Knoch hoops standout lands at UPG
JEFFERSON TWP - It's a small world, after all.
And that small world is bringing Knoch senior Michael Gallagher and the Pitt-Greensburg men's basketball program together.
Gallagher, a 6-foot-4 guard and two-year starter for the Knights, is headed to UPG to continue his academic and basketball careers.
"When I was an assistant at Washington & Jefferson last year, Michael's older sister Katie was a student assistant with our basketball team," said first-year Pitt-Greensburg coach Jeromy Yetter. "She told me that her brother was a pretty good player, so I watched him play a few times.
"When I took the job at Pitt-Greensburg this past season, he was one of the names I had on my list of potential recruits."
Nicole Reiser, a Knoch graduate who just completed a stellar career with the UPG women's basketball program, is the older sister of Kyle Reiser, one of Gallagher's best friends.
"I talked to Nicole about the school and she said she had a great experience there, that it was a great school," Gallagher said. "She recommended it, I made a visit there and felt good about it."
Gallagher is happy to be feeling good, period. He went through a rough August last year, when he diagnosed with a broken hip, then ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon.
A standout receiver-safety on the Knoch football team that reached the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals his junior year, Gallagher managed to get on the field for the last few games last fall, but he wasn't a big factor.
"I thought about playing football in college until that hip injury," he said. "At that point, I decided to concentrate on basketball as my future sport.
"I'll be taking medication for (the colitis) for the rest of my life, but it's under control and I'm feeling fine now."
Knoch basketball coach Chris Andreassi said Gallagher's hard hits from his safety position in football reminded him of Tom Gallagher, Michael's father.
"Tom played in the secondary at Butler and was a tremendously hard hitter," Andreassi said. "Michael was the same way. He could have played football in college.
"He's a pretty good basketball player, too, and he's a quality kid who can help build a program."
That's what Yetter had in mind when he recruited him.
Pitt-Greensburg was 8-17 overall in Yetter's first year at the helm last season. The Bobcats were 11-15 the previous year.
"We're rebuilding the program here and went looking for kids from Western Pennsylvania who were good enough to step in and play right away," Yetter said. "Michael certainly fits that description.
"He's one of the best pure shooters I've seen in high school in a long time."
Gallagher broke the Knights' career 3-point field goal record by draining 167. He scored about 750 points in his career.
"They were looking for shooters and they found a good one," Andreassi said. "I know they're excited to get him.
Gallagher plans to major in business management.
"I'm going to school to get a degree," he said. "Basketball is just a side thing. I'm just glad to still be playing.'
