Russell was part of Belle Vernon basketball history
John Russell was part of the greatest basketball team in Belle Vernon Area High School basketball history and the memories of the Leopards鈥� WPIAL title run in 1977-78 are still vivid to this day.
After playing JV ball, Russell became a key cog for Belle Vernon in 1976-77 on a team that finished 7-13 and 4-7 in Section 4-AAA. He tallied 221 points that season for an average of 11.1 points per game. He followed that up his senior year by scoring 487 points an average of 15.7 points per game, as the Leopards went 21-4 and 14-2 in Section 3 on their way to the WPIAL championship.
鈥淚 played JV ball until my junior year,鈥� Russell recalled. 鈥淚 was ready when I got the chance. The team we had in 1976-77, they were good guys and we had a lot of football players. Then in 1977-78, it was me and Tom Parks, Randy Giannini, Greg Grimm and Bill Contz. We played together all our lives with pick-up ball.
鈥淚n 1977-78 coach Don Asmonga sent us to camps and we went to the Western Kentucky camp with no supervision at all, that蘑菇视频 how much coach Asmonga trusted us. We were primed for a big season, playing at that camp was a great experience. You went down there and you played against great people.鈥�
The Leps had lost back-to-back games early in the season to Thomas Jefferson, 73-69, and West Mifflin North, 72-65. They then reeled off 18 wins in a row before losing two straight at the end of the season to Monessen, 67-63, and Ringgold, 45-40. The Leopards entered the WPIAL playoffs sporting a two-game losing streak.
The Leopards made a run to the WPIAL championship beating Hempfield, 53-32, Wilkinsburg, 63-62, New Castle, 59-48, and downing Norwin, 62-58, in the WPIAL final. The Leopards beat Erie Academy in the PIAA playoffs, 54-46, before being ousted by Erie Cathedral Prep, 65-55.
Russell had 23 points in the win over Wilkinsburg, including the game winner at the end.
鈥淭his was the first time we played in the Civic Arena,鈥� Russell remembered. 鈥淲ilkinsburg was the best team I had ever played against. Seeing all the Belle Vernon fans who faithfully traveled with us helped. John Ryan missed the foul shot. Joe Tordy rebounded, and threw it to me. I made the shot. I turned and my mom had jumped over the boards and was running up to me. That was my first hug. I remember Randy G and I meeting at half court and him picking me up. The fans were crazy.鈥�
Next the Leopards defeated New Castle and got by a talented Norwin team to win the WPIAL title.
The Belle Vernon dream of a state championship ended with the 65-55 loss to Erie Cathedral Prep at St. Vincent College. That game is a sore spot with the Leopards to this day.
鈥淚 blame the PIAA for not clearing out the stands from the previous game,鈥� Russell lamented 鈥淭he venue was too small. There were too many people. The players were cramping up. I took a shower at halftime. We could beat that team nine out of 10 times. We were extremely disappointed, all due to the bad circumstances.鈥�
It was a great run for Belle Vernon, as it finished with a 26-5 record.
Russell still has a soft spot for his coach Don Asmonga.
鈥淵ou had to respect for coach Asmonga or he was going to beat you up,鈥� Russell stated. 鈥淗e was my second dad and I respected him for the discipline he brought. He cared about his players, that was the man and that蘑菇视频 just the way he was.鈥�
Looking back, Russell credits playground basketball for a big part of his development as a player.
鈥淭here were times that we played at Dolfi蘑菇视频, and if you lost a game, you weren鈥檛 getting back on the court,鈥� Russell said. 鈥淚f we lost, we ran to Monessen and tried to get on there or South Park. It meant a lot to my development as a player. Unfortunately, today I look around and go down behind the Dairy Queen in Belle Vernon and nobody is playing. It蘑菇视频 horrible that the playground culture is gone.鈥�
When Russell graduated from Belle Vernon in 1978 he wound up accepting a scholarship to play at Robert Morris.
鈥淩obert Morris was the only Division I school that recruited me,鈥� Russell explained. 鈥淚 had a lot of schools like Waynesburg, Slippery Rock and W&J recruiting me. RMU assistant coach Matt Furjanic was the guy who really recruited me.鈥�
Russell was on Robert Morris teams that posted records of 13-14 in 1978-79 under coach Tom Weirich. Furjanic took over as head coach and led the Colonials to 7-19 record in 1979-80. After redshirting in 1980-81, Russell was on RMU teams that went 17-13 in 1981-82 and 23-8 in 1982-83 and made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
In 1981-82, they lost to Indiana at Nashville, Tennessee, 91-62, and in 1982-83, they beat Georgia Southern, 64-54, and lost to Purdue, 55-53.
鈥淲e got beat by Bobby Knight and Indiana,鈥� Russell recalled. 鈥淐oach Knight came into our locker room after the game and said we played pretty tough. He said he thought we would be back in the tournament next year and we were.鈥�
Coming off the bench at RMU, Russell scored 292 career points and grabbed 89 career rebounds.
鈥淚t was a good choice to go to Robert Morris because Tom Parks and I grew up together and played basketball together,鈥� Russell stated. 鈥淚 met a lot of great people and the experience of going to the NCAA Tournament two times was unbelievable.鈥�
Russell was a graduate assistant at Robert Morris for one year and then went into the vending business in Florida for 10 years. He returned to Pennsylvania and worked with a vending company. He went to work for the Westmoreland Water Company as a purchasing agent. He has been with Westmoreland Water for 17 years.
Russell, 51, resides in the Belle Vernon area and is not married, his longtime girlfriend, Bernadette Sokol, passed away last year.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.