Rhett Gordon #20

What's up everyone, hope finals are going well for all you guys. We've had a couple of tough losses in conference and it was good to see some more competitive nature at practice today and getting after each. We just have to keep competing and keep getting better and we will be just fine. That's all I have for now so just finish up the semester strong!

The old man,

Rhett

Brian Heinle 5

We have started this season off to what I feel is a great start atc 3-3.  No were not 6-0 but I feel even the games we lost showed how much potential we have.  We nearly finished off a huge comeback against Grove City after being down atleast 15.  The first half in the loss to Bethany was a great half of basketball and proved we can play with anyone and if a few more shots fall for us in the Medaille game  we walk away with a huge W.  What I am saying is that we have tight unselfish team and have the makings for an awesome season!! 

Dylan Reigel

Hey, how's everybody doing? We've got another week of basketball with two very important games. We're currently 1-1 in our conference and we have a tough test at home on Wednesday vs. Laroche. If we make them play our style and execute effectively, we'll come out with a win. On Saturday this week we have to head to Buffalo to play against Hilbert, which will be another tough test. We just have to stick together and stay to our gameplan. If we do this we'll be able to beat anyone and will do just that.

Later boys,

Dylan Reigel

T.J. Olesky

What's up everyone? The beginning of the season has been an exciting one to say the least. So many close games that we all continue to learn and grow from. Everyone is working hard on their game in practice to correct our mistakes to make us a better team and we are having a lot of fun in the process. It feels good to get started on the right foot for conference play and I know I speak for everyone when I say we can't wait for our first home game.

Take it sleezy, and I'm out,

T.J. #33

Brett Hart

From the beginning of the year to now we have improved as a team a lot. No matter who is on the floor, everyone finds ways to be productive and we fight hard. The key will be to keep improving throught the season and play the best games we can at the end of the year. We need to pick up conference wins especially on the road early. I know we'll get the job done. Keep working hard guys.

Games, Games, Games.......and Turkey

Last week was a big week for our team as we opened up with 3 games in 5 days.  Our first game was against PSU-Fayette. Personally I enjoyed going there as it was the site of my career high in college, but little did I know that there was something even bigger and better there…..Pizza King large pizzas!!  And they are the biggest pizzas I’ve even seen in my life!

Those pictures hopefully show some perspective on how big they were. I swear Brett could fit into one of those boxes.  The good thing is we enjoyed those HUGE pizzas after a 92-83 win.

Our second game was against Geneva in their Coaches vs Cancer Tip-Off Tournament. Excellent cause to be part of and it is near where I live, so it was good to be “home”. Geneva had won their previous 7 home openers and they went up 15 early. It looked like they were on their way to 8 in a row, but our guys pulled together, came back, and closed them out in the end. It was a really good win for our inexperienced team. Heck, every road win is good for our team! It was also cool for Mike as he played in front of a lot of his friends from Blackhawk HS and Geneva College, and now has bragging rights for the year. This will probably be an annual trip for us so hopefully he continues to win bragging rights! Haha

Now we had a chance to go 3-0. But to do so we would have to overcome a LOT of adversity. Big D was hurt the night before and didn’t play. We were playing on short rest against a team that plays 18 guys. Then during the game we shot 30% from the floor including 2-20 from 3. Mind you we came into the game shooting 50% from 3. So anything that could go wrong was and we were down 14 with 16 minutes to go. But once again this group found a way to put themselves in a position to win. We ended up losing by 1 point even with all that against us. I was actually more proud of our guys in the loss than the 2 wins. They are really forming a strong identity…a team that will stick together no matter what, never panic, and keep fighting to the end. Now that is a team I will go to war with anytime!!

Speaking of our team, they are something I’ve very thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday. Every practice before Thanksgiving we circle up and let everyone know what we are thankful for. It was a good time to let them know I am truly thankful for being able to coach the team that we have. They are a good group that is going to do great things here at Pitt-Greensburg!

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoys some family, friends, fun, and food!!

