Kids today will never understand what it was like before the internet. Before X. Before Instagram. Before YouTube highlights. Before Hudl. Before every game was streamed live.
Back then, if you wanted to know who was balling in Western Pennsylvania, you waited for the newspaper. The morning paper was our social media. After every game, you’d flip straight to the sports section and look at the box scores. If you scored 10 or more points, your name usually made the paper.
That’s how reputations were built. Not through highlight tapes. Not through mixtapes. Not through followers. Just production.
Every morning, players, parents, coaches, and fans all did the same thing. They scanned those box scores. “Who had 25?” “Who dropped 30?” “Who’s this kid I’ve never heard of?” That’s how buzz spread.
Names Without Faces
The funny part is… You usually only knew someone’s name. You had no clue what they looked like. Unless you were named Athlete of the Week and got your picture in the paper, nobody had ever seen your face. All they knew was the name.
That created a mystery you don’t get today.
People would drive to games just to see if the kid putting up all those points was really as good as everyone said. There was suspense. You couldn’t just pull out your phone and search for a player’s highlights.
You had to show up.
The Schifino Brothers
My sophomore year at Penn Hills was when I really started making a name for myself. I became the leading scorer on our team. Right behind me was my older brother, Jake Schifino.
Jake was an unbelievable athlete. He eventually played football at the University of Akron and was later drafted into the NFL. What a lot of people don’t know is he also had Division I basketball offers. He could really hoop.
We were both putting up numbers for one of the top teams in the WPIAL. So every morning, people kept seeing the same names in the newspaper box scores: Drew Schifino, Jake Schifino Over and over again.
The Greatest Plot Twist
Years later, my future AAU coach told me something I’ll never forget. He said he and a few other people kept reading the paper and seeing the Schifino brothers scoring every night.
Finally someone said, “Man….Penn Hills has two Italian brothers over there putting up numbers. We’ve got to go watch these kids.”
Now think about it. Penn Hills has always had a strong Italian community. So naturally, people pictured two Italian kids lighting it up. Then they got to the gym. The starting lineups were announced.
Out walked… Two Black kids. With Italian last names. They couldn’t believe it. They were completely shocked. Looking back now, it’s one of the funniest stories from my high school career. Their expectations had been built entirely off a name in the newspaper. They had created an image in their heads before ever seeing us play.
Basketball Had More Mystery
I actually miss that era. There was something special about hearing about a player before you ever saw them. The anticipation built every week. Was he really that fast? Could he really shoot like everyone said? Was she really averaging 25 points? There was only one way to find out.
Buy a ticket. Sit in the stands. Watch for yourself.
Today, you can watch a freshman’s entire career on your phone before ever seeing them in person. Nothing is left to the imagination. Back then, there was mystery. And somehow, that made high school basketball even more exciting.
Some Things Were Better
Technology has given athletes incredible opportunities. There’s no denying that. Players can market themselves. Families can watch from anywhere. College coaches can recruit easier than ever. But I still believe we lost something.
The newspaper box score wasn’t flashy. It was just names and numbers. Yet somehow, it created legends. It made people travel across Western Pennsylvania just to see if the kid they kept reading about was the real deal.
And sometimes, like with the Schifino brothers…. It gave them a surprise they never saw coming.