When the Franklin Regional girls edged past Shaler last week, 45-43, to clinch a WPIAL 5A playoff spot, Panthers coach Bernie Pucka and his daughter, Chloe, did interviews for a local broadcast.
They stood side by side, taking questions after an exciting yet demanding win.
Chloe Pucka, a junior guard, made the game-winning basket in the final seconds. Her dad — ahem, coach — looked on in wonderment. Both had a gleam in their eyes.
“When we were (doing the interview), I got emotional hearing her talk about it,” Bernie Pucka said. “When she was making the shot, I was her coach. It’s different at different times. You’re always watching and coaching.”
Now they will get to enjoy the playoffs together.
Like so many other local coaches and players, the Puckas take a family connection into the postseason. The basketball family tree in Westmoreland County has many branches.
• Chuck Fontana got to coach his daughter, Izzie, last season when he was an assistant and she was a freshman guard at Penn-Trafford.
Both are a year more experienced, and Chuck is now the head coach.
Additionally, the Warriors have twin sisters in the backcourt in seniors Hanna and Olivia Weishaar.
“To be able to experience the postseason with my daughter is a dream come true,” Chuck Fontana said. “It shows that all the hard work and dedication the team has put in has paid off.”
Like Pucka, walking the father-coach line, and knowing when to lean in one way or the other, is pivotal for Chuck Fontana.
“The best part of coaching Izzie is that we are spending quality time together,” Fontana said. “Seeing her compete each and every day is a blessing. The toughest part is that I am harder on her than anyone else on the team. She takes it pretty well for the most part. But we both know that is how it has to be.”
As for the Weishaars, who take their turns on the team’s carousel of shooters, they bring a unique level of competition to the rotation.
“The Weishaar twins are always competing against each other in practice,” coach Fontana said. “Any drills we do, they always pair up with each other. They have somewhat of a sibling rivalry; they both like to win, so no matter what we are doing, they always do it 100%. I think our coaching staff makes it more of a sibling rivalry than they do. We like to joke around with the two of them, and they just laugh at us.
“They lead by example. As we call them, quiet leaders.”
Hanna Weishaar said she and her sister may look alike but operate with differing styles.
“I’ve loved being able to play and compete with my sister for as long as I can remember, but it is especially meaningful to get the opportunity to play in the postseason during our senior year,” Hanna said. “I feel we bring similar energy and hustle to our game, but I think Olivia’s strengths lie in her defense while I’m probably more offensive-minded.
“Being a twin is helpful because we always know where each other are on the court. We use our twin telepathy.”
• There are three sets of siblings, all key players, who are playoff-bound at Norwin.
You have the Graneys, senior Alex and sophomore Aubrey; junior Potter Brozeski and sophomore Lenyn Brozeski; as well as senior Stef Giannikas and freshman Giuliana Giannikas.
Girls head coach Brian Brozeski, meanwhile, is coaching his second daughter in the playoffs again.
Averi Brozeski finished her high school career last year and moved on to Clarion.
She and Lenyn were on the Knights’ WPIAL runner-up team together.
Now, Lenyn is set to make her own impact in the WPIAL tournament. Potter Brozeski is her brother, and Brian’s son, so the coach is watching when he is not pacing the sidelines. Girl-boys doubleheaders do the trick.
“I have been blessed to share multiple playoffs with multiple children,” Brian Brozeski said. “Even though we lost last year, it was memorable having both Averi and Lenyn on the team for the WPIAL championship game. As simple as it sounds, I will remember the boy/girl doubleheaders where I can see both of my children play at the same site on the same day.
“When watching my children play, I see them more so through the eyes of a coach rather than the eyes of a father.”
Alex Graney has as much pride in his sister as he does his own game.
“Seeing my sister in the playoffs means a lot to me,” he said. “I’m one of, if not her biggest fan when she plays. I want to see her succeed and see her become the player I know she can be.
“We are very competitive with everything. I remember in the summer we would always ask each other to play 1-on-1 or do a shooting competition.”
