Feb 11, 2026 By Jerin Steele 5 min read

CHARLEROI – At a postgame meal after a loss against Southmoreland last season, Charleroi boys basketball coach Joe Dunn posed an idea to his team.

He approached them about overhauling their style of play and adopting a “run-and-gun” type offense created by former Loyola Marymount coach Paul Westhead.

The Cougars had gone 0-for-24 from outside the arc that night and could stay the course or do something radically different.

They opted to dive into the unknown.

“We chose to play this system,” senior guard Mikey Lee said. “He brought it up and we decided that was what we wanted to do.”

It’s paid off.

Using a style that they call “organized chaos” the Cougars have become one of the highest scoring teams in the WPIAL at 67.3 points per game, which is 16 points better than last year, and are riding momentum entering the playoffs having won five of six games.

The Cougars (13-9) play No. 7 Seton LaSalle (17-5) in the first round of the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs, 6 p.m. Tuesday at Peters Township.

It has been a fun and rewarding journey for a team that features six seniors: Lee, Xavion Thomas, Jackson Keranko, Landen Amos, Brock Henderson and Logan Usher.

The same can be said for the coaching staff, which is a family affair. Dunn’s wife Sue and son Michael are assistant coaches along with former California High School standout Kass Taylor.

“The System”

Dunn was driving home one day last year when he received a phone call from Westhead and he can still remember one of the first things the legendary coach said to him.

“He told me, ‘You know you’re going to get fired if you do this,'” Dunn said with a laugh. “He’d been fired 10 times and he said it’s a very difficult system to run at the high school level.”

Westhead won an NBA title coaching the Los Angeles Lakers in 1980 and was also known for his Loyola Marymount teams in the late 1980s that routinely put up 100 or more points on the scoreboard.

His style of play known as “The System” is designed to shoot as many shots as possible, while constantly pressing the opponent on defense.

It’s a style that Dunn had never used before in his long coaching career, but was intrigued by the idea. He admitted he was nervous about implementing it but believed in his players.

“You have to have the right kids to do it and I thought we had the right bunch of seniors,” Dunn said.

“It was important that they were involved in the decision-making and took ownership of it.”

The goal is to attempt 90 shots a game.

Dunn had discussions with Westhead as well as former Westhead assistant Bruce Woods and a couple high school coaches, who also use Westhead’s system.

The Cougars had a team movie night recently to watch “Hoosiers” when Westhead called Dunn to see how it was going.

Dunn was able to share the news that they’d qualified for the playoffs.

One of Westhead’s former players at Loyola Marymount Bo Kimble called into one of Charleroi’s practices and had a talk with the players.

Burn the boats

Once the style of play was decided, there was no turning back.

The slogan they used was “burn the boats” in reference to the conquistadors burning their ships once they landed ashore in Mexico in the 1500s, so they couldn’t retreat.

“We felt it was our best chance to win and that it suited our team very well,” Keranko said.

With a higher volume of shots their shooting percentage has jumped eight points since the beginning of the season.

“We’re still improving, but it’s levels better from November until now,” Lee said. “We started 4-7 and now we’re 13-9.”

Dunn gave the credit to his players for the improvements. He also credited Charleroi superintendent Dr. Ed Zelich and athletic director Bruno Pappasergi for believing in the vision.

Family of coaches

Dunn’s longtime friend Johnny Lee was his assistant coach last year, but Lee wasn’t able to return.

So, Dunn asked his wife, a former college player at Duquesne and a state champion at North Catholic, if she wanted to be his assistant.

She had coached their daughters in the past.

“I’ve been along for the journey since we’ve been married,” Susan said. “When he asked me I just said “OK, let’s do it.”

Their son, Michael, had recently completed his senior year at Edinboro and always knew he’d become a coach once his playing days were over.

“My vision was to play as long as I could and then start coaching,” Michael said. “I didn’t know I’d get this opportunity this early and I’m very fortunate to have it.”

Ninalee, the Dunns oldest daughter, keeps the scorebook at most games. Daughter Mary is an assistant at Kent State.

Dunn joked that he was never one to tell his assistants what to do, but it’s a little different now that they are family members.

“I always told my assistant things in the past, now I ask,” Dunn said. “We don’t agree on everything and there isn’t any hesitation on pointing out if they disagree and sometimes that’s at the dinner table.”