New direction: John hired to coach Geibel Catholic boys basketball team
Jim Downey | Herald-Standard
Geibel Catholic freshman Seth Dolan makes a foul shot as teammate Tommy Kolencik (11) watches on in the first quarter of a Section 2-A game on Jan. 13, 2023, against California at Geibel Catholic. Dolan and Kolencik are expected to return this season for Mark “Mookie” John in his first season as coach.
Laurel Highlands head coach Mark “Mookie” John talks with Taylor Smith (3) during the first half of of a non-section game at Brownsville on Dec. 12, 2017. John was recently hired to coach the Geibel Catholic boys basketball team.
Jonathan Guth
The Geibel Catholic boys basketball program has a rich history, and the newest coach of the Gators fully understands the Gators’ past success.
Mark “Mookie” John recently accepted the Gators’ head coaching position, filling the opening left when Don Porter stepped down after the 2023 season.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” said John, who teaches at St. John the Evangelist Regional Catholic School in Uniontown.
John said he had productive meetings with Dr. Nancy Rottler, the superintendent of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Greensburg, and then Geibel Catholic principal Robert Fetter.
“(The diocese) is very committed to bringing back Geibel as a senior high school and getting the focus on the reputation of the school as it was,” John said of the conversations.
John is a 1997 graduate of Laurel Highlands, but his family is quite familiar with Geibel and its basketball program, though from the opposing bench. His father Mark, long-time basketball coach and athletic director at Laurel Highlands, is a St. John’s High School graduate, He is also the great-nephew of legendary St. John’s and Uniontown boys basketball coach Lash Nesser.
John has an extensive basketball coaching resume as the Penn State Fayette men’s head basketball coach for seven years and stints as an assistant with his father at Laurel Highlands and veteran coach Phil Pergola at California Area High School.
“Phil took me under his wing,” said John, adding, “What a great group of guys to learn from.”
John’s approach as he enters his first year at Geibel Catholic will be the same as the other squads he’s coached.
“We focused on the student-athlete at Penn State Fayette, using the sport as a conduit to take it to the next level. We want accountability from everyone,” explained John. “We had a 100 percent graduation rate at Penn State.”
The Gators basically lost their starting five and a large portion of the offense to graduation. Three players with some playing experience return: senior Tommy Kolencik, junior Mike Miller and sophomore Seth Dolan.
John is ready to hit the ground running with the start of the school year a couple weeks away.
“First thing, we want to get guys who want to coach with me,” said John. “Then, we want to reach out to the kids who want to play and let them know what we expect.”
Some might think John’s goals for his first season are lofty, but he explained those goals are some of the reasons to play the game.
“The goals are to win a section title, WPIAL title and PIAA title,” said John. “It’s our goal to be in the conversation.
“The wins and individual accolades come, but the team’s goals are the most important. Everyone has the same equal part on the team, the coaches, players, managers and scorekeepers.”
John understands the history of the program in the school founded in 1964 as it approaches its 60th anniversary, and his role in that tradition.
“I teach at St. John’s. My son goes there. I’m not going anywhere,” said John. “We want accountability for everyone in the program. We want to teach values.”
John continued, “I want to get a list of alumni who are active or played basketball. Those who still care about the program.
“That’s the bar you want to surpass, the student-athletes they were. It’s that tradition those guys left.”
John can’t wait to get open gyms and informal workouts started.
“It couldn’t be a better fit. I’m humbled,” said John.