alex Gruber, senior guard, has only played in one game, suffering from a stress fracture in the season-opener. He was an all-section selection last season.

Mars has the talent to win and currently is ranked sixth in Michael Bullock’s rankings. It is shaping up to be quite the showdown for the district seven crown between Mars, New Castle and Beaver. Carmody knows what it will take for the Fightin’ Planets to win the school’s first ever district title.

“It is going to take our guys peaking at the right time, playing really really well as a team,” Carmody said. “New Castle presents a challenge of their athleticism, their toughness, their tenacity. Beaver Falls, with Jeter and Creach they are so strong and athletic.

“What I like about our team is we have 9 or 10 guys that all score 5 points in a game. So I really like our depth, and again you are adding in an all-section guy coming off of an injury so, I think it’s gonna be a great great playoff over here in the WPIAL.”