Coach Strickland

Ty Phillips #21

There are so many qualities that define a team, but two qualities of this team stick out toughness and togetherness. We all have each others back no matter what. We face every situation together never is it one man alone. I think that's a big difference from last years team. I feel like these guys are my family and I'll never leave a family member out to dry, and I know all the guys on the team feel the same. Toughness is a quality of warriors and after our first three games that's what I feel we are, we were down double digits to start each game but never gave up never quit! and now we're sitting pretty at (2-1)!!!!!(3-0) is prettier but I'll take this start. We have a great team and the sky is the limit!!!!!!!

Anthony Papini #51

Before the start of every season people always wonder what knid of team your gonna have. After our first week of action I feel we started to give ourselves an identity. We're a team that isn't going to lay over no matter what adversity comes our way. We're a team that's going to hit you back harder than you hit us. We're a team that is going to pick each other up, and a team that is going to win and lose together. I say this because that is exactly how this past week went, win or lose we battled, stuck together, and played for one another. We have alot of room for improvement, I believe we are headed towards great things with the work ethic and determination we have shown thus far. I'm excited to get the conference season under way and show the AMCC that we're ready to make a run at the title. LFG

Stay Blessed

Rhett Gordon

What’s up fellas? Everyone obviously knows me, I’m the oldest guy on the team. I’m just sitting here in the Fitness Center thinking of the last week we had with the 2-1 start to the season (should be 3-0 but I missed that dunk, my bad!) We are starting to play well together and everyone is understanding each other’s roles and the chemistry with us is just beginning. I know Thanksgiving is coming up and everyone is ready to get home for the turkey dinner but we have to finish this week strong because next week the wins and losses are for real. If we keep practicing how we’ve been and working as hard as we do, then big things will come our way.

Yours Truly,

Rhett

Caleb Handlon

Whats up everyone, just checking in again to keep you all updated on our season. We are now enjoying a day off after our first regular season game last night at Penn-State Fayette. We got the win with a score of 92-83 which puts us at 1-0 for the season. I think it was a good game for us overall, but there are still things that we needs to improve in order to become the team that we know we can be. We have some big games coming up this weekend and our last full practice tomorrow. The thing that everyone has been preaching about the team is how close everyone is and I think that really showed throughout the entire game last night. Hopefully we can extend the win streak and come back to our home opener in December still undefeated.

Until next time,

#52

What's going on everyone? The preseason is basically in the books! Hard to believe that we have three games next week. We have been working really hard to get to where we want to be. Our main focus is to continue to get better everyday. Our team chemistry is getting better everyday on and off the court. This team is like a big family and I can't wait to go to battle with my teammates for the next 3 months. We open up with Penn State Fayette on Tuesday and travel to Geneva Friday for their tournament. We will continue to work hard and maintain our focus of winning a championship! Staying focused!

Brock Witkowski #4

Hey guys checking in on a little that we have done so far this season. I think that the team chemistry is definitely getting there. I feel like our first two scrimmages helped us find out our strengths and weeknesses. All of the guys are getting more comfortable with the games and learning how to play with certain people. I feel like we only have one thing left to do and thats stay consistent with getting better. I feel like if we are able to do that then everything will fall in place, in respects to winning games. Remember this is only the begining of the season and we have a chance to do great things this season. Lets get after it fellas!!!!

DP-23

What's up everyone, hope all is well. The team has been working hard at practice and is getting better every day. We have a big scrimmage this weekend against Baldwin Wallace. It'll be our last test before the season starts so we need to play well to build our confidence going into the season. We appreciate all the support we've gotten and as the season approaches, we're looking forward to having a fun, successful year. Stay tuned for more Bobcat updates. Stay blessed, and remember, you can accomplish anything if you put your faith in God.

