The WPIAL basketball committee meets Monday to discuss playoff brackets and seedings, and the playoff pairings will be announced Tuesday night. 

The biggest question the committee might face is: What to do about the Hampton boys?

Where the WPIAL puts Hampton in the Class AAAA bracket will affect a number of teams. Here are the facts and questions about Hampton, coached by Joe Lafko (pictured after winning the Class AAA WPIAL title a few years ago):

The Talbots are 18-4 and most certainly playing the past few weeks like one of the top four teams in Class AAAA. They defeated North Allegheny and Seneca Valley and played New Castle better than anyone, losing to the undefeated Red Hurricanes by only 54-50 Friday night.

But Hampton finished in third place in Section 3 behind New Castle and North Allegheny. 

New Castle has the No. 1 seed in Class AAAA locked up. It would seem logical to give Upper St. Clair the No. 2 seed. The Panthers are 18-3, have won 15 in a row and won Section 4. But Section 4 was a little down this season compared to years past and certainly not as good as Section 3. Still, USC seems a logical No. 2 seed.

That means North Allegheny would have to be No. 3, right? The Tigers have been impressive and their only losses have been to New Castle (twice) and Hampton. There is a school of thought that Hampton is playing better than North Allegheny and Hampton could be the No. 3 seed. But you can't ignore that Hampton and North Allegheny split two games, and North Allegheny finished ahead of Hampton in the section.

So if you put Upper St. Clair second and North Allegheny third, Hampton would have to be No. 4 or 5, correct? But I know the way the WPIAL thinks sometimes. The league might not want Hampton on the same side of the bracket as New Castle, meaning there is a possibility they could meet in the semifinals.

Then, let's say you put Central Catholic and Hempfield in the No. 4 and 5 spots (both are section champs, although Hempfield did beat Central Catholic in a non-section game), and move Hampton to No. 6. That would mean Hampton and North Allegheny could play in the second round, and I don't think that would be right. (By the way, keep an eye on Central Catholic in the playoffs. The Vikings are playing well and always seem to do well in the postseason).

But if you keep Upper St. Clair at No. 2 and move Hampton to No. 7, that means those two would most likely meet in the second round. The WPIAL has always been about trying to get the four best teams into the semifinals. That would destroy that thinking, if you think Hampton and Upper St. Clair are two of the best four teams.

The wild cards in this dilemma are Hempfield and Central Catholic. Central Catholic is playing very well and won the Section 4 title. Hempfield and Kiski Area tied for the Section1 title. Even though Section 1 has not fared well in playoff games in recent years (9-27 in first-round games the past nine years), Hempfield's resume is enhanced some by the win against Central Catholic.

Here is something the WPIAL could do and don't be shocked if it happens: Make New Castle the No. 1 seed, North Allegheny No. 2 and Hampton No. 3. That would push Upper St. Clair to No. 4. Should three teams from Section 3 be the top three seeds? Well, you could certainly make a point for that. North Allegheny's and Hampton's losses are only to New Castle and each other, with the exception of Hampton's loss to a pretty good Seneca Valley team.Section 3 is loaded.

So exactly where do you put Hampton, and the rest of the top seeds in Class AAAA? Good luck in figuring that one out.

Other dilemmas

Here are a few more tough choices the WPIAL will have to make:

Who is the No. 1 seed in Class AAA? That has to be Mars or Chartiers Valley doesn't it? It seems like things weigh in Mars' favor. The Planets (pictured is 6-8 senior center Josh Goetz) won Section 1 with a perfect record, even though that section isn't very strong. They own impressive victories against Seneca Valley and Montour early in the season, and lost to Hampton by only one (also very early in the season).

But Chartiers Valley has only two losses and owns wins against Upper St. Clair and Mt. Lebanon. What if Chartiers Valley would beat Upper St. Clair in a non-section game tomorrow night, which is possible?

I think Montour might be playing the best of anyone in Class AAA right now, and would even be deserving of the No. 1 seed. But that won't happen because Montour finished behind Chartiers Valley in section play.

Where do you seed Beaver and Central Valley? They tied for the Section 2 title and split two games this season. But I think Central Valley will get the higher seed. 

Who is the No. 1 second in Class AA? You would think this has to go to Beaver Falls or Greensburg Central Catholic. Beaver Falls is the defending champion and finished undefeated in section play. But Greensburg Central Catholic is very good and has only one loss. And what about Seton-LaSalle, which has only two losses? I don't see Seton-LaSalle getting the No. 1 seed, but watch for the Rebels in the playoffs.

