Welcome to Hoops 2020
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
COVID-19 continues to rear its ugly head around high school sports in the Mon Valley.
But as of now, fall sports have been completed and we’re on to winter.
Welcome to the Mon Valley Independent’s Hoops 2020 basketball preview.
While we continue to navigate these choppy waters due to the pandemic, again, Team MVI has produced the ultimate primer for the upcoming basketball season.
The writers have worked hard to bring you preview stories of all your favorite teams, while the photographers were able to work their way in safely to practices and workouts to get photos of your teams and players in action.
One noticeable theme throughout is the continued work while dealing with COVID protocols.
While all the previews are done, some teams may not hit the court until later this month or in January, which is the case at South Allegheny.
Despite the setbacks, our local athletes have continued to show their perseverance and resiliency as they manage to do what is necessary to get on the court and play the sport they love.
Basketball will undoubtedly look different this season. There will be players wearing masks, sanitizing of basketballs and little or no fans in the stands.
While the situation seems dire, you can count on Team MVI to continue to bring you the action through our stories the very next day or via MVI Live, where we’ll venture into the world of broadcasting once again as we did in the Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League.
Don’t forget to go to our YouTube page at youtube.com/mviLIVE and hit subscribe so you can get notifications of when we’re on the air with a local game.
Also, download the Mixlr app, where correspondents Dean Dellamalva and Ashley Chase will also be broadcasting games.
We’re going to continue to strive to do our best to bring you all the action we can.
It would be negligent of me not to send a thank you out to all of our writers that contributed. Guys like Dellamalva, Adam Brewer, Jonathan Guth, Jeff Oliver, Jeremy Tepper and assistant sports editor Jose Negron.
Also to our photographers. It may seem like bragging, but Jenn Codeluppi, Ben Bamford, Mike Darnay, Bob Smith, Adam McQuaide, Jeff Helsel and the rest of the bunch are undoubtedly the best in the biz.
We couldn’t provide the coverage we do without the coordination among all of us. We do what we do, though, for our audience of readers who want to know how their sons and daughters, local teams and alma maters are doing this season.
While you may not be able to be in the stands, we have you covered. Whether you are a fan of Belle Vernon Area, Bentworth, California, Charleroi, Clairton, Elizabeth Forward, Frazier, McKeesport, Monessen, Ringgold, Serra Catholic, South Allegheny, Thomas Jefferson or Yough, we’ll have you covered. Whether it’s a live-streamed game, audio broadcast or in print, we’ll have you covered.
As always, we couldn’t do what we do without the cooperation of all our coaches calling or emailing in results, so keep up the good work.
Thank you all for your continued support of the Mon Valley Independent and the sports department. We couldn’t do what we love to do without you.
It’s quite obvious this season is going to be like none other. Not because of the sport itself, but all of the factors outside of the game. We’re prepared for it, and by the sound of it, so are all of our teams. Here’s to hoping we all can do our part to pull this season off. There will be hiccups, but we’re not going to let it stop us.
Enjoy this production, let it be your guide and let’s get ready to tip the season off this weekend!