-Mike Pearson

Hey Guys,

So far we have made it through conditioning as a team and we have gotten through our mental toughness day. We have stuck together as a team and family through the tough times of our first scrimmage and in the first half we played fast and out of control, but in the second half we came together and played "our" game. With the season fast approaching we have worked hard together to be come a young but strong team. with the preparation in the preseason I really think we can make a run for the championship. Stay strong and keep working together and we'll get it done fellas

Scott #12

brian heinle

Hey guys,

Who's pumped for this season? I know I am, after that preseason I feel like as a whole we are physically prepared to make a run. We just need to keep working hard and pushing each other to each of our potentials. The first week or two of practices have been great, of course we have a ton to work on but I truly feel we have a championship team. The chemistry is developing everyday and it is gonna be intersting to see how we paly together in our first scrimmage wednesday. Hope everyone is ready to go, cant wait to get rollin.

Brian

Blue-Gold Day

Ok, the first thing I have to do is apologize because we had a great Blue-Gold Day yesterday and I DIDN'T take any photos or videos......what was I thinking....obviously nothing at all?!?!

So you won't see the incredible dunk by our big guy David Palmer when he had a former player throw the ball off our track on top, let it bounce down to the floor, then thunder it home for a perfect score of 40!  Although he actually got a 42 since Coach Washburn gave him 12 out of 10!

And you won't see the 3-point competition come down to the last shot between Brian Heinle and Anthony Papini, with Brian winning by a point.

And you won't see the overtime scrimmage between Blue and Gold that brought out the best in both teams.  Heck, they even made everyone wait to eat dinner so they could break the tie in overtime!

And you won't see the dinner we had afterwards with family and friends showing up to meet the team and get to know each other.  Plus you won't see the 4 Strickland kids running around like crazy trying to be part of all the festivties.

But even though you won't see any of this, you gotta believe me when I tell you it happened!! I couldn't make that stuff up!! haha

I promise I will be better in the future and you will see more photos and videos.....from all of us!  Just chalk it up to a coach still figuring out all this blogging and tweating business. haha

First scrimmage Wednesday.....our guys are pumped and so am I!  I will report more after we get our first taste of real competition!

Coach Strick

Dylan Reigel

Hey boys, hows everyone doing? We just had our blue and gold scrimmage yesterday and we have improved a lot as a team. We are playing better together and are starting to get some of the plays down. There are a lot of things that we need to get better at as a whole and that'll come with time. We just have to keep working as hard as we can and we'll accomplish our goal of amcc champs. Excited for our first scrimmage this wednesday and to get games underway!

Dylan Reigel

Ty Phillips

Hey everyone, I'm a little late on the blog, but better late than never. We're finally done with a successful pre season. I feel like all the guys have came a long way both on and off the court. I don't think we could have a better group of guys, we all work hard and push each other everyday. I really feel like we're gonna do big things this season and shock a lot of people.

No Days Off

Ty Phillips #21

T.J. Olesky

What's up everyone? Hope all of you are half as excited as I am for NCAA basketball to be starting. One of the main reasons I'm so excited is because of the way our team has worked up to this point. We have such a hard working group of guys and I think our work ethic is going to be reflected in the way we come out of the gate. Tomorrow is the first practice and I can't wait to get on the floor and get started.

P.S. I could use some new shoes...

P.S.S. WHERE ARE MY SHOES COACH?!

#33

Mike Pearson

What's up everyone, I know I'm a little late on this blog but you'll get sick of all my posts before the end of the season. We've been working hard during conditioning and with the start of the season only a little over a week away, we're all a little anxious to start practicing. We're looking forward to having a successful year, and we're all willing to put the time and effort needed. Stay tuned for more updates on your bobcat squad. Remember, nothing comes easy; stay focused and stay hungry.


Mike Pearson

Brett Hart

Hey everyone, practices will be here before we know it and so will the first game. We've made it far as a team already with our chemistry and hard work ethic. Let's continue that throughout the year so we can be playing our best ball for playoffs. I know it'll be a great and successful season.
Brett Hart

Caleb Handlon

Whats up everyone, just checking in again to let you know where we're at right now. This is the last week of conditioning and will be the most demanding so far, but overall there is a noticeable difference in how our team is looking. One of the biggest strengths we have is how close everyone is, and I feel like that in itself will take our team a long way. On top of our chemistry, we have a lot of hard workers and leader that will push the team to get nothing but better every day. I know myself and all of my teammates around me are excited to get practices and games underway. As for now I will be checking in shortly to keep you all updated.

