Red Raiders sport deep, talented roster
Uniontown's starting lineup and top players off the bench are (kneeling, from left) Bakari Wallace, Notorious Grooms, Taevian Richardson, Calvin Winfrey III, (standing, from left) Levi Garner, Jamire Braxton, Tanner Uphold, Jeremiah Hager and K'Adrian McLee.
Uniontown sophomores Calvin Winfrey III (left) and Notorious Grooms were both starters as freshmen.
Uniontown junior Jamire Braxton dribbles the ball through his legs during Red Raiders picture day.
Rob Kezmarsky is in his 21st year as coach of the Red Raiders. He entered the season with a career record of 298-163 at Uniontown that includes 16 playoff berths, 10 section titles and one WPIAL semifinal appearance.
Uniontown head coach Rob Kezmarsky (far left) will assisted by (from left) Calvin Winfrey, Ray Robinson and Warare Gladman this season.
Uniontown seniors are (from left) Levi Garner, Devin Sykes, Taevian Richardson, Bakari Wallace and Tanner Uphold.
Uniontown sophomore Notorious Grooms scored 426 points as a freshman.
Uniontown sophomore Calvin Winfrey III averaged 10 points per game as a freshman.
Uniontown's 2022-23 boys basketball team.
Rob Kezmarsky can无毛视频檛 recall the last time he无毛视频檚 had so many good players on one roster.
无毛视频淲e have some really good returning players and a very deep bench,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky, who无毛视频檚 entering his 21st year as Uniontown无毛视频檚 boys basketball coach. 无毛视频淲e have six or seven kids that could start. I don无毛视频檛 remember having this many quality players this deep.无毛视频�
It无毛视频檚 a luxury and a curse at the same time, though, according to Kezmarsky, getting playing time for so many talented athletes.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 not easy,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 some really good players here who all want to be on the floor. But their attitudes have been good about that so far.无毛视频�
Last year the Red Raiders were 14-9 overall and 10-2 in Section 3-AAAA, finishing second to Belle Vernon with a young team that got outstanding freshmen seasons from Notorious Grooms and Calvin Winfrey III.
Those two return as starters for their sophomore years.
无毛视频淭ori as a freshmen had 426 points and averaged 18.5,无毛视频� Kezmarsky pointed out. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 a great all-around player. Calvin averaged 10 points per game. They无毛视频檙e basketball people. They can both play the point.
无毛视频淭hen you add in junior Jamire Braxton, he averaged 18 points a game and was all-section last year at AG.无毛视频�
Uniontown has two senior starters in Bakari Wallace and Tanner Uphold.
无毛视频淏akari is a two-year starter who averaged 13 points and eight rebounds for us last year,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭anner also is a two-year starter and averaged eight points a game and was our defensive stopper.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky has plenty of capable players off the bench.
无毛视频淲e have Taevian Richardson, a senior, who is so quick 无毛视频� you saw that in football 无毛视频� and defensive oriented,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淜无毛视频橝drian McLee is a junior who keeps getting better and has grown some more. He无毛视频檚 like 6-5, 6-6 now. Levi Garner is a 6-4 senior who will give us inside help. Our section is big so we无毛视频檙e going to need those guys.聽Jeremiah Hager is about 6-3 and can play every position on the floor.无毛视频�
It无毛视频檚 a group that gives Kezmarsky a lot of options.
无毛视频淭he key thing about a team like this is maybe it无毛视频檚 not your night but someone else steps up,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淢ost of the time we无毛视频檙e going to have five players out there who can score.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky expects his team to hit the boards hard at both ends of the floor.
无毛视频淲hat we无毛视频檝e done in the past when we were really successful is offensive rebounding,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e back doing that with this group with our guards included.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky has flexibility on defense, also.
无毛视频淲e do have some scorers but we have to be good defensively also,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 also about player match-ups. You need to stop somebody, put your best defensive player in for that situation. If we get some foul trouble we have kids who can step up. Every night it could be someone different contributing for us.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檒l still do our 2-2-1 and play our full-court man a little bit but we无毛视频檝e been working good as a halfcourt man-to-man team also.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky commended his players for the effort they put in during the offseason.
无毛视频淭he kids have worked harder than you could possibly imagined,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e had a really productive summer from Pitt team camp to summer leagues to playing in the Brownson House. Our kids played in fall leagues in Greensburg on the weekends we played in Woodland Hills.
无毛视频淭hese kids have really improved. We无毛视频檙e excited about the season. We have high expectations, like always. The key is how our chemistry comes together.无毛视频�
Uniontown will again play in an altered Section 3-AAAA this year along with nearby rivals Albert Gallatin and defending WPIAL champion Laurel Highlands as well as a talented Belle Vernon squad that finished first last season. The section also includes Elizabeth Forward and Southmoreland, both solid teams.
无毛视频淚n my opinion, we无毛视频檙e in one of the better sections in the WPIAL,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭here are no easy nights and that无毛视频檚 not just a saying. You look at Southmoreland, they have basically their whole team back. There无毛视频檚 going to be a lot of close games. It无毛视频檚 going to be a playoff-like atmosphere every night and that should help us at the end of the season.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky entered the year with 319 coaching wins, including 298 at Uniontown which puts him third in program history. He notched No. 300 with the Red Raiders early this season when Uniontown defeated visiting Connellsville, 90-31.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 just as excited as ever because these kids are so excited,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 what keeps you going and having energy. These are great basketball kids and great kids overall. Our starting five are all honor students.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 proud that we无毛视频檝e been consistent all those years. We无毛视频檝e won 70 percent of our games.无毛视频�
Under Kezmarsky the Red Raiders have made the WPIAL playoffs 16 times 无毛视频� Uniontown holds the all-time WPIAL record with 71 postseason appearances 无毛视频� and won 10 section championships.聽Uniontown has a section record of 184-69 (73%) under Kezmarsky, who will be assisted by Warare Gladman, Calvin Winfrey Jr. and Ray Robinson Sr. this season.
无毛视频淗aving coach Gladman is like having another head coach,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e无毛视频檝e been doing this so long together. If he wanted to be a head coach again somewhere else he could无毛视频檝e been but I无毛视频檓 glad he无毛视频檚 still with me here.
无毛视频淐alvin and Ray have done such a great job and we all work well together. It无毛视频檚 a good staff.无毛视频�
Uniontown opens section play at home on Jan. 3 against the Colonials.