Stef Giannikas also is a proud brother as he watches Giuliana blossom into a varsity standout.
A natural desire to compete also beams from siblings who have been gym rats since they could bounce a ball.
“It means a lot to experience (the playoffs) together,” Stef Giannikas said. “We don’t play 1-on-1, but we compete in a lot of other drills. It has been cool to see her emerge into a good player, but it’s even better to see her emerge into a good person and in life.”
• Austin Butler, the first-year coach at Hempfield, has his brother and right-hand man on his bench in Bryce Butler.
The two former Latrobe standouts who played collegiately enjoy bouncing ideas off one another.
“I listen to the staff,” Austin Butler said. “If they see something, I want them to tell me. I might miss it, but they see it. We have all seen a lot of basketball.”
Bryce Butler made a suggestion for a defensive adjustment last week in the Section 2-6A finale against Norwin, and it led to a turnover.
“That five-second call was all Bryce,” Austin Butler said.
• When Jeannette girls coach Jenna Lusby peers down the bench, she sees players she can put into a game — and the man of her dreams.
Her husband, Arnold Lusby, is her assistant coach. The couple has guided the Jayhawks to the WPIAL playoffs, watching them go from four wins last year to 15 this season.
“It’s awesome, to tell you the truth,” Jenna Lusby said of coaching with her husband. “He’s my best friend, and we both have such a love and a passion for basketball. I always joke with him that I’m his boss — it’s our running joke. We are both very laid back and, if by chance, the game gets crazy and something is said, we know that each of us didn’t mean it and we apologize. We have a great relationship.”
The Lusbys take basketball home with them like other couples do, say, a movie. The fun is in the analysis. Did Jeannette deserve two thumbs up that night?
“We talk about basketball a lot and are always watching it,” Jenna Lusby said. “Either for Jeannette, or NBA or college. We often talk about how we can be better coaches for the girls.
“It’s awesome to make the playoffs together. It’s something we have started talking about since I took the job at Jeannette. I’m just so happy for the girls. It’s what the experience is all about.”
• At Greensburg Central Catholic, one of 10 Westmoreland schools with its boys and girls teams in the WPIAL basketball playoffs, coaches are also watching their daughters play.
Dan Gribble is an assistant for the girls team, for which his daughter, senior Erica Gribble, is the star point guard.
First-year boys coach Tim O’Rourke, meantime, has a daughter on the girls team in sophomore Quinn O’Rouke.
There is also a cousin connection: Senior Abby Dlugos and freshmen Tommy Dlugos play key roles for their teams.
• Jeannette boys coach Adrian Batts’ top assistant is associate head coach Julian Batts.
The duo celebrated a WPIAL title last year and are looking for a repeat this year. The Jayhawks are the No. 1 seed in the 2A bracket.
The elder Batts got to coach his son and now coaches with him.
“Our basketball relationship is one of the greatest things in the world to me,” Adrian Batts said. “Julian is so beyond his years in coaching. His basketball knowledge in practice with preparing our guards for what we do has been key to our success. Our players trust him and lean on him for the little things. We have a very close staff, but our relationship is obviously different and sometimes intense from both sides, but we understand.”
• Burrell has strong family ties in basketball. The Buccaneers programs feature the Wass brothers, Ryan and Adam, while the girls roster has four Courys: freshmen triplets Peyton, Kendall and Chase, and senior Mikayla, who is not related to the other three.
• The Latrobe girls have siblings who coach and play in assistant Bethany Havrilla and senior guard Brianna Havrilla.
The sisters don’t give off a sisters vibe, at least not on game days.
“Brianna looked up to her sister since she was a point guard back in the day for Latrobe,” Wildcats coach Mackenzie Livingston said. “Beth treats Bri like every other player, and Bri understands that and respects her for that. You would never know it’s her sibling by the way she coaches her.”
Latrobe also has a pair of sisters in the lineup in junior Maggie Maiers and freshman Morgan Maiers.