Penn Hills boys basketball coach Chris Giles wasn’t happy with a 12-10 overall record last season. While the Indians were 10-2 in section and lost a home game late in the season to Kiski Area that could have brought the Section 2-5A title, Giles wanted to reflect on how to get off to a faster start.
“We went back to the drawing board,” Giles said. “We were 11-11 or whatever our record was and we were the first team out in the playoffs. The coaches and I got together and said what did we do wrong? We were teaching at the beginning of the season instead of trying to help these guys out in the offseason.”
Penn Hills, which lost to Peters Township, 63-30, in the first round of the WPIAL Class 5A playoffs, will return better equipped for success in the postseason.
The Indians return 6-foot-2 senior guard Amon Hawthorne. Hawthorne had a strong summer, being awarded with the Edward A. Wochko Award as the MVP of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Summer League.
“When Amon was a freshman, he was 5-foot-5 or 5-7 and he’s 6-3 now,” Giles said. “He’s grown physically and he’s become more athletic and confident with his body and things like that. I think he’s going to have a good year this year. He’s one of the top players in the WPIAL and he’s earned that.”
Penn Hills also brings back a number of experienced players who cut their teeth playing as underclassmen. Cato Cahill, a 6-1 junior guard; Calix Clark, a 6-2 senior guard/forward; and Jaiden Noel, a 5-7 senior guard; also saw time in the starting lineup last season.
Giles said that the Indians will also get a boost from a lot of the returning players who were on JV last season.
Penn Hills girls look to return to playoffs
Penn Hills girls basketball coach Robert Cash knew his team wasn’t happy with how last season ended. The Indians struggled to score consistently and missed out of the WPIAL Class 5A postseason.
“They were upset about last year,” Cash said. “They were upset about finishing 7-15 and not making the playoffs. They immediately went to work when the season ended and they wanted to become better players.”
The Indians, who scored 35.8 points per game, opened the season with a road game Dec. 4 at Penn-Trafford.
Penn Hills would like to get off to a better start this season. The Indians lost their first five games last season, including three at home.
Penn Hills returns a majority of its roster from last season. The Indians lost 5-foot-11 forward Cara Crawford to graduation, but will return leading scorer Milani Oliver.
Oliver, a 5-5 senior guard, averaged a little over 14 points per game last season.
“She has become a good leader with this group being so young,” Cash said. “They needed some leadership and she stepped up in that role. She wants to be a better player and be more consistent within herself.”
Penn Hills will be looking for many of the younger players to take steps forward. Malaya Middleton, a 5-10 sophomore guard, 5-7 junior forward Saniyah Horsley and 5-2 guard Jayah Golden all were contributors on varsity last season.
Penn Hills has 14 players out for the team this season. Cash said he expects the Indians to show improvement throughout the season as they get more experience.
“We have more quality this year,” Cash said. “It will show itself by their play on the court and how they compete in the game. They should be able to make adjustments to what the other teams do.”
The Indians would like to try and crack the top four of the section and make the playoffs. Penn Hills finished 4-8 in section play last season, three games behind Fox Chapel and Plum.
The Indians will also have to compete with Armstrong, Franklin Regional, Gateway and Shaler in section play.
“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Cash said. “The next opponent is the one that is the most important to us.”