Where does Clairton get seeded? The Bears got a late start to basketball because just about the entire team was playing football until mid-December. Clairton won the Section 3 title, but I'm not sure that is good enough to get a top four seed. Clairton has non-section losses to Wilkinsburg and OLSH. I see a No. 6 seed for Clairton.

Check back tomorrow, and I'll give you my seedings and some playoff pairings.

Jeannette senior guard Ciara Gregory scored her 2,000th career point this afternoon.

Gregory (pictured) scored 27 points in a 69-41 victory against Derry in the Westmoreland County Hoopfest, held at Greensburg Central Catholic High School. Gregory now has 2,008 points in her career.

Gregory is the second WPIAL player to reach 2,000 points this season. Hopewell's Shatori Walker-Kimbrough did it a few weeks ago.

Besides Gregory and Walker-Kimbrough, here are the other girls in WPIAL-City League history who have scored 2,000 points.

Gina Naccarato, Monessen (1996) 3,364

Charel Allen, Monessen (2004) 3,110

Brooke Stewart, East Allegheny (1999) 3,055

Jess Strom, Steel Valley (2001) 2,840

Kamela Gissendanner, Clairton (2003) 2,703

Swin Cash, McKeesport (1998) 2,678

Carrie Bordas, Aliquippa (1990) 2,658

Cindy Dallas, Schenley (1998) 2,564

Maude Searcy, Wilkinsburg (1990) 2,541

Tanisha Wright, West Mifflin (2001) 2,477

Loui Hall, Albert Gallatin (2003) 2,440

Anne Malkowiak, Ellwood City (1989) 2,370

Vanessa Abel, Southmoreland (2007) 2,327

Cindy Davies, Indiana (1980) 2,322

Cathy Torchia, St. Francis (1989) 2,284

Katie Bulger, Oakland Catholic (2000) 2,282

Shannon Davis, Sacred Heart (1989) 2,275

Lizzie Suwala, Ford City (2005) 2,266

Kacy O?Brien, Carlynton (2001) 2,238

Beth Seidl, Mount Alvernia (1970) 2,197

Bonnie Rimkus, Carlynton (1990) 2,192

Carmen Bruce, Schenley (2002) 2,175

Kris Sebastian, Monaca (1990) 2,140

Lorri Johnson, New Castle (1986) 2,110

Wanda Holloway, Sharon (1980) 2,106

Kelly Dee, Steel Valley (1990) 2,103

Jen Sobota, Latrobe (1999) 2,093

Mandy West, Upper St. Clair (1995) 2,089

Val Zona, Blackhawk/Seneca Valley (1998)2,083

Amy Johns, McKeesport (2006) 2,067

Jocelyn Chandler, Uniontown (2004) 2,048

Meg Bulger, Oakland Catholic (2003) 2,044

Mona Gaffney, Aliquippa (1990) 2,038

Kameico Robison, Clairton (1999) 2,031

Kelly Morda, Ford City (1998) 2,020

Danielle Dawson, Greensburg Salem (2002)2,018

East Allegheny is in the WPIAL basketball playoffs.

That is a sentence you haven't read in 17 years. The last time East Allegheny qualified for the WPIAL postseason was 1996. This season, the Wildcats, under coach Vern Benson, are 12-9 overall and have clinched at least a tie for third place in Class AAA Section 4. If East Allegheny beats Steel Valley tonight, East Allegheny will finish alone in third place.

It's nice to see a team that has been down for so long enjoy some success. East Allegheny has only win playoff win in school history. That came in 1989. Overall, East Allegheny is 1-7 in the postseason.

Gregory for 2,000

Hopewell's Shatori Walker-Kimbrough surpassed 2,000 career points earlier this season, and another WPIAL player could reach the milestone tomorrow. Jeannette's Ciara Gregory needs only 19 points for 2,000 and the Jayhawks play Derry in the regular-season finale . Jeannette also will be in the WPIAL playoffs.

Other notes

New Castle's Brandon Domenick is closing in on 200 3-pointers for his career. A senior guard, Domenick has 184. He recently broke the school record of 181, set by Ed Pagley, a 1998 New Castle graduate.

In football, it seems Thomas Jefferson junior linebacker Chase Winovich is a player whose stock seems to be rising with colleges. Pitt was his first scholarship offer, but he recently added offers from West Virginia, Northwestern and Florida State. Some college coaches have stopped by Thomas Jefferson basketball practices to watch Winovich, who plays for the Jaguars' basketball team. Thomas Jefferson has a big game tonight against West Mifflin.

