It's not that Paul Sapotichne thought it was a bad idea or didn't appreciate the sentiment behind it.

Sapotichne has been the coach of the Greensburg Salem boys' basketball team for 22 years, and he recognizes the togetherness of this season's Golden Lions, a team that had no returning starters and only one letterman, yet won the Section 3-AAA title by winning nine of its last 10.

But when senior point guard Anthony Manley informed Sapotichne he wanted to shave everyone's head Friday after practice in a display of team unity going into the WPIAL playoffs, Sapotichne issued a stern warning.

"I told those guys if one blade of hair hits the locker room floor, I will kill them," Sapotichne said, laughing.

"About 15 years ago, we had guys who decided to do this, and I came down and there was hair everywhere.

"So they got a gigantic can and laid towels all around it and they all bent over it."

The new, sleeker, more aerodynamic Lions defeated Blackhawk, 74-61, the next day in the first round of the playoffs and will play West Allegheny -- 65-61 upset winner over Hampton -- in the quarterfinals Friday or Saturday.

"We really are like a family," said Manley, the lone senior in the starting lineup and the unquestioned emotional leader for Greensburg Salem. "We really care about each other. [Shaving the heads] gave us more unity.

"Most of the guys were for it, but a couple of the ones with long, shaggy hair were shaky on it and needed to be talked into it."

One such player was Philip Pisone, a 6-foot sophomore reserve who -- while certainly no one would have mistaken him for Fabio -- had among the longest locks on the team.

Conveniently, Manley, the ringleader in this venture, typically wears his hair in a buzz-cut anyway.

"[Pisone] was the first one to [have his head shaved]," Sapotichne said. "We thought that took guts, because, knowing Anthony, we thought maybe he'd cut Philip's hair and then say, "It's all a joke' with the rest of the guys keeping their hair."

What's not a joke is how much the Lions (15-9) have come together after starting the season 0-4 and 4-7. During the most recent 10-game stretch, the Lions have not permitted more than 56 points in any of their nine wins. Their 51.1 per-game average defensively is tops in Class AAA.

Sophomore guard Paul Matthews leads Greensburg Salem in scoring at almost 16 per game, followed by junior guard Wesley Siko (about 12 points per game), junior forward Matt Snyder (11), senior guard Brendan Marion (9) and Manley (6.5), a defensive stalwart.

"Every time we step onto the court, we know we can win if we play our game," Manley said. "We play great defense. That's been carrying us the whole season.

"It doesn't matter who our opponent is. We know we can beat anyone."

Greensburg Salem is loose and believes it's as good as anyone in Class AAA, its first season in that classification.

The No. 5 seeded Lions are taking a different approach in the postseason than in seasons past, when they were among the schools with the lowest enrollment figures in Class AAAA.

Though a regular playoff participant, Greensburg Salem had not won a section title or qualified for the PIAA playoffs since 1999.

"What would happen was, people would say, 'Look at this over-achieving small school.

" 'They had such a great year,' " Sapotichne said.

"We'd take second or third in the section and then play Penn Hills or New Castle or North Allegheny in the first round and play really hard and lose by 10 or 12.

"I told the kids, now we are in [Class AAA], and a good [Class AAA] team. We don't have to play a perfect game to win. It's a whole new mindset for us, a whole new era.

"I think our program was always competitive. But I think we can be an elite [Class AAA] team. That's our goal."