Mar 29, 2013 6 min read

Of the approximately 500 boys and girls basketball players who donned a uniform this winter, you’d be hard-pressed to find two more opposite – off the court, anyway – than Washington senior Josh Wise and McGuffey sophomore Sammie Weiss.

Wise, a three-sport athlete, is outgoing, has no problem handling postgame interviews, is comfortable in pretty much any situation and would get my award for Area’s Best Quote – among coaches or athletes.

Weiss hates talking about herself. All season, she has joked about only wanting to answer one question: that of her favorite color … green. She’s shy, reserved and would probably choose a dental appointment over a lengthy interview.

But while Wise and Weiss may be different people, they’re extremely similar when it comes to hoops. Both can spot up and shoot, though they’re at their best when driving to the basket and creating offense. Both have come through in the clutch. Both carried their teams to the playoffs.

And both, as you may have guessed by now, have been named Observer-Reporter Players of the Year for boys and girls basketball.

“I felt like I had a very good senior year,” said Wise, who averaged 21.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 2.0 assists per game. “No complaints, no regrets. I played hard every game.”

Having taken over for former O-R sports writer Mike Kovak in July 2012, one of my long-term goals has been to change the way All-District honors are presented.

To, essentially, showcase student-athletes by creating a project alongside fellow O-R staffers including photographer Katie Roupe, webmaster Robert Loar and copy/online editor Bess Dunlevy. All three played pivotal roles in presenting this project to you, one that should not only be visually appealing but also interactive, helping you to get to know these 10 athletes a little bit more.

Online you will find photos that Roupe captured at Washington High School’s gymnasium earlier last month. They feature a dark gym with portrait-style lighting, with the players lined up across the stadium-style seats, the court and hoop in the background.

Loar designed the interactive web page that you will hopefully click through. Be sure to click and poke and prod and e-mail Robert if you discover any problems. (Kidding, sort of …)

And Dunlevy published, organized and promoted this project to make sure you know it’s there.

Proud as I am of the collective effort inside our office, none of it would have meant much if not for the accomplishments of those we’re recognizing. And that starts with Wise and Weiss.

Wise began what would become a season for the ages by knocking down a three-pointer from the right wing with eight-tenths of a second left to down Canon-McMillan, 46-43, in the championship game of the EQT Energy Classic.

It continued with Wise eclipsing 1,000 career points and handing the commemorative basketball to his father, Mark – also a standout hooper at Wash High – before the Prexies’ next game.

“That game really sparked a fire in me,” Wise said of the EQT final, the third game of the season. “I hit adversity that game – it wasn’t a very good shooting game for me – but I hit that shot, and I think it showed people that I could make big shots, I could make big plays, and I could help this team do great things.

“From that point on I told myself, ‘Don’t let anybody stop you.’ “

Few did.

And perhaps even fewer stopped Weiss, who led the area – boys or girls – in scoring at 26.7 points per game.

Despite being only a sophomore, Weiss went over 1,000 points for her career and finished with 1,059. She also averaged 7.3 rebounds, three assists and 5.7 steals per game while leading McGuffey to its first section title since 1990 and the PIAA playoffs for the first time in program history.

“I didn’t think we would do as well as we did,” Weiss said. “I mean, I had an expectation, but I didn’t think it would be as good as it was.”

Beyond those two, California’s Tanner Huffman finished his career with 1,351 points while helping the Trojans win the Section 5-AA title.

Evan Bonnaure emerged as an elite scorer for South Fayette and averaged 16.4 points per game, making an area-best 67 three-pointers.

Gabe Pritz, banged up most of the season, still contributed at a high level, averaging 19.2 points and eight rebounds per game. He finished his career with 1,013 points and 16 double-doubles.

Canon-McMillan’s Brett Haney was eighth in Class AAAA scoring at 16.9 points per game and helped the Big Macs navigate a topsy-turvy Section 4-AAAA.

On the girls side, Courtnee McMasters put up 22.1 points per game, finished her career with 1,002 points and helped California weather long stretches without No. 2 scorer Tristen Conaway.

Morgan Berardi closed her 88-game career at Carmichaels with 1,260 points and 573 assists, ranking second and first in program history in those categories, respectively.

Olivia Lorusso displayed a polished, inside game not seen out of many high school players. She averaged 14.2 points and 11.8 rebounds while proving she’s not just an outstanding softball player.

Monessen’s Mariah Ward bumped her career numbers to 1,476 career points while averaging 18.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

All told, this was a memorable season for area hoops – odd, too, considering seven players eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau – and one that hopefully is accurately represented in our presentation of this All-District Basketball Team.

– Jason Mackey can be reached at jmackey@observer-reporter.com