Oliver has one of its best boys basketball teams in years, and coach Tim Keefer has a doughnut bill to prove it.
Each Saturday morning after a victory, Keefer buys three dozen doughnuts for his players to eat while breaking down film.
After a Friday loss, however, the players get a dozen small doughnut "holes."
"They're getting me in trouble," Keefer said.
His players are worth it.
Led by 6-foot-6 all-City League forward Jason Raiford, the Bears are 7-1 (9-4 overall) and tied with Peabody for first place in the conference heading into Friday's game at South Vo-Tech.
Oliver used a victory at Langley on Tuesday to take one step closer to the playoffs and continue its pursuit of ending the longest title drought in the City League.
Oliver hasn't won a City League championship title since taking back-to-back crowns in 1956-57. Those are the only two City League titles the North Side school has won since the league formed in 1919.
Oliver is a consistent winner. In Keefer's nine years, the Bears have played in three City League title games and reached the PIAA Quad A playoffs five times.
But while Brashear, Carrick, Peabody, Perry, Schenley and Westinghouse have brought home City League titles in that span, Oliver has none.
That could change this year. The Bears have a superstar (Raiford), balanced scoring, a deep bench and the motivation of a fallen former teammate, Danny Nelson, who died last spring.
Oliver faced its first adversity of this season on the final day of school last year, when teammate Nelson died after collapsing from a seizure. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound forward was a projected starter this season.
The Oliver players have dedicated the year to Nelson. They presented his family with his No. 30 home jersey and put the name "Danny" on their sneakers. When they break each huddle, they yell "Danny."
"It was devastating," Keefer said. "The kids know he's there and, of course, we've dedicated the season to him. But, we don't like to make a big thing out of it."
Oliver kept busy after going 13-5 last year and reaching the City League semifinals. The Bears fared well in spring-time undergraduate tournaments at Hopewell, Northgate and Woodland Hills high schools, and then reached the playoffs of the Chartiers Valley Summer League, losing to eventual champion Laurel Highlands. They also participated in a team camp at Slippery Rock University.
"We go all over," Keefer said. "My van is two years old and it already has 54,000 miles on it.
Oliver has represented itself well against some of the top teams in the WPIAL. The Bears are 2-3 outside of the City League, but its losses came against Class AAAA Bethel Park, 53-47, in the season opener and WPIAL Class AAA No. 3 Blackhawk (84-75) and WPIAL Class AA No. 4 Beaver Falls (69-67) at the Blackhawk Holiday Tournament.
Oliver has victories over Class AAAA McKeesport (70-57) and Class AAA Ambridge (70-64).
Raiford might be the most gifted player in either the WPIAL or City League. The high-flying 6-foot-6 senior forward is averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. Junior guards Gilmore Cummings (13.5 ppg) and David Robinson (12) and senior forward Dom Moriarty (10.8) also can score.
The reserves range from 5-foot-5 junior point guard Keith Oaks, to 6-6, 285-pound forward Chris Ivey.
Senior forward Prince McIntosh, senior swingman Warren Butler, junior guard Kenny Rush and junior forward Brad Manjack also allow Keefer to keep fresh legs on the floor for the Bears, who use a relentless form of baseline-to-baseline pressure defense.
"We press and run," Keefer said.
Oliver's lone City League loss came to three-time defending City League champion Peabody, 49-39, on Dec. 11. Oliver rebounded to defeat Schenley, 71-60, on Dec. 21.
The Bears will learn more about themselves when they host Perry and Peabody in a five-day span starting Jan. 18.
Keefer already knows everything he needs to about his team.
"We try to brag about having good kids," he said. "That's what we try to do."
