Apr 27, 2018 5 min read

Since most of us can’t get out to the baseball field, softball field or track to enjoy our favorite spring sport because of the awful weather, I thought a bit of light reading might help you pass the time until the rain decides to stay away for longer than 36 hours.

Having already done a bit of an NFL draft preview and the Pittsburgh Pirates have apparently decided to be the Pittsburgh Pirates so many thought they would be following six losses in their last seven games as of this writing, I thought I would piece together a couple of interesting stories that have caught my attention over the past few days …

n It’s official, Jeff Capel is the greatest coach in Pitt men’s basketball history. At least, that’s what seems to be the sentiment following his first big recruiting win.

Four-star recruit Trey McGowens, a 6-3 combo guard from Chatham, Virginia, has not only said he will be joining the Panthers, but will do so a year early after reclassifying himself as a member of the class of 2018, as opposed to the class of 2019. On the surface, this means that McGowens, who is rated as the No. 19 combo guard and a top-100 overall recruit, not only wants to come to Pitt, but wants to get there ASAP.

Need another reason to like this announcement? McGowens picked Pitt over ACC rivals Clemson and North Carolina State, among others. For a coach whose biggest draw was his ability to recruit amongst and win talent from elite programs, this first signing has to make the fan base feel like Director of Athletics Heather Lyke got it right with her first major hiring.

n Speaking of elite basketball talent, it’s no question that the best ballers in Pennsylvania matriculate at private schools like Philadelphia-based powerhouse Neumann-Goretti, which has won the last five PIAA boys titles it has competed in, as well as the last four girls championships.

How do they do it? Recruiting, of course. Don’t believe me? When was the last time a public school had a senior class that included stars now playing at Villanova and Kentucky? Nuemann-Goretti did just that last year. Even playing against the top private school program in Western Pennsylvania, Lincoln Park, couldn’t slow the Saints, who defeated LP 89-58 in the 2017 finals.

Sure seems like glorified basketball factories, as well as football factories like St. Joseph Prep and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, should be forced to beat on each other, rather than the public schools who view athletics as an extracurricular activity, not a well-defined career path. Well, that dream of many may finally be a reality in the near future.

A survey was recently sent out by the WPIAL to its school administrators to gauge the interest level in such a monumental and historical split. Those results will then be relayed to the PIAA in an effort to force separate postseasons for schools defined as those with defined geographic boundaries (public) and those without them (private). As long as the classification system was fair, I see this as a big win-win for all sides.

Teams like NG, PCC and St. Joe’s could whale away on each other to really test how their hand-picked Division I talent does against others they’ll likely see at the next level. Meanwhile, the playing field would be leveled for public schools that are legally bound to playing athletes who hail from within the borders of their districts.

I haven’t heard about any sort of timeline for a decision from the PIAA, but I believe the proposed changed would have a much bigger impact than the one that moved the state from four to six classifications.

n Finally, one of the hottest baseball teams in the WPIAL is in Greene County and they are looking to carry on one of the finest athletic traditions at a school that is loaded with them.

Carmichaels has won its last seven games since dropping a heart-breaking 3-2 contest to Beth-Center back on April 5. Since then, the Mikes have soared to the top spot in Section 1-2A. Included in that stretch was a bit of sweet revenge over B-C, which came in the form of a 14-3 romp on April 23.

During its growing run of wins, Carmichaels (7-2, 7-1) has started to develop the next wave of Blue and Gold stars, led by the likes of sophomore Dylan Wilson, senior Nick Mundell and sophomore Steven Spehar.

However, there is still plenty of work for the Mikes to do if they want to finally yank the section title out of the hands of California and stave off Chartiers-Houston and Fort Cherry, all of which are currently nipping at their heels. Carmichaels plays each of the Washington County-based teams one more time each over its final six section games.