Team of the Year
Schenley High School Spartans
By Anthony Jaskulski

When the 2006-07 basketball season started for the Spartans, 6'7" center DeJuan Blair had programs from national champion Florida to Indiana to Pitt knocking on his door, media from across the northeast trying to reach him every five minutes, and the daily stresses of being one of the premier basketball recruits of the season on his plate. But according to the big man, Blair just had one thought on his mind:

"Forget about everything else, we just want a state title."

Thirty- three games later-wooing crowds across the state along the way-Blair and his Spartans got what they wanted, winning their first State Championship in 29 years, beating Chester 78-71, and finishing the season with a ranking of No. 12 in the USA Today - staking their claim as one of the best prep basketball teams in western Pennsylvania history.

"I have never coached such a team that was willing to learn and strive off of each other like they did," said then-head coach Fred Skrocki. "A team like this, you wouldn't even have enough room to write a book about."

This Schenley basketball team, like the greats before them, had the likes of not only D-1 recruits building the stem of the group, but the keen ability to play as a team throughout every game.

"It's all about the team," said Blair. "We played as five guys on the court at all times. Nobody was selfish and nobody was worried about stats or looking good. Everybody just wanted the same thing: to win. It was tough to lose when we were that confident in each other."

Blair-who is currently the starting center at Pitt- led his team the entire season with an average of 18 points and 12 rebounds per game.

The star center has been compared to one of the greatest players western Pennsylvania has ever seen.

"DeJuan Blair reminds me of a newer-age Sam Clancy," said Jarrett Durham, now an associate athletic director at Duquesne University. Durham played for the great Aliquippa teams of the late 60s before going on to a prestigious career at Duquesne. "Clancy was a huge figure that was a monster on the glass and pulled down almost every rebound in a game. Blair has the same physical and mental attributes that Clancy brought to the game."

Clancy, now a part-time football coach at Pitt, represented one of the best teams in western Pennsylvania with Fifth Avenue, where he won a state championship in 1976. After an illustrious career at Pitt, he eventually played professional football in the USFL and NFL.

Although Blair was a huge part of the blueprints for Schenley's success, he was not the only gear that made their championship clock tick.

Duquesne recruit and then-junior shooting guard DeAndre Kane averaged a solid 15 points, while current St. Johns' point guard D.J. Kennedy-whose father, David "Puffy" Kennedy starred with Clancy on the '76 state championship Schenley squad before playing college ball at Cincinnati-anchored the crew with his average of 17 points and 10 assists per game.

The concrete style of Schenley's big three even rubbed off on players that weren't necessarily expected to star for the team. Jamaal "Onion" Bryant (now at Broward Junior College in Florida) checked in with 15 points a game, while DeJuan's "little" brother Greg finished the postseason as the team's best three point shooter, averaging over five a game throughout the playoffs.

"There wasn't any denying it," said Kane. "We had a great team and we proved it not by our mouths, but instead on the basketball court. We went out and did what we were supposed to do. What more could you ask for?"

Schenley's finely- tuned athletes led the team to a mesmerizing season that saw them with an average margin of victory of 23 points. Their success led to them joining the ranks of the area's historic teams of the past, such as the infamous Braddock teams of the 1970s, led by future Pitt and NBA star Billy Knight, and the illustrious Aliquippa teams that saw titles in 1989, 94 and 97.

"I wouldn't say this team is the best to come out of this area," said Durham. "I give that to the Midland team (of 1965). They had players that were NBA caliber stars, and just dominated everybody that came their way. But I would put this Schenley team at least third or fourth on a list of the finer teams to come out of western PA, definitely. They were good, but I don't think they'd have a shot with a team like Midland."

The '65 Midland team, led by Norm Van Lier and Simmie Hill-who both played in the NBA-finished with a record of 28-0, and won the AAA state title over Steelton, 90-61.

The 2007 Schenley squad has also been discussed amongst the ranks of other top- tier teams, such as the '71 Schenley team led by NBA great Maurice Lucas, Rickey Coleman and Jeep Kelly; as well as the 60's powerhouses in Ambridge, Farrell and Uniontown-who produced such Division- 1 and NBA stars as Stu Lantz, Dick DeVenzio, Dennis Wuycik, Walt Ostrowski, Willie Somerset and Brian Generalovich.

The Spartans earned their greatness not just by winning a title, but by their strength of schedule, which was ranked in the top 10 by the USA TODAY. Schenley knocked off powerhouses such as Ft. Myers (FL), Booker T. Washington (VA) and DeMatha Catholic (DC)-who won their league championship this year and the previous two years before that.

In fact, DeCatur Eisenhower (Ill), Lake Howell (FL) and Brooklyn-Lincoln, (the only teams Schenley lost to), all won state championships.

Schenley also pulled off a nail- biter over another nationally recognized local team when they edged Aliquippa.

"I think this is a great thing for western Pennsylvania basketball," said Aliquippa head coach Marvin Emerson. "Teams like this (Schenley and Aliquippa) draw fans' attention and bring the excitement of what the teams in the past did here. These teams did things we haven't seen around here for a while.

Schenley drew famous celebs to their games, from members of the Duquesne and Pitt basketball teams to college coaches (Marquette's Tom Crean, Pitt's Jamie Dixon, New Mexico State's Reggie Theus), and even Pittsburgh Steelers' Bryant McFadden and Charlie Batch.

"These kids have become famous faces to everybody around here," said Skrocki. "The fame is a good thing I believe. They earned everything they worked for that season and really deserved to be noticed. We may not see teams like that again, so I'm glad they got that attention. And of course, I was just happy to be apart of such a fantastic team and wonderful group of kids."

Batch so enjoyed Schenley's dominance that he helped them purchase their state championship rings. "I deal with kids all the time and know how sports and education go hand in hand, and it's not an easy task for them," Batch said at the time. "I just want to say congratulations. They did it."