Stay classy Greensburg,

The real big fella

Anthony Papini #51

Your either working hard or hardly working. Up to this point we, as a team, have been working hard. We have been pushing ourselves during every workout: they consist of agility, conditioning, and weight training. Of course it sucks during the workout; however, I believe with hard work comes great reward. I can't wait for practice to start in a couple weeks. The team seems to have to a great chemistry this year and should have a blast playing together throughout the season. The combination of hard work and great chemistry I believe will lead to a great season for us. Stay easy, stay blessed. #doe

Brock Witkowski

What's up everyone? It's hard to believe that we start official practice two weeks from today. School has been flying by so far. I feel like we just got back to campus from summer and we have 5 weeks in already. We've been working really hard this fall. Our workouts have been intense and are preparing us for the season. The workouts consist of agility's, conditioning, and lifting. Everyone has been working hard and I know it will pay off in the later months of the season. We had our annual golf outing yesterday at Greensburg Country Club. It was a great, fun day and a very large fundraiser for UPG athletics. It's great to see how much support we have from the community. I really want to bring a championship back to Greensburg and we will continue to work hard. Extremely excited to get this season underway, you'll hear from me soon!

Brock Witkowski #4

Scott Melick

Hey fellas,


My name is Scott Melick. I know im extremely late but I live in the Pittsburgh and i have a beautiful girlfriend (Amanda Cetra) . I went to Central Catholic, tho I didnt play basketball there after my freshman year. I got a job at Longue Vue(a country club in Penn Hills) 5 years ago and during the summer i work nonstop. I chose upg because im getting the same education as main campus just a smalller envirnment. I also had quite a few family member go here and I wanted to get away from home.





As for the hoop team, we have a lot of potenial this season. With all the new talent comming in and the with the returners, we'll have a great shot a becomming champions as Coach Strickland has tought us to become. He know what he is talking about and I know this because i have many successful relitives who coach and play hoops ,who have tought me the same things growing up.



Scott Melick #32

David Palmer

Whats up. My name is David Palmer an im extemely late on doing this but its better late then never. So a little about myself, im going to be a junior here at upg. I have first chose to attend upg because of the nice quiet campus in addition to the pitt degree. Im from pittsburgh in which I attended Westinghouse High. I was recruited by the former coach my senior year bringing me to upg. This summer I pretty much worked a lot but found time to work out and better at my game in addition to competing in a few summer leagues.

On the basketball side of things, I am a post player in which I dominate the paint (caleb v.). My first two years I only had little success reaching the playoffs one of those years. However I did make first team all conference with the help of my teammates and my coach, especially caleb who is a tough player on the rise. But after last season I feel that our team is on a rise to championship status, given the great core group of guys returning and the new talent joining the team. I feel like we definitely have a shot at doing something unheard of at upg. I know that we have a great coach that knows how to use the talent we have an get us to be at the top of not only this conference but also help us to climb up the d3 ladder of competition. I cant wait to get started with everyone an I'll see you guys in a few days.

Big Fella..

Caleb Handlon

Whats up, this is Caleb and this blog is about two months late but its all good. I guess i'll start out by telling you a little bit about myself. I just turned 20 in june and will be a sophmore this coming year. I spent my summer pretty much working and fishing, but also put in the time to work on my game while competing in a summer league. I am constantly reminded by Brock Witkowski via his facebook and twitter that its always time to go and get better. As far as academics, I graduated from Central Cambria High School in 2010' with high honors and have done my best to carry over the same mentality through the first year of college. One thing I have learned through my first two semesters is that no matter how bad your life may seem at the time, it always seems to work out later on. I'm not trying to preach to you and no matter what I write on here, im sure I will get made fun of for something.

