According to the McKeesport Daily News, McKeesport athletic director Charley Kiss said the decision was Smith’s even though he hadn’t technically been hired back for next year yet – coaching contracts at McKeesport are renewed on an annual basis.
"He really wasn’t hired for next year," Kiss told the paper. "But we were in the process of working that out. He would have been welcomed back."
Smith went 190-104-5, won WPIAL titles ain 1994 and 2005 and followed each of those championships up with victories in the PIAA title game. His 2005 squad was 15-0, and the star of his 1994 club was former Penn St. standout and former New York Giants linebacker Brandon Short.
"I know he was getting a little spent with some of the things he had to deal with," Kiss told the Daily News. "He has mentioned some things over the past couple months in trying to move forward in terms of our facilities and the way we operate our business. For the long haul, I don’t think he was willing to hang around and wait."
Kiss told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that hiring a replacement for Smith will be a big responsibility.
"For myself and the school personnel, to find someone to carry on the tradition he started, is a big responsibility," Kiss told the Post-Gazette.
St. Marys’ Hoohuli nails 12 3-pointers, scores 46 points
Kayla Hoohuli might play in a rural town in the middle of Pennsylvania, but if she continues to put up the numbers she has through two-and-a-half years, people will notice.
Hoohuli had another incredible night Friday, singlehandedly leading the Lady Dutch to a 58-48 win over visiting Clearfield by scoring a career-high 46 points while netting 12 three-pointers.
The 46 tallies are the most in a District 9 girls basketball game since at least the start of the 2000-01 season, surpassing the 44 she netted earlier this year. The points and the dozen 3s are also school records at St. Marys, a school where the junior has already set the school career scoring mark with 1,595 career points.
Mt. Lebanon boys get big interstate victory
The Mt. Lebanon boys basketball team recorded a huge interstate victory Saturday night with a 54-46 victory over Lake Clifton from Baltimore at the PrimeTime Shootout at West Virginia University.
The Blue Devils got 16 points from Evan Pierce and 12 from Evan Eaton to offset the 20 scored by Lake Clifton point guard Josh Shelby, who is one of the top-rated players in the nation.
McKeesport’s Brown makes commitment to Connecticut
McKeesport’s standout defensive back Ty-Meer Brown has made a verbal commitment to Big East power Connecticut to play football, according to the Pittsburg Post-Gazette. Brown, who was also a quarterback for the Tigers, will play defense in Storrs.
Diez breaks scoring mark at St. Joseph
Jacqi Diez became the all-time leading girls scorer at St. Joseph in Natrona Heights on Thursday when she scored 23 points in a 44-23 win over the Ellis School. Diez, who added 11 points in a loss at DuBois Central Catholic Saturday, went into Tuesday night’s game against Kittanning with 1,774 career points.
No loss or 1-loss teams hard to come by
The number of no loss or one-loss teams is becoming harder to come by in Western Pennsylvania this season.
On the boys side, only one team – Mt. Lebanon – is still unbeaten (14-0) going into action Tuesday while just 10 teams in the WPIAL, Pittsburgh City League, District 9 and District 10 have just one loss. In girls action, four teams remain unbeaten – Hopewell (16-0), Indiana (14-0), Greensburg Central Catholic (12-0) and Avonworth (15-0) – while nine have just one loss.
This list probably doesn’t include the best girls basketball team in Pennsylvania, Mt. Lebanon, which suffered two losses to teams from California earlier this season. The Blue Devils (15-2) are ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps.com and No. 12 in the MaxPreps.com Xcellent 25. Also appearing in the MaxPreps.com Top 10 Pennsylvania girls rankings from Western Pennsylvania are one-loss Villa Maria Academy at No. 3, Hopewell at No. 6 and one-loss Slippery Rock at No. 10.
In the MaxPreps.com boys Pennsylvania Top 10, Mt. Lebanon is No. 2 with one-loss Chartiers Valley coming in at No. 5 and one-loss Hampton at No. 9.
Pittsburgh Classic set for Sunday at Robert Morris
The Pittsburgh Classic basketball tournament is set for Sunday at Robert Morris, with seven games featuring some of the best boys basketball competition from Western Pennsylvania and beyond.
The games start at 11 a.m. with Washington vs. Lincoln Park and go on at 12:30 p.m. when Canon-McMillan takes on Ambridge followed at 2 p.m. by Bishop O’Connell, Va. against Gateway and at 3:30 p.m. by Beaver Falls and Chartiers Valley. Then at 5 p.m. Upper St. Clair takes on Aliquippa with South Fayette facing Sewickley Academy at 6:30 p.m. and Seneca Valley and Kiski Area in the nightcap at 8 p.m.
