Nov 30, 2016 3 min read

Practice has started for the 2016-17 basketball season and few things are a given each year on the court.

One, however, is that coach Joe Salvino’s Monessen Greyhounds will make the WPIAL playoffs.

Salvino, who has 605 career wins, has guided Monessen to the playoffs in each of his 32 seasons as head coach, and a 33rd straight appearance seems a mere formality.

Monessen will be favored to win another section title as it is the class of Section 2-A.

With the PIAA expanding boys basketball to six classifications this season, Monessen is one of only 19 teams in the WPIAL playing in Class A. It is the classification with the fewest teams in the WPIAL.

The other 2-A members include Avella, Clairton, Geibel Catholic, Mapletown and West Greene.

A year ago, all of those teams except Clairton were in the same section as Monessen and the Greyhounds went 12-0 in league play, outscored their opponents by an average of 68 points per game and its closest section contest was a 38-point win at West Greene.

The Greyhounds had a 21-5 overall record and lost in the WPIAL semifinals to Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic.

Monessen has dominated its section for most of Salvino’s tenure. Because of this, he has scheduled difficult exhibition games against larger-enrollment teams. The Greyhounds will play in tournaments at Upper St. Clair and Norwin in the season’s first week.

“I schedule the tougher games so that we play teams that will prepare us for the playoffs,” said Salvino, who has led Monessen to five WPIAL titles and a pair of PIAA championships. “It is how we get better.”

For years, Monessen has gone with a five-guard set with interchangeable parts and this year Salvino will count on a pair of three-year starters, seniors Jaden Altomore and Justice Rice. Barring injury, both will surpass 1,000 career points this season.

“They know what is expected of them,” Salvino said. “And they are both talented.”

The other starters will be fellow senior Jaron Youngblood, who started some games last season, sophomore Lyndon Henderson, who got plenty of time as a freshman reserve, and junior Cory Fleming.

“We will play our typical fast pace and take advantage of our athleticism,” Salvino said. “But I am excited to actually have a few big guys to work with this season.”

While Salvino has always utilized his team’s athleticism against most opponents, the five-guard sets have often been out of necessity.

This season, however, Monessen will have a pair of 6-5 players to man the lane when needed.

Junior Jacob Francowic and senior Marc Gibson are the duo, and while neither will start they will give the Greyhounds something they have laced in recent seasons.

“It is nice to have some size,” Salvino said. “We are working with them and they will give us something that we aren’t used to having too much.”

When asked about goals, Salvino was quick to reply.

“To be as competitive as we possibly can,” he said. “We play to win championships and (the players) have to dedicate themselves.”

Monessen opens its season in the Upper St. Clair Tip-Off Tournament against the host Panthers.