Dec 12, 2025 By Bill Hughes 5 min read

Anytime someone follows a legend in any aspect of life, there are whispers that people don’t want to be the “man who follows the man.”

Instead, they would rather be the “man who follows the man who follows the man.”

But for first-year Belle Vernon boys basketball coach Ricky Tyburski, that couldn’t be any further from the truth when it comes to following Joe Salvino, second all-time in WPIAL history with 745 wins to go along with seven WPIAL championships and two PIAA crowns as well.

“We got to share a lot of great experiences and memorable moments together,” Tyburski said of Salvino. “We have to obviously give credit to where it is due, and he put a lot of time into Monessen and Belle Vernon.

“There is a lot of history and learning from him which adds a little bit of stress.

“His legacy, how can we match up to that? Trying to focus on the new while trying to keep his tendencies and philosophies around with adding a few changes here and there.”

To say that Tyburski has been around Salvino his entire life is an understatement.

In fact, Tyburski was part of, in one way, shape or form, a part of every WPIAL and PIAA title that Salvino led Monessen or Belle Vernon to.

Tyburski has been on Salvino’s staff since 2010, meaning he was a part of three WPIAL championships as an assistant at Monessen (2011, 2012, and 2017) and last year’s Class AAAA championship with Belle Vernon.

Tyburski was the sixth man on the 2001 WPIAL championship team and the starting shooting guard a year later as the team completed a back-to-back run.

He was a ballboy for the heralded 1995 Monessen team that took home Salvino’s first WPIAL crown, and considering Tyburski’s dad was an assistant under Salvino on Monessen’s 1988-89 PIAA state championship teams, it is known that the younger “Tybo” was already honing his skills around those teams.

“He has made such a big impact on me,” Tyburski said of Salvino. “He and the other coaches saw my passion for teaching, coaching and developing others when I played for them, and that is how my coaching career started.”

Tyburski and his first staff will have a challenge as senior Curty Wade is the lone returning starter and player back from the top seven from last season.

“With Curty, number one is leadership,” Tyburski said. “He was flipped into this role this year as a three-year starter.

“He is a defensive specialist, but now you have to put up some points. We aren’t expecting him to get 20 points per game, but would it help? Of course.

“Curty put in time during the offseason. The energy he creates on the court and in practice lifts up the team.

“He brings energy and excitement every day.”

The rest of the lineup is rounding into form.

“We have a lot of kids who have to step up and assume a new and larger role, paralleling with me in my new role,” Tyburski said. “These kids went undefeated last year in JV, but this is a whole different level.”

Senior Dane Daugherty, a 6-foot-6 big, and fellow senior forward Jude Minniti are two players Tyburski mentioned.

“Dane has put in a lot of work on his speed and agility,” he said before chuckling while mentioning the connection to Minniti. “I coached with his dad (Jason) under Coach Salvino at Monessen. Talk about coming full-circle.”

Minniti looks to be in line for the sixth-man role, while a pair of juniors, forward Cam Jenko and guard Luka Ghilani will start.

“Cam is definitely the strongest and most athletic player on the court,” Tyburski said, while adding Jenko is getting a lot of Division I interest for football. “We want to give Luka the tools and resources to do his job and gain confidence.”

Tyburski has also been impressed with a pair of guards in sophomore Elijah Majors and junior Vincenzo Francia.

“Elijah is a basketball player, works year-round, and definitely has the skill as he is playing against guys two and three years older than him,” said Tyburski. “He knows what we expect from him, and he can be a big contributing factor.

“Vincenzo has heart and hustle, dives for the loose balls, and will take the charge. He is very competitive and brings energy.”

Tyburski also pointed out senior Anthony DiCenzo and sophomores AJ Watson and Cam Black.

Belle Vernon is in Section 3-4A with Derry, East Allegheny, Elizabeth Forward, Greensburg Salem, West Mifflin, and Yough.

“Everyone is coming for us as defending section and WPIAL champions,” said Tyburski. “EF still has a good core of their team back and is a quality team.

“Derry is probably next, not to take away from the other teams.”

As far as goals, Tyburski explained his team’s unique situation.

“It is hard to establish with this group, and we don’t want to come out and say this is our section, this is our WPIAL title,” he said. “We aren’t defending the championship. We are trying to do the little things and focus on getting through the competitive exhibition schedule.

“We want the tough exhibition schedule to make a run at the end, and we have to take it one step at a time.

“People are shooting for us every time we walk into a gym. Teams are going to kick it up a notch. We have to be humble. If we grow every day and improve, communicate the small things, it can lead to bigger things down the road.”