Trending
By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
As longtime readers of this column know, there are special occasions or situations that call for the Mirror helicopter to fly in for a closer inspection.
And surely anyone following Bishop Guilfoyle's sudden dismissal of boys basketball coach Chris Drenning and its ensuing search for his successor would agree, this is definitely one of them.
So after some preliminary paperwork and Mirror air-space clearances, we plotted a trip.
It helps that BG is practically located right next to the Mirror and looks even closer from above.
First things first: I need a co-pilot. I reach out to Joe Landolfi, BG's athletic director.
"I can't be in two places at once," he says. "Besides, I think I'm too tall."
Fair enough. I call Rich DeLeo, the Marauders' long-time radio voice, and he reluctantly accepts.
"You need to know I'm not happy," he says as he climbs in, his voice rising over the propellers. "I don't approve of how they handled this."
I tell Rich that I agree, but he can help me figure out how BG will proceed, who will influence the decision and when it might be made.
"I got to say ... it's pretty cool up here," Rich says. "But why are the seats maroon?"
"Altoona has needed it more often ... Hey, Rich, I asked your cousin Scotty (Franco) to join us, but he's afraid of heights. I figured he could write about this in his column."
With the fog lifted, we notice there are several cars on this weekend morning in the BG parking lot.
"What does (Mike) Cacciotti drive?" I ask him.
"I'm not sure, but he sure knows how to craft a statement."
I hand Rich my binoculars, and he fiddles with the adjustments.
"I think that's Joe Adams' car," he says.
"Oh, he's here?"
"Apparently."
"I thought he mainly worked via Zoom."
We start kicking around names we've heard who have expressed interest. They include Rob Okonak, who was the ninth-grade coach in Drenning's program, former BG head coaches Paul Hasson and Josh Baker and ex-BG standout Ryan Lestochi, who runs All Day Hoops, a local developmental program.
We joke that the criteria must stipulate having at least one son in the program.
"Then most of those guys qualify," Rich says.
I remind Rich that whoever gets the job will need to heal the fractured BG community and work with the administration to assure parents don't have easy access to the complaint department inside the back door.
He nods.
"Do you think Tom Irwin would take the job?" I wonder.
"Father or son?" Rich asks.
"Either."
"Somebody said they put a feeler out to Mike Iuzzolino. They do realize Chris was working for $4,000, and his staff was making even less."
"What about Mark Moschella? Is he done coaching?"
Sensing no committee members or candidates are showing up, we decide to take a ride.
Rich is initially startled as we elevate quickly over the beauty of Central PA, buzzing over Peoples Natural Gas Field and then crossing over I-99 until we hover over King Valley.
"Wait, slow down," Rich says. "It looks like Mick Sisto is on the putting green."
I suggest Mick and Tom Goss may be waiting for their foursome.
"Does Jim Kilcoyne play?"
Sisto and Kilcoyne have been burning up Facebook, not to mention the Mirror mailbag, about the situation.
"You know, Rich, BG has a lot of talent returning and especially down into its younger levels. Whoever gets the job is going to win."
He says, "You mean like Chris won?"
"Well, we'll see. The bar is the state championship game. That's one thing they can't take away from Drenning."
I told Rich about the old coach who once said, "You know, every parent wants you to play the best kids ... as long as theirs is one of them."
He laughed, and we swung around, heading for home.
"Will this thing stop at The Meadows on the way back?"
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.