The past week: Mickens scored 21 points against Latrobe and 24 against Highlands to lead Central Catholic to the championship of the Dave Smith Classic at Penn Hills.

Check this out: Mickens, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior, is considered one of the top guards in the WPIAL. He is one of two returning starters from last year's WPIAL Class AAAA championship team and averaged 13 points a year ago. Saint Francis and Air Force are two Division I colleges expressing interest in him. His younger brother, Ben, is a 6-foot-4 freshman on the team.

Do you believe you are personally better than last year? I feel I am, but our team is also. I think I'm better in just the way I think mentally. I think I'm smarter and I got stronger because I worked out a lot over the summer.

Will your brother end up better than you? We play two different positions, but I would probably say yes. He'll be taller than me and if he keeps working, he'll probably go to a better college.

Who is the best athlete in Pittsburgh right now? I don't follow football or baseball that much. So I would say Pitt's Sam Young.

Do you ever wish Central Catholic had girls and wasn't just a boys' school? I think it's a lot easier without the girls. You can concentrate in class more without them.

-- By Mike White

The past week: A 6-foot-1 senior forward for the Bobcats basketball team, she paced her squad to the championship in the Beaver tournament. Vendemia had 32 points and 15 rebounds in a 64-51 win against West Allegheny, going head-up against one of the WPIAL's other top post players, Michelle Walker.

Check this out: Vendemia will play next year for Duquesne, choosing the Dukes over William & Mary, Davidson and Niagara. Last year, she averaged 16.7 ppg and 12.9 rebounds.

Why Duquesne? I just thought it fit me best and it is close enough to home that my family can see me play. Plus, with Suzie McConnell-Serio as coach, Duquesne is going to be a great program.

The drill in practice that you hate? It is 30 seconds of constant dribbling from the foul line to the baseline and you go back and forth.

Who is the best player you have played with or against? [Mt. Lebanon standout and current Duquesne player] Jackie Babe.

Beaver is a Class AA school. Do you ever hear people say that "Carly only puts up big numbers because she's playing at a small school?" No one has said it to me, but people say it behind my back, I am sure. I don't think being in Double-A has much to do with how I play, because I do well when I play in the summer with everyone.

You take 100 free throws in a gym all by yourself, how many do you make? My friends say I'd get bored after 50 and quit, but I think I'd make 72 of them.

-- By Colin Dunlap