Inside the Program: Shaler boys' basketball
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Shaler's Geno Thorpe drives to the net against Lincoln Park's Trey Hosack Sunday. Thorpe leads the Titans with 22.8 points per game and is committed to play for Penn State. -
Shaler's Zack Taylor pulls down a rebound against Lincoln Park Sunday.
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Shaler clinched its second consecutive section title Tuesday night with a dramatic 62-60 overtime win against Seneca Valley. Paired with North Allegheny's loss to Butler, the Titans (18-2, 9-1) will win the Class AAAA Section 3 title outright. Coach Paul Holzshu's squad has won 12 in a row, and its only two losses came by a combined 10 points to North Allegheny and Winston Churchill (Potomac, Md.). They have a pair of tune-up games against North Hills and Pine-Richland before kicking off the WPIAL playoffs.
The Titans have made the WPIAL playoffs 18 times in their history, but have never advanced to the title game. They've made it to the semifinals twice, in 1994 and 2001. Holzshu said he has urged his team to focus on one game at a time this season, so that once the playoffs roll around, they'll be ready for a one-and-done scenario. "If there's any slippage, particularly as you go up the bracket, there's no room for error," he said. "If you don't win, you don't advance." Last year, Shaler fell to section rival Butler in the WPIAL quarterfinals.
Shaler's coach has certainly racked up enough coaching and playing experience throughout his career. Holzshu played at Gateway in the 1960s and then at Clemson. He coached at IUP, Slippery Rock, Garrett Community College (Md.), West Liberty College (W.Va.), Penn State New Kensington and Franklin Regional High School, among other stops. His most recent job before coming to Shaler was serving as the athletic director at his alma mater, Gateway. He came to the Titans in 2003, and took over the head coaching reins in the middle of the 2008-2009 season after Howie Ruppert died of a heart attack. "I've been exposed to some wonderful coaches whom I've worked under and with," Holzshu said. "I've been exposed to some wonderful players whom I've coached and coached against. It's a 40-year evolution."
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
