Nate Perry

Hempfield

The past week: Perry scored 18 points as Hempfield upset Latrobe, 54-52, Friday. A day later, he scored 33 in a 67-57 victory against Franklin Regional.

Check this out: Perry, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior guard, finished the regular season as the WPIAL's third-leading scorer (24 ppg). He has been a starter since his freshman year and surpassed 1,000 points a few weeks ago. A few Division I schools are interested and Coastal Carolina has offered a scholarship.

Your team enters the playoffs on an eight-game winning streak. Where does this team stand in the playoff field? We just beat the Post-Gazette's No. 1 team [Latrobe] last week. We've beaten some other good teams. We're playing real good defense. We feel if we play good defense, we can play with anyone.

Let's say you can go to any college in the country on a scholarship. Where would you go? I'd probably say Penn State.

Really? Penn State? Yeah. I just love the campus there. I love the Big Ten Conference and I like the way their team plays.

Your coach, Bill Swan, is an emotional coach. Can you relate a memorable story about him?I remember one time when I was a freshman, we were playing Penn-Trafford and we weren't playing too well. In the locker room at halftime, he couldn't find his coaches board. He forgot that he had kicked it on the way to the locker room.

In your opinion, how many high school kids chew tobacco products? I'd say probably 50 percent. I don't, but it's pretty big with some kids.

-- By Mike White

Megan DePrimio

Greensburg C.C.

The past week: A 5-foot-9 senior forward, DePrimio scored her 1,000th career point in Greensburg Central Catholic's 72-32 win against Wilkinsburg. She notched a double-double, scoring 21 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Check this out: She has averaged a double-double this year, (18.4 points, 10.1 rebounds).

Why can this Greensburg Central Catholic team make a run to a WPIAL title? I would say because we have the heart and a motivational coach, if you will, to get us far in the playoffs this year when maybe we didn't before.

Who is the best player you have ever guarded? I would say [current Duquesne and former Westmont Hilltop High School player] Kelly Britcher. She could do everything. She could dribble, she could jump, she could score and she could do everything for them.

What do you think President Obama should do to fix the economy? I would at least try to start with hearing what everyone has to say. He should get the educated people together who have theories about the economy and then execute and take action based on what they suggest.

What did you do when Santonio Holmes caught the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl? I was screaming, jumping up and down. I was supposed to go to a party, but I was sick, so I was just at home.

When will the Pirates have their next winning season? When I am 50 years old.

-- By Colin Dunlap