Tiny town of Williamsburg carries hoop dreams of Class A powers
By BRADLEY A. HUEBNER Drive around the clean and tidy town of Williamsburg in central Pennsylvania, and you’ll see a plethora of blue lawn signs encouraging the girls basketball team, 28-1 last week and facing another true single-A power, Union High, in the state quarterfinals. The Lady Pirates, District 6 champions, would face the 20-6 […]
PA’s winningest boys basketball coach turned tragedy into purpose Loyalsock’s Insinger lost his only son to spinal meningitis, but he’s been a father-figure to hundreds of Lancer boys for over 45 years and over 1,000 victories
Coach Ron Insinger poses with a basketball. He’s coached 45 years at Loyalsock High. Photo by Ben Kimble. Coach Ron Insinger poses with a basketball. He’s coached 45 years at Loyalsock High. Photo by Ben Kimble. Loyalsock High had four coaches when the school started competing in basketball over half a century ago, before Ron […]
MILLER TIME Reveals Process to Build Pennsylvania Hoops Dynasty
Author David A. Burhenn couldn’t have timed the spring release of his new sports biography Miller Time any better. The 265-page account of western Pennsylvania high school coach John Miller’s coaching career, which nearly stalled after a 1-21 season at Blackhawk before Miller could right the ship and win four state titles, delves as deeply […]
Ex-Chartiers Valley boys coach Tim McConnell switches to girls’ side and has his daughter’s basketball team undefeated in the PIAA 5A state playoffs
Tim McConnell, like many prep boys basketball coaches, swore he’d never cross that Rubicon and switch to coaching girls. Why would the father of Sixers guard TJ McConnell ever leave the Chartiers Valley boys bench? He and TJ had guided the Colts to the 2010 Class 3A state final where they lost a heartbreaker to […]
Len Chappell: From a PA Coal Town to Madison Square Garden
Len Chappell in his Portage uniform and Chuck Taylor sneakers. Photo courtesy of Joanne Chappell. By BRADLEY A. HUEBNER Lenny Chappell and Portage. The names are historically linked, intertwined like Larry Bird and French Lick. A huge star forever bonded to a tiny town. As a Pennsylvania basketball coach and fan, I’d heard of Chappell […]
Professor Blood’s teams used press, passing offense to humble high school, college teams in Dr. ‘Chic’ Hess’s book about a Naismith disciple
By Bradley A. Huebner Growing up in Levittown outside of northeast Philadelphia, Charles “Chic” Hess remembers the sports pages containing stories and footnotes about the famed Wonder Teams from Passaic, N.J. Professor Ernest L. Blood, Passaic’s head coach, had learned the game from its inventor, James Naismith. Blood extended his physical training supervisor duties to […]
