MEMORY LANE: Red Raiders无毛视频� 1,000 club: Pratt topped milestone during sparkling career at Uniontown
The Uniontown Red Raiders have a glorious basketball history with 19 players with 1,000 points in their career. Jordan Pratt who was a standout for the Red Raiders is on that list.
Pratt got an early start playing basketball.
无毛视频淚 started playing when I was a kid,无毛视频� Pratt reported. 无毛视频淚 had an older brother James who played at Uniontown and Penn State Fayette Campus. He无毛视频檚 five years older than me so I started back when I was like five or six just watching him play and learning from him.无毛视频�
The playgrounds played a big role in Pratt无毛视频檚 development as a player.
无毛视频淭o be honest that was the main development,无毛视频� Pratt said. 无毛视频淢e and my friends were back and forth at Grant Street from sunup to sundown growing up, also Bailey Park. Mr. Joe Campbell actually had a pivotal role in that development. He guided us at a young age and took us to travel ball.无毛视频�
Pratt played at Lafayette Middle School.
无毛视频淟afayette was awesome, playing basketball there,无毛视频� Pratt offered. 无毛视频淭hat was actually one of my greatest times in basketball, I scored a lot of points in eighth grade. We really only had about five or six players. A lot of our guys were ineligible. The team wasn无毛视频檛 the best because we were shorthanded.无毛视频�
When Pratt moved up the varsity at Uniontown it was the beginning of a solid period in Red Raider hoops.
Pratt played sparingly as a freshman in 2010-2011 appearing in four games on a team that went 11-1 in the section and 17-7 overall. In the WPIAL playoffs they downed Mars 59-42 and lost to South Fayette 87-58. In the PIAA tournament they notched a win over Forest Hills 62-60 and lost to Franklin 56-50.
无毛视频淭hat was a very good team,无毛视频� Pratt recalled. 无毛视频淭hey had some really good seniors and some guys that helped develop me as a freshman.无毛视频�
In 2011-2012 Uniontown finished 9-3 in section play and 15-7 overall. They were ousted in the WPIAL playoffs by Blackhawk.
无毛视频淭hat was a growing experience and put the fire in us for the next couple of years,无毛视频� Pratt said.
Uniontown posted a record of 17-4 and 10-2 in the section in 2012-2013. The Red Raiders beat Blackhawk in the WPIAL playoffs 66-61 and then lost to Mars 79-55.
无毛视频淭hat was a tough loss to Mars,无毛视频� Pratt said. 无毛视频淭hat junior year sparked us to a great senior year.无毛视频�
During Pratt无毛视频檚 senior campaign the Red Raiders went 22-3 and 12-0 in section play and had a nice run in the WPIAL beating Ambridge 66-57 and Elizabeth Forward 86-79 before falling to Chartiers Valley 71-57 in the semifinals. In the PIAA playoffs they downed Punxsutawney 87-54 and then were defeated by Farrell 86-72.
无毛视频淚 had a great senior season.无毛视频� Pratt remembered. 无毛视频淚 wanted to break some records coming into that season. Coming into that year we had almost a decade of losing in the first round and that put fire in my belly. We had a good run.无毛视频�
Pratt has great memories of his old head coach Rob Kezmarsky.
无毛视频淚 had a good relationship with Coach Kezmarsky,无毛视频� Pratt stated. 无毛视频淚 was always a ball boy growing up because of my brother James. It meant everything when I finally got to put on that uniform. Even now I get chills talking about it.无毛视频�
The 5-foot-11, 140-pound Pratt finished his Uniontown career with 1,108 points.
无毛视频淢y entire career was focused on winning and getting to 1.000 points,无毛视频� Pratt explained. 无毛视频淚t was something that I worked so hard for and I had my eyes set on. After I got 1.000 points I just wanted to win more.无毛视频�
When Pratt graduated from Uniontown in 2014 he was a little disappointed in the college recruiting process.
无毛视频淩ecruiting wasn无毛视频檛 the best and it was kind of slow,无毛视频� Pratt lamented. 无毛视频淚t hurt a little bit on that end. I wound up going to Carlow. To be frank it was an amazing school and I made great friends, but the program wasn无毛视频檛 the direction I should have went. It was a new program going through some growing pains. I still needed mentoring and growth and that didn无毛视频檛 happen.无毛视频�
Carlow finished 2-22 in Pratt无毛视频檚 freshman season. He played in 18 games and scored 104 points. After four games as a sophomore Pratt decided to leave the program.
无毛视频淚t was difficult and led to me transferring,无毛视频� Pratt offered. 无毛视频淚 left and went to Penn State Fayette Campus.无毛视频�
In 2016-2017 at Penn State Fayette, Pratt played in 24 games and tallied 156 points. The team finished 11-16.
无毛视频淚t was the best experience,无毛视频� Pratt said. 无毛视频淭hat was my last year in basketball. I finished school there in business and marketing management.无毛视频�
Pratt joined the workforce. He started a company called Fast Efficient Movers and still runs that company. He is an entrepreneur and also runs Young Bridge City Connections.
Now, 29, Pratt is single and resides in Shadyside in Pittsburgh.
Looking back, Pratt is proud of the role athletics played in his life.
无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 still a big part of my life,无毛视频� Pratt stated. 无毛视频淓very principal that I do in business it refers back to basketball for me, the discipline and getting those reps in. It无毛视频檚 all similar.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.