Now to the basketball side of things. Last year was a big learning period for myself as well as everyone that was on, or around the team. The transition from the high school level to the college level was quickly taught to me by E, when he elbowed me the very first practice of the season putting me in a waiting room preparing for stitches. Believe it or not there were some good times too. By far my favorite part of the year was how we became kind of like a family, and even though things didnt always go our way we usually found some positives to take away from every circumstance we were in. Win or lose I don't think anyone would have traded the overall experience for anything. I wouldn't come back if I didn't think I would become a better player and person for doing so. As for the team I can't wait until we call ourselves the AMCC champs and shock the world.

Stay Classy,

#52

My name is Nick Bolias and I am looking forward to kicking this thing off. I am from Monessen, home of the Monessen Greyhounds, which is about 40 minutes from campus. I played 3 sports and had a pretty good year getting a section title in football, soccer and basketball. In basketball Monessen is a Class A school but we play up in class and won the WPIAL Class AA Championship. Our head coach, Joe Salvino, got his 500th victory during my senior year.

I chose Pitt-Greensburg because I was looking for a good education at a smaller school. I am not sure what direction I want to go with a major and Pitt has a lot of options. I really liked the campus during my visit and look forward to meeting everyone.

Nick-

brian heinle

Waddup guys? Ill start off by saying how pumped I am to become a part of the Pitt Greensburg family. I'm not gonna lie, the decision was not easy. I thought I was never going to decide, until I made my overnight visit. I instantly loved the campus and felt I could really fit in with the team. Although I wish it was only basketball, there was the academic side of the decision. I will graduate with a Pitt degree, which is highly regarded anywhere in the country. This was a very important part of my decision. I could not go wrong choosing a Pitt degree.

A little about myself, my name is Brian Heinle and I will be a freshmen this year. I am from Brackenridge, Pa which is about 50 minutes north-west from campus. I graduated from Saint Joseph High School where I had pretty successful 4 years both on and off the court. We lost 9 seniors my sophomore year and it showed. We took our fair share of blowouts and finished with a record below 500. We used that rough year as motivation to get better and work hard as a team. By the time my senior year came around, my team and I had improved a ton and became one of the best teams in Single A. We won our section for the first time in my 4 years at Saint Joes and made it to the second round of playoffs, losing to Lincoln Park. So I know what it takes to improve, both individually and more importantly as a team. I would not have picked UPG if I didn't truly believe we had a chance to be Championship caliber team.

During the recruitment process, I met a lot of different coaches from a lot of different schools, and I have to say that Coach Strickland impressed me. He was very genuine in his recruitment of me and I truly believe that he can and will put UPG basketball on the map. I am really excited to play for him. See everyone soon!

Brett Hart

Hey everyone, summer is about over and I'm getting more and more excited to start my college career at UPG. A little about me, I'm from a small school called Shade, in northeastern Somerset County. I had a very successful high school career. My head coach started a successful basketball program about 3 years before I joined varsity, in 9th grade. The program turned around from about 4 win seasons at the start, to 4 loss seasons my whole four years on varsity. On the team we won two conference championships, a district championship, and a run to the sweet sixteen in state playoffs. Not bad for a school that graduates fourty kids a year. I'm ready to bring my hard work and love of the game to Pitt Greensburg for a successful season and career.

I chose to attend Pitt Greensburg for several reason. The campus is the nicest I have ever seen, and I've been to a lot over the years with team and Elite camps. The location is great for me. I live only 50 minutes east, so it feels like I'm far from home on my own but at the same time I can easily go back home for anything. The atmospheres on campus and on the court are encouraging. Everyone seems to want to succeed with classes and basketball as well, which is very different than high school, for me. That's also a huge plus for UPG. Then there are small class sizes and a small college feel, which is where I have always succeeded in the past. That's why I'm excited to be a student-athlete at Pitt Greensburg and enjoy the college experience.

Brett Hart

Nick Citeroni

How's everyones summer going? I hope a little better than mine. I hope everyone is working to the extreme each and everyday to reach new goals in not only there life but in there basketball abilities. I've been out of basketball for over a year with ankle issues and even had to take a year off from school to regain my physical ability. I can't wait to get back on the court and play the game i love with a great solid family like team. My teammates are my brothers and i'll look out for all of them whenever its in need. There's a lot of potential this year and i'm ready to help anyway i can on the long ride to success.

