Five years removed from high school career, Hyland set to lead GCC basketball
Written by: Sean Meyers
June 14, 2019
Tags: Christian Hyland Greg Bisignani
Christian Hyland was one of the top players for Greensburg Central Catholic only five years ago.
When Christian Hyland concluded his freshman year at the University of Pitt – Greensburg, he came to the realization that playing college basketball wasn’t for him. Hyland appeared in 11 games for the Bobcats in the 2014-15 season. Just a year prior, however, he was a key member of the Greensburg Central Catholic basketball team that achieved one of the best seasons in program history, reaching the WPIAL Championship Game and the PIAA semifinals.
Although his playing career was over, Hyland was not ready to move on from the game altogether. He still wanted to be involved in basketball, so he reached out to his former head coach at Greensburg Central Catholic, Dr. Greg Bisignani, about joining the coaching staff. Just four years later, Hyland was officially announced as the new head coach for Greensburg Central Catholic’s boys basketball team last week, replacing Bisignani, who resigned this offseason.
“This was something that I always wanted to do – to coach, and especially coach at (my) alma mater,” Hyland said. “This was something really special.”
For both Hyland and Bisignani, though, this is the culmination of a plan that has been in place for quite some time. Hyland served as an assistant to Bisignani at GCC for two years, but the longtime Centurions’ head coach stepped down prior to the 2017-18 season. While Bisignani still stayed involved in the program as an assistant to Jim Nesser, Hyland joined the coaching staff at nearby Seton Hill University, as an assistant to head coach Tony Morocco.
This past campaign, Bisignani returned as the head coach and Hyland returned as an assistant, but they did so with the understanding that Hyland would serve as Bisignani’s successor.
“I had known since about last year, when Doc said he was going to come back for a year,” Hyland explained. “We kind of had it figured out back then that would be what’s going to happen. But to see those first couple of links on Twitter and to see the article in the paper, it was kind of surreal.”
When Hyland joined the GCC coaching staff in 2015-16, he quickly made a good impression with Bisignani. While Bisignani continued to guide the Centurions to incredible success (24-3 and a trip to the WPIAL Class AA semifinals in 2015-16, and 25-2 and another trip to the semifinals in Class 2A in 16-17), Hyland was attentive to all of the details that led to Bisignani’s accomplishments.
“Being under Doc’s wing for four years as a player and another three years as a coach, I just really tried to soak in everything that he was doing – the lessons that he taught the kids, that he taught myself and the rest of the staff,” Hyland said. “I just tried to open my eyes to the things that were happening around me.”
Hyland learned much more than just the X’s and O’s to coaching, however.
“There’s no one better to learn from than Coach Bis. Obviously, his record speaks for itself. But, aside from that, he’s just a great person,” he said. “If I’m half the man that Doc Bis is, then I hope people see me as a pretty good man.
“From the time I stepped onto his staff, really the only thing he told me from the get go was to be myself,” Hyland said of the advice he received from Bisignani. “He knew who I was as a player, and I think he knew how that could translate to helping him and helping the rest of the staff, as well as part of the whole basketball program here at Greensburg Central.”
This past campaign, the Centurions compiled a record of 17-7, and reached the WPIAL Class 1A quarterfinals, falling to Cornell. GCC graduated five key contributors, however, with Geoff Helm, Joel Lonigro, Max Pisula, Ryan Bisignani, and Jacob Biros all moving on.
Despite the losses to graduation, the Centurions should be competitive again next season, according to Hyland.
“The expectations are high. We have six or seven seniors that are going to be here this year, and most of them saw manageable minutes for us and contributed at a high level for us last year. Those guys are going to step right in,” he said. “We have an athletic group, and I think that’ll help our soon-to-be juniors and sophomores develop their games, as well.”
Hyland understands that at just 23 years of age, he will be subjected to some criticism because of his relative inexperience. However, he believes his youth will also serve as a benefit in several aspects of coaching.
“I know people will probably look at the sideline and see a young kid that’s got a baby face - probably think that he doesn’t know the game that well. I know there’s going to be that,” he intimated. “But I know with the preparation I put in the past couple of years, the preparation I put in as a player - I think that will translate pretty well to coaching these guys up at Greensburg Central.
“These kids are 16, 17, 18 years old and I’m only 23, so I kind of understand the social aspect of what today’s world is,” he continued. “I’m kind of in that age group where I still understand what they’re going through. I can relate to these guys.”
Indeed, it was just more than five years ago that Hyland suited up for the Centurions. Being part of Greensburg Central Catholic, both as a player and now as a coach, has given him a unique perspective, and also an appreciation for the school’s history. As such, he wants to maintain the winning tradition that Greg Bisignani established. To do so, he is hoping to appeal to the Centurions, both past and present, including students, staff, and alumni.
“I think the message I would have for them is Central is one big family as it is already. I want to continue that for our Central family,” he said. “I want the alumni to come to games – guys who graduated 30 years ago, and the guys who graduated last year.”