Weather prevents top team and North Carolina recruit from coming to Pittsburgh; McBryde to UCONN

By Mike White | Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, 5:15 p.m.

Tough luck for John Giammarco.

Giammarco is the director of the Pittsburgh Basketball Club and had put together the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Classic Sunday at Robert Morris College. It is a seven-game event at the Sewall Center. But a snowstorm will prevent one of the main attractions from participating.

Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, Va., was supposed to play Gateway at 2 p.m. in the third game of the event. But Bishop O'Connell will not be coming because of a snowstorm in Virginia.

Bishop O'Connell is a talented team that features Kendall Marshall, a North Carolina recruit who is ranked among the top players in the country. Bishop O'Connell is coached by Joe Wooten, son of legendary DeMatha Catholic (Md.) coach Morgan Wooten. Gateway will now play Oliver in the 2 p.m. game.

"Joe called and said it's just really bad down there and they can't get out," Giammarco said. "And the school doesn't want them trying to come, either."

But Marshall and Bishop O'Connell might still end up playing in the Pittsburgh area in a few weeks.

"Joe Wooten feels bad and said he'd still come play another day," Giammarco said.

Right now, Giammarco has tentative plans for Bishop O'Connell to play Gateway Feb. 13 at Gateway. Giammarco said some WPIAL teams have openings for an extra game and he might try to schedule a few more games that day at Gateway, and turn proceeds over to victims of Haiti.

McBryde chooses UCONN

Beaver Falls football player B.J. McBryde has made a verbal commitment to Connecticut. McBryde is a 6-6, 230-pound lineman. He chose Connecticut over Boston College. Both schools started recruiting McBryde only recently.