I love high-school basketball games and witnessed two exciting games yesterday.  Pittsburgh Westinghouse Boys and Girls Basketball Teams are 2013 city league champions, defeating Pittsburgh Perry (51-42) and Pittsburgh Allderdice (54-42), respectively.  I apologize that I used Pittsburgh three times in the previous sentence.  For some ridiculous, yes, I said ridiculous reason, all City of Pittsburgh schools (sorry, I but I will use it three times in this sentence) are prefaced with Pittsburgh.  Oops, that was four times.  Funny, all of these schools are, indeed, located in Pittsburgh.

I have to give kudos and a shout-out to Westinghouse’s alumni as they truly rally around their alma mater and the school community.

Pittburgh Westinghouse Lady Bulldogs · Pittsburgh Allderdice Lady Dragons · Pittsburgh Perry Commodores · Pittsburgh Westinghouse Bulldogs

This is a shame.

http://youtu.be/TKtQOH7KFQw

Courtesy of YouTube.

FL · Sarasota

I am so proud of them.  Here are more articles about a true turn of events.

Valley’s historic ride was anything but a smooth one

Valley girls swing to Class AAA PIAA title

Controversial ump won’t call PIAA game

Valley\’s Nealer finishes career on high note

Articles are written by Eric Felack and Keith Barnes of the Tribune Review.

Girls High School Softball · PIAA · Valley High School

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about Valley High School’s girls softball team and an error that cost this group the opportunity to compete for the PIAA championship.  Well, I just found out that the girls won the PIAA Class AAA state championship.  Here’s a link from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

Valley Captures PIAA Class AAA Title

Check out the other story about this tremendous group of young ladies and student-athletes:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/sports/s_687813.html

PIAA Class AAA · Valley High School

Check out this play from a middle-school quarterback. 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1327650/Middle-school-quarterback-scores-touchdown-outrageous-trick-play.html

Corpus Christi · Driscoll Middle School · Texas

Brandon Knight is the Gatorade National Male Athlete of the Year who will play for the University of Kentucky.  How does Calipari get the top-rated recruits each year?

Sport: Boys Basketball
Position: Guard
High School: Pine Crest (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Year: Senior

2009-10 Athletic Resume
• Two-time Gatorade National Boys Basketball Player of the Year, joining LeBron James and Greg Oden as the only other two-time winners in the sport
• Member of the 2010 USA Basketball Junior Select National Team
• 2010 McDonald’s All-American (hit game-winning 3-pointer in 107-104 West squad victory)
• 2010 Jordan Brand Classic All-American
• 2010 PARADE Magazine All-America First Team
• USA Today 2010 All-USA First Team
• Ranked No. 1 nationally in Class of 2010 by Rivals and Scout.com
• Ranked No. 3 by ESPNU
• 2010 Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards Class 3A Player of the Year
• 2010 All-Class Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball
• Two-time Miami Herald Athlete of the Year
• 2010 Naismith Award finalist

Career athletic resume/breadth of accomplishment
• Two-time Gatorade Florida Boys Basketball Player of the Year
• Second on the state’s all-time scoring list with 3,515 points
• Led Pine Crest to consecutive state titles in 2008 and 2009
• Part of consecutive AAU national championship teams with Miami Breakdown
• Four state final four appearances
• Holds school records for points in a game (55); career points (3,515); career assists (704); single-season points (968); career 3-pointers (372); single-season 3-pointers (127); single-game assists (16); single-season free throw percentage (82.4)
• Hardest-Working Player Award, 2009 NBA Players Association Elite 100 High School Basketball Camp
• All-Star, 2009 NBA Players Association Elite 100 High School Basketball Camp (as voted by peers)
• Most Outstanding Player, 2007 Pangos All-American Camp
• Pine Crest was 126-23 (.846 winning percentage) in Knight’s tenure
• 2009 All-Class Florida Dairy Farmers Mr. Basketball
• 2009 Florida Dairy Farmers Sports Awards Class 3A Player of the Year
• First-ever four-time Class 3A-2A-1A Player of the Year as named by the Sun-Sentinel
• First-ever four-time Class 3A-2A-1A Player of the Year as named by the Miami Herald
• Four-time district and regional champion
• 2008 Reebok Summer Championship title team

2009-10 academic resume
• 4.0 GPA

Community service/extracurricular activity resume
• Youth group leader at the New Art Covenant Church
• Peer tutor, Pine Crest School
• Formal and informal youth basketball camp and clinic instructor

Brandon Knight · ESPN Rise · Gatorade

Sport: Girls Basketball
Position: Power Forward
High School: Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas)
Year: Senior

 2009-10 Athletic Resume
• 2010 McDonald’s High School All-American Game MVP
• 2010 Naismith Girls High School Basketball Player of the Year
• 2010 Parade Magazine Co-Player of the Year
• 2010 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America Game MVP
• No. 1 national recruit in the Class of 2010, according to ESPNU and Blue Star Basketball
• 2010 Texas Girls Coaches Association 2009-2010 4A-5A Athlete of the Year
• 2009-10 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 5A All-State selection

Other Accomplishments

• 2008 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team Trials Roster
• 2008-09 Class 5A All-State selection as named by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches
• 2008-09 Second Team All-American as named by PARADE Magazine
• 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09 Class 5A All-State selection
• Recorded 21 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist per game in 2008-09
• Playing alongside sister Nneka, the 2010 Pac-10 Player of the Year, Chiney helped Cy-Fair capture the 2008 Class 5A state title
• Helped Bobcats to a state final four appearance in each of her four varsity seasons

2009-10 Academic Resume

• 4.0 GPA
• Graduated No. 3 in her class
• Student Body President

Community Service/Extracurricular Activity Resume

• Superintendent of Student Leadership Committee
• Cofounded the “Step Up 2 A Reason” fundraising event to benefit local underprivileged families
• Vice president of her school’s civil rights club
• Volunteered more than 200 community-service hours on behalf of her church

What are you most looking forward to about Hollywood, the red carpet and the ESPYs?
I look forward to meeting all types of people, the people you see on TV, and sharing moment with other great athletes. I’d love to say, “Hi,” to LeBron. I’d love to say, “Hello,” to Candace Parker. Meeting Kobe would be cool, too.

What’s your best asset as an AOY contender and what would it be like to win?
I feel I’ve worked hard in every aspect of my life. Something like this would be humbling and honoring. My charity work distinguishes me, definitely. We’re all great athletes. It’s very important to me to give back as much as I’ve been given. I would be so excited and honored to win. I’d feel pride in myself and my community. I didn’t become a great player by myself.

The “Wow” Factor
Ogwumike led the Bobcats (36-1) to a No. 7 national ranking and the Class 5A state title last season. She averaged 22.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.1 blocks, though playing just 18 minutes per game. As a senior, Ogwumike shot 66.1-percent from the floor and recorded 11 double-doubles, including 24 points and 25 rebounds in the state semifinals. As an encore, she scored 31 points and 18 rebounds in the title game.

Photo by Reed Saxon/AP

Chiney Ogwumike · ESPN Rise · Gatorade