City of Basketball Love

Aron Minkoff (@AronMinkoff)

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Defending AA champions Conwell-Egan have some company atop the AA rankings, and it comes in the form of two main contenders from the West.

Aliquippa

In the last 46 games that the Aliquippa Quips have played, they have won 45 of them.

The one loss game in the form of a 62-51 loss in the state championship to Conwell-Egan.

The Quips are 16-0 this season, and went 29-0 last season before that loss in the state championship.

“We have a good veteran group, a majority of my guys have gone through this before,” Aliquippa coach Nick Lackovich said. “They went through this last year, they know the pressures of going undefeated through the regular season and going into the playoffs, they have dealt with that pressure before, from that standpoint that is huge, having been through all that before.”

Don’t think for a second though that Lackovich is following Conwell-Egan in hopes of a rematch in the state title game.

“I keep telling them that Conwell Egan has to get there before we have to worry about it,” Lackovich said. “And we need to get there ourselves before we can worry about it. But I do know from playing Conwell-Egan last year in the state championship that our guys would love to have another shot at them.”

Aliquippa is paced by seniors Jassir Jordan and Chucky Humphries. The two each average around 15 ppg, while the 5-foot-11 Jordan plays guard and the 6-foot-5 Humphries plays the wing.

A third senior, 5-foot-10 guard Sheldon Jeter Jr. chimes in 10 ppg of his own. A fourth Quip, senior 6-foot-2 forward, Kaezon Pugh, also factors into the mix.

Pugh is committed to play football at Pitt next season, while Jordan has offers from West Virginia and and UTEP to play football next season.

While starting the season perfect in the record book in any sport at the high school level is an impressive feat, it does not necessarily mean that everything is perfect.

“There are some things that I am not so happy about,” Lackovich reflected on his team’s start. “It has been a little slower of a transition with some of these football games, but all-in-all how could you not be happy with a 14-0 start. I guess what I am trying to say is I thought that we would be a little further along right now than we are.”

The Quips only have a handful of games remaining before beginning the WPIAL playoffs and from there the state playoffs, where they will look to settle unfinished business.

Lincoln Park

Just two years off of winning the Class A state championship, Lincoln Park is in its second year at the AA classification.

In last year’s PIAA playoffs, the team lost in the first round to West Middlesex, to finish the season at 24-4.

“We are rebounding from kind of an off year for Lincoln Park standards,” Lincoln Park coach Mike Bariski said. “So we are focused on this year’s team in going on a little bit deeper of a run into the state playoffs, and actually hoping to get to the PIAA State championship.”

Lincoln Park has actually played in three of the last five state championship games, winning one in 2014, and losing in 2011 and 2012, all at the Class A level.

“Our goals are section, WPIAL, state championship every year,” Bariski said. “And sometimes those aren’t legitimate goals, and sometimes they are. This year we think that they are.”

Lincoln Park is led by sure-fire Division I prospect Nelly Cummings. A 6-foot tall sophomore, Cummings has already picked up offers from schools such as Cornell, Bowling Green and a few more mid-majors. He has picked up interest from Pitt, West Virginia and Indiana to name a few of the high-majors that have traveled to see him play.

Cummings averages 24 ppg and really paces the offense. He also posses the ability to play off of the ball, sharing point guard duties with senior guard Nick Aloi. Aloi chimes in 18 ppg of his own to really give Lincoln Park a two-headed monster tandem in the backcourt.

Coming off of the bench in support for Lincoln Park, 6-foot-2 freshman guard Anthony Johnson, records a steady 15 ppg, helping Lincoln Park not only this year but giving Bariski a glimpse of just how good the future could be.

“We are kind-of a young team,” Bariski said. “We are not quite where we want to be yet, we have not put 32 minutes together yet, but we are close.”

Lincoln Park suffered its third loss of the season on the road at Kennedy Catholic 107-85 on Thursday night.