Unity fueled 2003 AAHS boys team

Commentary

Altoona will honor its 2003 boys basketball team that won the District 6 title and advanced to the PIAA western final Friday night during the Mountain Lions' home opener with Central Dauphin East (6:30 varsity tipoff).

The squad, coached by Kraig Hetz, was the last Altoona boys team to play in a western final.

It finished 25-5 and was ranked No. 3 in the state by the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

"Camaraderie was our big thing," Tyler Franklin, one of the team leaders who went onto an outstanding career at Penn State Altoona, said. "We had seven seniors coming together after Keith and Roosevelt. That whole core group kept grinding, and when we became seniors, everything came together."

2-2 vs. PIAA champs

The team's greatest distinction was going 2-2 against State College, which won the PIAA title with a loaded roster including Willie Morse, the Norwood brothers (Gabe and Jordan) and future Virginia football player Jon Stupar.

"You can always look back and say we knocked off the state champion twice in the same year," current Altoona coach Doug Pfeffer, an assistant coach on that team along with Dave Benton and Brent Gerwert, said. "It doesn't ease the pain, but it's a great accomplishment."

Altoona lost at State in the regular season, beat the Little Lions at home and then won 39-37 for the District 6 title at Saint Francis on a late Jordan Bickel shot.

The final score reflected Hetz's style, both with the Mountain Lions' and his previous successful tenure at Hollidaysburg.

"I remember how hard that team worked," Pfeffer said. "Kraig got every bit of talent out of those guys. They bought into his system and a lot of games were won by us working harder."

With a berth in Hershey on the line, though, State prevailed, 59-35, again at Saint Francis.

"They pressed us, and we played bad," Franklin said. "I remember getting hit with the Hershey Kisses after the game. It propelled me to want to play college ball even more."

"They were the better team," Hetz said. "They beat Chester in the state final -- who does that from District 6? They obviously were really good."

Then State College coach Drew Frank said there was a healthy respect between the teams, "and I always appreciated that."

"It was heated at times, but I always thought it was done with a mutual respect for each other's program. And that (2003 Altoona) team was no exception," Frank said. "They played with discipline, they played hard, and they were never going to beat themselves."

'We were selfless'

While Hetz's deliberate offensive approach wasn't always popular with his players, he nonetheless made an impression on them.

"Sometimes we felt we were a little restricted with an old-school mentality," Franklin said. "That's not really my game. We probably could have scored more points."

At the same time, he felt he grew from the experience.

"He developed my game and was someone who actually cared," Franklin said. "Now that I'm older, I appreciate him. He was breaking clipboards and being in your face, but it helped me become a better player. We needed somebody who could be that force and put us in our place. I know I wanted to shoot the ball, but I wanted to get it inside to Chris Buchanan. We were selfless, and that teamwork made us."

"Kraig had a patient offensive system, and the kids worked for the best shot and not just the first shot," Pfeffer said. "They really accepted his style."

Looking back

With the benefit of hindsight, Hetz's perspective changed, too.

In 25 seasons as a head coach and another half-dozen as an assistant at Gannon, Hetz won 376 games and 64% of them.

"As time goes on, as you coach you learn different things," he said. "I don't know if I'd play that way now, but I thought it was effective at that time. The game has changed a lot. We just tried to get the most out of what we had."

It was the same at Hollidaysburg, which won the District 6 title team of 1998 under Hetz and also invited him to a gathering he attended last summer.

"We coached the kids hard, and it's great seeing them as adults and telling old stories and laughing a lot," Hetz said. "That (last year) was special, and this (Friday) will be a special night, too. Teams that have that closeness tend to be your better teams. They were good kids and really committed and enjoyable to be around."

In 2006, Hetz accepted the Erie McDowell job, moving back to his home area. He and his wife, Bellwood native Jen Gerwert, raised three children but also stayed in touch locally.

Hetz attended Franklin's induction into the Penn State Altoona Hall of Fame in 2021 along with the seniors on that Mountain Lion team -- Bickel, Chris Buchanan, Jonathan Triplin, Brendan Moran, Damian Schimminger and Brock Rutter plus top junior contributor Cory Tubo.

"People didn't appreciate how good the team was," Pfeffer said. "A lot of times we were scoring in the 40s, but a win's a win. Chris Buchanan is one of my assistants now, and he always talks about those guys. They're still in great contact. As the head coach now, that's what I want -- past players coming back, even if they're not being recognized. I want to have that relationship with past players and teams."