In March, the Pittsburgh (Penn.) Seton-La Salle High girls basketball team was celebrating one of the school's finest athletic achievements, a rare perfect season that culminated in a state title.
In August, the mastermind architect of that 30-0 success is on his way out of the program, and no one knows why.
The stunning departure of Seton-La Salle girls basketball head coach Dennis Squeglia has left the Pittsburgh high school sports community in a state of shock, and for good reason. In two seasons at the school, Squeglia racked up a record of 57-3, establishing himself among the deans of the sport in the state. As noted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Squeglia's 2011-12 squad was so dominant that it won area playoff games by an average of 35.5 points and state playoff games by 28.2 points per game.
In essence, Squeglia's departure is a bit like what would happen if John Calipari walked away from the Kentucky program today, after leading the team to a national title three years into the job in Lexington.
All of that success came without any obvious detractions, so it was a stunning turn of events when Squeglia walked away from the program despite returning four starters from his dominant 2012 program. The coach has yet to offer any comment on why he is leaving the program, telling the Post-Gazette in a text message that he was "advised not to comment" on his departure. Seton-La Salle athletic director Ashaolu also failed to offer any comment on the school's pending coaching change.
There's no sense of who will take over the program moving forward at this juncture, but Squeglia's departure has certainly created one of what would appear to be a top girls basketball job in Pennsylvania's competitive prep sports scene.
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