Now that winter sports have arrived, the sport that always makes the most noise during this time of the year is none other than basketball. And although the North Allegheny Basketball Association (NABA) makes a lot of noise throughout the North Allegheny School District, it does not match the overall play of the North Allegheny Varsity Basketball Team. 

However, the team has kicked off the season on a negative note, heading into their fifth game against Erie City on Saturday with an 0-4 record. The team lost their home opener to the North Hills Indians, 83-55. Their other three losses were to the Mt. Lebanon Blue Devils (43-57), Allderdice (62-79), and Moon (56-49). 

But with high expectations going into the season, the team is hoping they can use these losses as motivation going forward.

“We need to not stress about what has happened and look forward and not make the same mistakes,” senior guard Jack MacMurdo said.

Coached by Dave DeGregorio, who has an evident record of winning, there is optimism that these losses are just a rough start and the team will rebound easily. 

MacMurdo, the Wright Automotive Player of The Year against the Indians, has returned to the team after choosing not to play last year and has been extremely impressive in his first four games. Scoring thirteen points against the Indians, the most points on the team, MacMurdo returned to school basketball with a fantastic showcase.

“We have a great team with great players,” he said. “We all enjoy each other’s company, so there is no problem in terms of chemistry. There is a lot of solid competition this year, so we have to be way better than just good.” 

Senior Varun Kaveti has been part of NA basketball for all four of his high school years, and he feels that this rough start is something that can be changed easily. He has seen starts similar to this occur before, but he also has seen the endings be extremely successful.

“It’s no doubt that this isn’t the final product,” Kaveti said. “The team is still getting adjusted to facing different defenses in a dribble drive offense. We’re still trying new stuff like high low and high post action, especially with our size this year. We know it’s important to be problem solvers and stay steady, not crack at the first sight of adversity.”

As the only seniors on the team, MacMurdo and Kaveti feel that their job is to continue to lead and set an example for the younger players. 

Can the team flip the script and start racking up the wins for a deep WPIAL playoff run? No one knows just yet, but there is no question that the second half of this season is going to be interesting.

“We just need to lessen the mistakes and stay calmer throughout the games, and everything will be just fine,” MacMurdo said.