If you're in football rules at all, there will be a slight change in high school pass interference penalties next season. A defensive pass interference will still be a 15-yard penalty, but it will not be an automatic first down. Also, an offensive pass interference penalty no longer will also mean a loss of down.

Tonight is the final night of section play in WPIAL basketball. I'll play bracketology Sunday and give you a breakdown of seedings. What are your thoughts? It's always fun to debate who should be seeded where, and what should matchups be in the playoffs. The WPIAL will announce playoff pairings Tuesday night.

Two years ago, only 21 football players from the WPIAL signed with Division I-A colleges. At the time, that was possibly the lowest number of Division I-A signees from the WPIAL ever.

But this year's number of Division I-A players is even lower.

Today was national letter-of-intent day and only 18 players from the WPIAL were known to have signed with Division I-A colleges. Wow. That has to be the loweset total ever - or at least in the past 50 years.

Here are the WPIAL players who are known to have signed with Division I-A colleges.

PITT -- Tyler Boyd, Clairton (WR, 6-2, 175); Zach Challingsworth, South Fayette (WR, 6-2, 190); Titus Howard, Clairton (DB, 6-2, 180); Dorian Johnson, Belle Vernon (OL, 6-6, 280); Scott Orndoff, Seton-LaSalle, (TE, 6-5, 245); Jaymar Parrish, Gateway (FB, 6-2, 230); Terrish Webb, Clairton (DB, 5-11, 170).

WEST VIRGINIA -- Hodari Christian, McKeesport (LB, 6-0, 215); Chavas Rawlins, Monessen (QB, 6-3, 188).

AKRON -- Zach Guiser, Greensburg Central Catholic (DB, 6-0, 190); Michael Kish, Brentwood (TE); Thomas Woodson, Gateway (QB, 6-2, 225).

ALABAMA -- Robert Foster, Central Valley (WR, 6-2, 185).

MICHIGAN -- Pat Kugler, North Allegheny (OL, 6-4, 280).

OHIO -- Dorian Brown, Baldwin (RB, 5-10, 172).

TEMPLE -- Matt Barone, Montour (OL, 6-3, 275)); Tyler Haddock, Montour (DL, 5-11, 300).

UTEP -- Mack Leftwich, North Allegheny (QB, 5-11, 190).

Comments on Pitt-PSU

Tom Lemming is a well-known, longtime recruiting analyst. He puts Pitt's class No. 26 in the country. Here is what Lemming said about Pitt: "The quarterback out of Ohio (Tra'von Chapman) is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the country. Tyler Boyd is a go-to receiver they have been looking for. Scott Orndoff is one of the top tight ends. They have some other big-time players, too, like Dorian Johnson. Athletically, I think they are right where they want to be. As far as impact players, they got some of those with Boyd, Chapman and Johnson."

Adam Friedman is a Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. Here are some of his thoughts on Pitt: "The main concern for them was keeping Tyler Boyd because they lost out on Robert Foster. Getting Boyd was really big for them. In the ACC, I'd put Pitt sixth right behind Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Florida State.

"I think this class is a step forward for them. It might not have great overall talent, but it has some star power. When you combine that with the overall talent of last year's class, it should help them take a step forward. They definitely needed help on the offensive line and they got that with Dorian Johnson. Jaryd Jones-Smith has a lot of potential. Tra'von Chapman is going to be their future quarterback. He needs to improve his accuracy and decision making a little, but I like where they're headed with him.

Here is Lemming on Penn State's class: "Everyone was gloom and doom thinking they were finished. I wasn't. I thought it might take them three to four years to get back, but they may be back earlier. I think they'll be able to tell the kids in the class of 2015 that, if you redshirt, you can play in a bowl game for four years.

"The way they are playing and recruiting, I think they are going to be able to rebound much quicker than most people thought they would."

Other recruiting notes

California University of Pa. signed eight players from the WPIAL and one from the City League. A few of the best are Woodland Hills defensive end Jawan Turner, Woodland Hills linebacker Alex Beasley and Seneca Valley tight end R.J. McCauley. Turner was a Post-Gazette Fabulous 22 selection and Beasley is a Big 33 all-star game selection.

McKeesport quarterback Ed Stockett, who committed to Akron last summer only to eventually have his scholarship pulled, signed with IUP.

Seneca Valley's Forrest Barnes, a Fabulous 22 running back, signed with The Citadel.

Washington linebacker Jaylin Kelly, who was getting some interest from some Division I-A colleges, signed with I-AA Youngstown State