So this will techinally be my Freshmen year and i've never been more excited to start something. I'll be studying Sports Medicine and hoping to go into Physical Therapy. I graduated from Homer-Center class of 2010 which is a little town between Indiana and Blairsville about 45 minutes from UPG campus. As soon as i first checked out UPG i knew this was the campus for me. Wonderfully nice people, beautiful campus and a basketball team with a lot of potential that'd i'd love to help go far. The way the team interacts is big for me because i see my basketball team as my family and not just five fingers playing basketball, we come together as a fist and fight strong and i found that here.

Excited to represent Pitt basketball and the University as well. Can't wait for the best basketball season of my life. Get ready for the bobcats to breakout and play championship basketball. See you all soon.

Nick Citeroni

Ty Phillips

Whats going on guys, hope everyone is working hard this summer. My name is Ty and I am entering my sophomore year at UPG. I am a Criminal Justice Major and of course a member of the basketball team. I graduated from Penn Hills High School I played AAAA basketball for four years varsity 3 of those years. The reason I chose UPG most importantly is the degree holds weight in this country, and life after basketball is important to me. The classes are a decent size not to big so I still get individual attention.

The other reason I chose UPG is of course basketball I feel like we have all the proper pieces to do something great for our school and community, we just all have to buy into it. Last season was a bit disappointing but still a learning experience. I feel that the 2011-2012 season will be our run for the AMCC Championship we are all hungry for it and we all are passionate about the game and hate losing. The team chemistry will be great this year we all get along well and have a lot of fun together except Brock he doesn't go out much haha. I look at this team like a family and I plan on playing like one this upcoming season I cant wait to see you guys soon 1 month and counting

Stay Hungry Fellas

Ty

Dylan Reigel

Hey guys, what's going on? My name is Dylan and I will be a freshman this year at UPG. I plan on majoring in Mathematics with a minor in Actuarial Science. I just graduated from St. Marys Area High School, which is roughly a two and a half hour drive to Greensburg. Our basketball program had not had much success in recent years. Going into my junior season we lost our five starters from the year before and had a new coach coming into the picture. Needless to say, we ended the season with a 2-18 record. A lot of people might get down on themselves after a season like this but we used it as a learning process. As soon as the season was over I started preparing for my senior year. We were all determined to reach our goal of District Champs. Going into the first game of the year we faced Johnsonburg. They beat us both times the year before, one of which was by thirty points. We went into that game full force and won 77-41. After that game we just kept on rolling to a 17-8 record and our first District 9 championship in 11 years!

As I went on my college search I was looking for a place not too far from home that also had my major. I was also looking to play college basketball. Towards the end of my season I received an e-mail from Coach Strickland inviting me to the campus to check it out. Upon arriving I knew UPG had everything I was looking for: A small campus, supplied my major, and I could play basketball. Along with this I will be receiving a degree from the University of Pittsburgh. All of these factors make UPG the right fit for me. I have already met some of the guys at the open gym I attended and I look forward to meeting the rest and getting the season started. See you guys in a month!

Dylan Reigel

Anthony Papini

Hope all you fellas are having a great summer. With that said I also hope everyone is working on their game as well. I'm an incoming Junior and have had a good 2 years at Pitt-Greensburg. I've gone through a lot within those 2 years and believe that I have grown to a better person. In the classroom I've realized how important your studies are and I strive to do well in the classroom to allow a good future for myself. I'm majoring in Accounting and really like the program at Pitt-Greensburg, it's very good and prepares you well.

As for basketball, I can't say i have experienced the same success in college as in high school. In high school my teams where very successful by having the first 20 win season in 20 years my Junior year and the first District 6 Title Game appearance in school history my Senior year. However thus far in college haven't had those successes. My freshmen year we made the playoffs as the last team in and my Soph. year didn't make the playoffs. I haven't been part of team that is accustomed to winning YET. Earlier I said that I've grown as person which also translates to the court. We have the pieces to be a great team in the AMCC but haven't played with the poise or togetherness to allow greatness to happen. This year we once again have the pieces to be a great team, which is why I'm gonna take personal responsibility to not make the same mistakes as prior years. I really do believe we can be a great team, we have the potential to be great with our returners and newcomers. I look forward to having the opportunity to lead us to becoming a great team. We have all the pieces, and each piece is an important as the next, its on us to put them together.

