North Allegheny first-year boys basketball coach Rob Niederberger knows all about growing pains.
He oversaw dreadful debut seasons at Shaler and Burrell before making remarkable turnarounds at those programs.
So as North Allegheny wrapped up another last-place season, Niederberger felt no panic with the trajectory at his alma mater.
“We are going to be just fine,” he said. “I know that. And I know what we need to do to continue to get better. There’s no magic wand that you wave in the air and you turn a program around. The way to do it is to grind.
“I know we will be fine. I have no worry about that whatsoever.”
While North Allegheny went 8-14 overall and 3-11 in Section 1-6A, Niederberger had endured even worse debut seasons at his previous two stops. Burrell was 4-18 in his first season, and Shaler went 2-20. Both programs made historic improvements.
“I’m used to it. I’ve been through it,” Niederberger said. “It’s just part of the process. It’s changing the culture and changing the mindset. It’s not something you can do overnight.
“For these guys in their first season, it’s similar to Burrell and Shaler, but we’ve been better than them, for sure. My first year at Shaler, we were getting blasted. We were losing games by 30 and 40 (points), consistently. These guys are in every game. I know they feel it, and that’s a good feeling for them.”
The Tigers are looking for optimism after the program’s fourth consecutive losing season.
They started 4-0 for only the second time since 2015, including a 59-57 overtime win at Norwin in the opener. They bonded during a memorable three-game trip to Orlando in mid-December. They topped section foe Fox Chapel, 49-44, in OT on Dec. 23 and beat rival Seneca Valley, 50-42, on Jan. 20 to snap a six-game losing streak.
“Obviously, we want the record to be a little different,” junior wing Ben Coffman said. “But (Niederberger) has done a great job leading us. He has really helped us become a team and helped us bond. It’s a hard job. It’s really good to see the culture he is putting into the program. I think everyone sees the same thing.”
Senior guard Blake Craft, whom Niederberger called “the heart and soul of our team,” averaged a team-high 11 points after missing last season with a back injury. Fellow senior Justin Stalter led the Tigers in rebounds (5.0 rpg) and assists (4.0 apg).
Junior forward Jahlil Archer came on strong as a first-year starter, averaging roughly 9.0 points and 4.0 rebounds.
“I’m really excited,” said Coffman, who averaged 9.0 points and a team-best 2.0 steals per game. “I think next year we are going to be a great team. We have a lot of juniors stepping up who didn’t really play much last year. They have really been shining recently.”
Niederberger, a 1999 North Allegheny grad hired in August, will have a full offseason to work with the players after this past year’s abbreviated summer. He also will welcome an infusion of talent from a JV team that “only lost a couple of games” and a freshman team that finished the season undefeated.
“There are a lot of positives,” Niederberger said. “There is a lot of enthusiasm in basketball in the program right now. It’s just going to keep getting better and better.”
North Allegheny graduates five seniors — Craft, Stalter, guards Bobby Dopirak and Will Robertson and forward Peter Bratich.
The returning players likely will work on their offense during the offseason. North Allegheny was among the lowest-scoring teams in the WPIAL Class 6A (47.4 ppg thru Feb. 5). The Tigers struggled with 3-point accuracy and free-throw shooting and “missed probably eight layups a game.”
“The way to get better and the way to work on that, honestly, that’s time you put in in an offseason where you really work at your game and work on your shot,” Niederberger said. “There are things there that need to get better. It’s the skill, and it’s the strength. That’s the biggest thing that we need to really work on, and I think a lot of it will come together that way. I think you will see a huge difference.”