Feb 16, 2016 4 min read

If you have shopped for a television in the last six months, then you probably noticed that 4K is the hot technology on the market. Many new televisions are equipped with 4K resolution, which is about four times the pixels than that of high definition.

At Washington & Jefferson College, there already is a 4K set that has been drawing rave reviews, and it has nothing to do with televisions.

The four Belly siblings – Zach, Nate, Beka and Rachel – have combined for 4,003 career points for the basketball programs at Washington & Jefferson. The Bellhys have been dubbed the “4K Family.” All four Bellhys were standout players at Fort Cherry High School before heading off to W&J.

The Bellhys hit the 4,000-point mark Saturday when Beka and Rachel played for the W&J women (19-5) against Thomas More, the No. 1-ranked team in NCAA Division III.

Beka, a senior forward, has scored 1,426 points at W&J and is the Presidents’ leading scorer (17.5 points per game) and rebounder (7.7 per game) this season. She was the Observer-Reporter’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year in 2012.

Rachel, a sophomore, is the youngest of the basketball-playing Bellhys at W&J. She has added only 261 points to the family total but might be the most important player on this year’s team. When Rachel (9.0 ppg) finally recovered from a preseason injury and worked her way into the starting lineup, the Presidents began their current surge that has produced 12 wins in 14 games, the only losses coming against Thomas More.

Nate is still playing basketball and scoring points these days, but they’re not counting toward the W&J 4K total. Nate began his college career at Seton Hill but transferred after one year to W&J, where he played two seasons and scored more than 800 points before suffering an injury that caused him to miss all of the 2014-15 campaign. He is currently in his final season of eligibility as a forward for California University, where he has scored 152 points.

At Fort Cherry, Nate scored a school-record 1,518 points.

Zach played at W&J from 2009-13 and was what is known in basketball circles as a scorer. He could just as easily drive to the basket and score as he could loft a nothing-but-net three-point shot. Zach scored more than 1,500 points with the Presidents.

Perhaps the best thing about the four Bellhy siblings is they’re all exceptional free-throw shooters during an era when free-throw shooting has become a lost art.

• When talking good jobs done by college basketball coaches in Western Pennsylvania this season there are a few that quickly come to mind. Duquesne men’s coach Jim Ferry has done the unthinkable and won 15 games with the Dukes. California University women’s coach Jess Strom, despite having only one returning starter from last year’s team and being down two players who have suffered season-ending injuries, has the Vulcans at 18-5 and in first place in the PSAC’s West Division.

But the best coaching job by a college coach is an easy call and it’s being done by a Washington native.

Dan Burt, in his third season as the Duquesne women’s coach, has guided the Dukes to a 23-2 record. Duquesne is currently tied for first place in the Atlantic 10 at 11-1 in the conference. The Dukes are 21st in the RPI and at worst are in line for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.

Burt is a Trinity graduate who paid his dues in the women’s basketball coaching ranks, having served as an assistant for 15 years at West Virginia, North Carolina-Wilmington, Bucknell and Duquesne before getting his chance to be a head coach. It has proven to be a terrific hire by the Dukes.

• Are you ready for that Canon-McMillan-Altoona football rivalry? Or maybe you prefer Peters Township-Altoona?

We knew that when the PIAA approved six classifications for next football season it would make for some odd conference partners. Canon-McMillan and Peters Township are no longer in the same classification as longtime rival Upper St. Clair, which has been replaced in the conference by Altoona, located a mere 147 miles from Canonsburg.

One good thing about the six classifications is some schools will be able to do their own scheduling of nonconference games, which means some popular but dormant rivalries will be revived. Charleroi and Monessen have agreed to meet Aug. 25 in the season opener.

Now, if we could only get Trinity and Washington to meet again on the football field.

Sports editor Chris Dugan can be reached at dugan@observer-reporter.com.