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Thursday, January 25, 2001

-- By Paul Zeise and Mike White, Post-Gazette Sports Writers

Sidney Thomas

SCHOOL: Westinghouse

WHO IS SHE? A 5-foot-10 junior forward on the Bulldogs girls' basketball team.

THIS WEEK: Thomas scored 91 points in the past three games while leading the Bulldogs (13-6, 8-2 City League) to a 2-1 record against East Allegheny, Allderdice and Schenley. She scored a season-high 37 in an 81-58 victory against East Allegheny.

THIS SEASON: Thomas is averaging 21 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists and has scored 25 or more in seven games.

CAREER: A three-year starter, Thomas has helped the Bulldogs reach the City League championship game twice. As a freshman, she averaged eight points, four rebounds and four assists. Last year, she averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

BIG DREAMS: Thomas used to participate in several other activities but decided last year to concentrate on basketball. She wants to play college basketball and is thinking beyond that.

"I don't think you can have success if you don't work hard and set high goals for yourself. When I say that I'd like to some day make it to the WNBA, it is because that's the goal I have set for myself. I know it is a long shot, but why not have a dream and something to aim for. Every girl that's playing basketball right now, deep down, they dream about the same things. The difference with me is, I'm going to go after it."

UNDERAPPRECIATED: Although Thomas has been a three-year starter for one of the best teams in the City, she hasn't gotten a lot of recognition. Part of it was because she played a lesser role on a senior-dominated team last year. This year, however, she's come into her own and wants to prove she belongs in the ranks of the best players.

"First and foremost, I am a team player who wants to do whatever it takes to win games, so I am not obsessed with scoring or stats. But that doesn't mean I am not a competitor and I don't realize that other players like [Schenley's] Carmen Bruce and [Clairton's] Kamela Gissendanner are getting all this attention when they don't do anything more than I am. Every time I read about others who I know I can play with, it motivates me to work harder and prove people wrong."

ONE GOAL: In each of the past two seasons, Westinghouse has lost to Schenley in the City championship. This year, Thomas vows to reverse the outcome.

"Everyone already has Schenley penciled in as champs, and that's fine because they've beaten us," said Thomas. "But they know, just like everyone else, that they'll be seeing us again this year, and that's when all of our critics will have to eat crow."

GOOD WITH NUMBERS: Thomas has a 3.4 grade-point average and excels at math. She said algebra and geometry are her favorite subjects.

TYLER BLUEMLING

SCHOOL: Mt. Lebanon.

WHO IS HE? A 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard who is considered one of the best basketball players in the WPIAL.

LAST WEEK: Bluemling scored 29 points in a 67-57 victory against Montour Friday. Montour was the Post-Gazette's No. 2-ranked WPIAL Class AAAA team.

SEASON: With an average of 21.2 points a game, he is among the top-10 scorers in the WPIAL. He has helped Mt. Lebanon to a 12-6 record overall and a 4-3 mark in Class AAAA Section 5.

CAREER: Bluemling, a starter since his freshman year, is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,516 points.

WHY ME? The Post-Gazette informed Bluemling Tuesday of the athlete of the week selection. Tuesday night, Bluemling was held to nine points, and Mt. Lebanon was crushed by New Castle, 70-43, in a non-section game. The loss broke a five-game winning streak. Bluemling showed modesty in an interview yesterday.

"You can take back that athlete of the week after that game. I would certainly understand," Bluemling said.

A HAIRY SITUATION: As a freshman, sophomore and junior, Bluemling always had his head shaved in basketball season. This year, he has hair.

"That started my freshman year when we had freshman initiation," Bluemling said. "We shaved our heads, and it just became a tradition with me."

But before this season, Mt. Lebanon Coach Hal Kestler made a team rule: There would be no players with shaved heads or facial hair.

"We basically said, 'Let's not do things that draw attention to ourselves as an individual,' " Kestler said. "Let's do things that draw attention to the team."

A NAVY RECRUIT: Bluemling will play college basketball at the Naval Academy. He will attend Navy's prep school in Rhode Island for a year before enrolling at the Academy.

ATHLETIC FAMILY: Bluemling's younger brother, Travis, is a 6-4 sophomore for Mt. Lebanon and has started some games. An older brother, Cory, and an older sister, Katie, were former all-state volleyball players at Mt. Lebanon. The Bluemling's father, Tom, is Mt. Lebanon's highly successful girls' soccer coach.