Stay Easy,

Anthony Papini

T.J. Olesky

I'm T.J. and I love to party

I am going to be a sophomore majoring in Information Systems. I graduated from Greensburg Salem High School which is about 10 minutes from the UPG campus. I live in a house off campus with a guy, his wife, and a dog. They happen to be my parents so the university has labeled me a commuter. I still get out at least five times more than Brock does and I save a ton of money so it's not a bad experience. My high school finished second in the state in AAA my Junior season and I hope that we can reach a similar milestone at the college level.

This past season was a great experience for me. I'm glad I decided to stay close to home because I've met a lot of great friends. All of the players and coaches love basketball as much as I do and are dedicated to being the best that they can be. Getting SWOLL in the gym and working on my game is making me really excited to get going this season. I hope that the plan of us having morning practices subsides but if it doesn't, I'm sure it will be good for us and help us get where we want to be.

Hope everyone has a good last month of Summer

T.J.

Brock Witkowski

What's going on guys? I hope everyone is having a good summer and is working hard for the big season we've got coming up. I'll be entering my sophomore season at UPG, while studying Secondary Education Mathematics. Someday I hope to teach and coach! I am a graduate of Keystone High School (District 9), which is located up in the woods by Clarion University. I started my college experience at Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio. Needless to say, things didn't work out, and I transferred to Pitt Greensburg, which ended up being one of the best decisions of my life!

After my first visit to UPG, I knew this was a program I wanted to be a part of. The team is an extremely close-knit group that is striving to win multiple AMCC championships. I chose UPG to be able to continue my basketball career while earning a degree from the University of Pittsburgh. The campus itself is nice and expanding, and the small school atmosphere is exactly what I was looking for.

As for basketball, I'm very excited for the upcoming season. We have a lot of returning and incoming talent that will lead to continued success. We definitely have a great shot at winning this conference and doing some damage nationally!

Brock Witkowski #4

Why I Chose Pitt-Greensburg

The summer project for our guys will be to inform you a little about themselves and also why they chose Pitt-Greensburg.  So I figured I would get the process rolling…..

I’ve coached for the last 14 years with the majority of that being a high school basketball and football coach in the Western PA area.  I absolutely love the area, the people, and everything to do with the Burgh!  Yes, I’m a season ticket holder for the Steelers and enjoy watching both the Steelers and Pens play.  As for the Pirates, well……

I came to Pitt-Greensburg from Baldwin-Wallace College which is located just outside of Cleveland.  I coached both women’s basketball and golf there.  The basketball team was overall ranked 9^th in the nation over the last decade and the golf team just finished 15^th in the nation.  Needless to say things were good there, so I was only going to leave for the right opportunity.  And Pitt-Greensburg is that right opportunity!

At Pitt-Greensburg I knew we had a solid group of young returners to build a foundation on.  So I felt we would have the opportunity to start playing for championships once they understood what I was asking of them and what they needed to do to become champions.  I also knew that each student-athlete receives a Pitt degree…..not a degree with Greensburg on it, but a degree that says the University of Pittsburgh on it.  We are “D3 with a D1 degree”!  With that kind of degree there are so many doors that will be opened for these guys when they graduate.  And after all, it is the #1 reason these guys are in school here….to get them on their way to successful and meaningful careers in whatever field they have chosen.

The bottom line is I knew our players had the chance to be successful on and off the court.  It’s the reason I was sold on Pitt-Greensburg, and the reason I love recruiting good basketball players, who are also good people, to Pitt-Greensburg .  I know whole-heartedly when I look them and their family in the eye that they are making the right decision for their future when they choose to be a Bobcat!

Coach Strickland