City of Basketball Love

Aron Minkoff (@Aron Minkoff)

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Last year’s PIAA Class A champions Constitution seem primed to make another run at things, but there will be swift opposition from Western Pa. from a pair of true contenders.

Kennedy Catholic

Fresh off a season in which Kennedy Catholic finished 24-5 and advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament, before losing to District 10 foe Farrell. Kennedy Catholic appears to be poised to make a deep run again this season.

The Golden Eagles sit perched at 16-2 and have had a strong start to the season, tallying wins against Allderdice (number one in AAAA) and New Castle (number four in AAA).

A lot of the success that they have experienced is in part due to their 6-foot-8 senior forward, Sagaba Konate. Konate is a force in the paint and is committed to play basketball at West Virginia next season.

“Everything is about inches and pounds,” Kennedy Catholic coach Rick Mancino said. “A college coach told me ‘kids go to college to get as a big as Sagaba.’ He is thick. He is not a fat kid by any means, he is just a thick player.”

Mancino alluded to Konate experiencing quite a bit of foul trouble depending on the size of his opponent. At 6-foot-8, there are not a lot of WPIAL players that rival him in size.

“When he [Konate] gets referees that referee kids that are as big as him, he plays well,” Mancino said. “But when you play against teams that use smaller players, referees can take him completely out of his game because he is bigger than them. That is what hurts him. In the bigger game, it is obviously the better officials, so he is able to play better.”

Through 18 games, Konate has averaged 17.8 ppg along with 10.7 rpg. He is aided by fellow senior Jason Austin. A 6-foot-3 guard, Austin chimes in 15.3 ppg, 5.8 apg and 4.2 rpg. He has offers from Division II schools Urbana and Clarion.

In addition, junior guard Drew Magestro has blossomed in his role as a shooting guard this season. He averages 15 ppg, 5.2 apg and 3.3 rpg. He has an offer from Fairmont State with interest from Colgate and St. Francis (Pa.).

“This year with Jason running the point and Sagaba playing well, teams are either sagging off Jason, and we are able to get Drew a lot more open looks and he has been shooting very well this year,” Mancino said.

In addition to the aforementioned big wins over Allderdice and New Castle, the Golden Eagles also beat AA’s third ranked team, Lincoln Park, last Thursday night, Konate recorded 27 points and 27 rebounds, in what was a truly dominating display.

The school has won six state championships before, with the most recent coming in 2001, which capped off four consecutive championships. That was when the school was still known as Kennedy Christian.

Monessen

Perhaps the team best suited to take down Kennedy Catholic is the Monessen Greyhounds.

A team as deep as they come, with four players that average more than 15 ppg, it is the experience of their coach Joe Salvino that helps give the Greyhounds the edge.

“I’ve been doing this for 32 years, and we have won two state championships,” Salvino said. “I know what it takes, but I also know that basketball has changed throughout the years with all the charter and private schools, it is a little different now, that is why it is hard to get to that championship.”

Those two state championship came consecutively for Salvino in 1988 and 1989, and he has tallied up 601 wins, all at Monessen.

Suffice to see, he has seen a lot of basketball, and he knows what it takes to win. He knows what type of players he has on his team and how to work with a lineup that features a more guard-oriented attack.

“We are a fast paced team, try to get the ball moving,” Salvino said. We don’t like to get into a half-court game. Try to get the tempo up. I think if we can improve on our perimeter shooting and still with play with that aggressive defense to create turnovers and transition points.”

The team is led by a third generation Monessen athlete. Sophomore guard Justice Rice is the son of a former Salvino standout Craig Rice and grandson of Tubby Rice who started as basketball player but finished as a football player for the Greyhounds.

The elder Rice was a key player in Salvino’s early years with the program in 1985. Now it is the younger Rice, at 6-foot, who averages 18 ppg, that is taking the helm of the Greyhounds program.

A pair of 6-foot tall seniors have really helped Monessen along the way. Guards Dwight Moore and LaVelle Rush chime in 20 and 16 ppg respectively. All of this while junior Jaden Altomore tallies 18 ppg, in what is really a small but efficient lineup.

“I think in the states you run into a little bit more teams with a little bit more height,” Salvino said. “We are going to have to shoot well and play very good defense...If I can get other teams to play my style of ball then that is a plus for us.”