'99-00 SCHEDULE

Dec. 3 -- Farrell Tip-Off      4-- Farrell Tip-Off      9-- New Brighton      11-- Erie McDowell at Erie Civic Center      14-- Beaver Falls      17-- Mohawk      18-- at West Middlesex      21-- at Shenango      27-- Dresch-McCluskey Tournament      28-- Dresch-McCluskey Tournament Jan . 4 -- Riverside      7-- at Neshannock      11-- Laurel      14-- at Aliquippa      18-- at Shady Side Academy      21-- Grove City      25-- at Mohawk      28-- Shenango Feb. 1-- at Riverside      4-- Neshannock      5-- at Sharon      8-- at Laurel      11-- Aliquippa      12-- Hickory.

By The Herald Sports Staff

The question many might be asking second-year Farrell coach Billy Michaels this season is what he's going to do for an encore.

The 1989 West Middlesex High grad enjoyed one of the finest inaugural seasons of any boys basketball coach in Mercer County history last year when he guided the Steelers to a Section 2-AA co-championship and berths in the WPIAL championship game and PIAA quarterfinals.

"It was a great season and those kids were a pleasure to coach," said Michaels. "They were great athletes and that made winning a lot easier."

Winning, that is, until Farrell (26-5) fell to Shady Side Academy, 49-46, in the WPIAL title game and Quaker Valley, 62-50, in the state tourney.

"We lost four starters, but the kids that are returning definitely benefitted from us having success in the playoffs," Michaels said. "They got a taste and even though a lot weren't heavily involved in (game action), hopefully they're hungry with us not being able to go the distance."

That quartet of starters lost to graduation were led by the 1-2 punch of Urbie Flint (493 points) and Jackson Jones (410). The others were third- and fourth-leading scorers Richard Young (295) and Demond Bell (253).

In addition, sixth man and fifth-leading scorer J.J. Wilson, the Steelers outstanding quarterback in football, had 207 points before running into disciplinary problems and being suspended from the team during the playoffs last year. He has announced he will not be returning for his senior season in order to concentrate on football after recently making a verbal commitment to the University of Cincinnati.

That fivesome accounted for 1,658 points or nearly 76 percent of the Steelers total offense of 2,183 points a year ago.

"It's a lot of points and more than that it's a lot of experience," Michaels lamented. "Those guys had three years of varsity experience under their belts. That's a tremendous loss. But the guys coming up have been putting in a lot of time and I think they're a little more comfortable with the system."

Back to boost the Steelers' hopes, however, is exciting point guard Billy Dungee. The 5-9 senior tallied 188 points last season, which included back-to-back-to-back double-digit contests in the team's finals three playoff games.

"That's a huge asset for us having Billy back," Michaels said. "He's one of our captains, he's been playing varsity for three years and has plenty of playoff experience. And he has a world of confidence right now."

Other returning letterwinners are: 6-4 senior center Brandon Young, 6-5 senior forward Richard Gordon, 6-3 senior swingman Brian Keller, 5-11 senior guard Marcus Wright and 6-2 junior swingman Marcellino Manilla.

"These guys didn't have an opportunity to play a ton, but they did get in just about every section game we had," Michaels said. "They've been playing a long time and are hungry to finally be stepping on the court for quality minutes."

In addition to that sextet, the Steelers are also hoping to get a boost from 6-7 senior Robert Husar, a transfer student from the Eastern European nation of Slovakia. His host family is Wally and Valarie Sinkuc.

"He's a heckuva kid," Michaels said. "Basketball-wise it's a totally different style of game, but I think he'll help us down the road once he familiarizes himself with American-style basketball."

As for a starting lineup, Michaels said Dungee and Young "are pretty much locked in."

The other positions, however, are still wide open.

"And that's helped us, because the kids are all competing for positions and playing time," Michaels said.

Others expected to dress varsity are: seniors ‹ 5-9 guard Justin Sims, 5-6 guard JonVay Johnson; sophomores ‹ 5-7 guard Myron Lowe, 6-1 forward Torlondo Craig and 6-2 forward Marcus Gregory; and freshmen ‹ 5-7 guard Allen Claiborne.

"I think our team chemistry is good," Michaels said, citing a team strength. "And I think the fact we don't have the athleticism that we had last year and the pure scorers really forces us to execute better and play together better."

Assisting Michaels in the program are: Roland Shannonhouse, a former Farrell standout who is a first-year junior varsity coach, and 9th-grade coach Karl Rupert, who led the jayvees last year, as well as Keith Fustos (8th grade); Jeremy Porter (7th) and Bob Townsend (elementary).

As for the Section 2-AA race?

"Aliquippa is definitely the team to beat," Michaels said. "They return a lot and they really started coming on at the end (of last season). Mohawk will also be strong as they have three or four returning starters."