Items that fell off my laptop.
He doesn't have the same last name as T.J., Matt or others in the first family of Pittsburgh basketball. But Alex Richards wears the genes well.
Richards (pictured) is the starting point guard for Baldwin High School. He's a McConnell. Enough said?
Point guards run in the McConnell family. From Tom, who played many years ago at South Hills Catholic and then Davidson, to Tim and Suzie from many years ago, to T.J. and Matty the past few years (T.J. is now in the NBA).
Richards is the son of Maureen McConell, a sister to Tom, Suzie and Tim. Maureen was a standout point guard at Seton-LaSalle who went on to play at Pitt.
Her son is having a nice senior season as Baldwin is enjoying one of its best seasons in a decade or so. Richards is a 5-10 guard who has helped Baldwin to a 12-3 record. So what if he is not the player T.J. or Matty was in high school. Richards still does some nice things and has been a key to Baldwin's success. He handles the ball well and is able to penetrate and beat defenders off the dribble.
Those are skills that run in the family.
Moore is better
Monessen had three players returning this season who made all-section a year ago - Justice Rice, Lavalle Rush and Jaden Altomore. But their leading scorer this season is not Rice, Rush or Altomore. It's Dwight Moore.
Moore is averaging 23 points a game. So where did Moore come from? Well, he came to Monessen last year after transferring from Ringgold and averaged only 8 points a game for the WPIAL Class A champions. Coach Joe Salvino said Moore simply was finding his way and just did whatever was needed.
Now he has definitely asserted himself offensively. But so has Monessen as a team. The Greyhounds average 90.9 points a game.
What's interesting is that Monessen has four players averaging over 17 points a game. Over the years, I certainly don't remember many teams having four players average 17 points a game or more.
Besides Moore, Altomore averages 18.2, Rush 17.9 and Rice 17.4.
Dice rolls
We knew Allderdice was good, but this good? Did anyone notice what Allderdice did Saturday night to a pretty good Central Catholic team? Allderdice defeated Central, 78-34.
Wow.
Allderdice is 12-1 and the No. 1-ranked AAAA team in the state. The Dragons have an interesting game Saturday against Norcross, Ga., on Saturday in the Peachtree Corners Invitational at Norcross High School. Norcross features Rayshaun Hammonds, a 6-8 junior who is a four-star recruit, according Rivals.com. Norcross has other talented players, including Jordan Goldwire.
Sanders reaffirms
Is Miles Sanders definitely going to sign with Penn State? Miles is saying yes.
Sanders is the talented Woodland Hills High School who verbally committed to Penn State before his junior year. There have been rumblings that Sanders could end up somewhere else. But Sanders recently "tweeted" that after talking with his family, he is now fully committed to Penn State.