Red Raiders led by 4-year starters Grooms, Winfrey
Rob Kezmarsky has never been one to name captains for his Uniontown boys basketball teams.
Even so, there is no doubt who fills the leadership roles this season, according to the longtime Red Raiders coach.
Four-year starters Calvin Winfrey III and Notorious Grooms are the two players everyone looks up to.
无毛视频淭hey无毛视频檙e the leaders, the vocal leaders and the lead-by-example leaders,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky, who is in his 23rd year at the helm of the Red Raiders.
无毛视频淵ou don无毛视频檛 have that many kids who play almost 80 games like both of them. They play so much basketball, and they无毛视频檙e hard workers who are always trying to get better. The无毛视频檙e 4.0 students and, in my opinion, two of the best guards in the WPIAL. They have a lot of big-game experience.无毛视频�
The duo played key roles on what was arguably Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 best team last season, one that ended up with a 23-5 record and included the program无毛视频檚 51st section title and 12th under Kezmarsky, an appearance in the WPIAL Class AAAA final four and a PIAA playoff victory.
How good were the Red Raiders last season? A look at Lincoln Park无毛视频檚 dominating run through the postseason on its way to winning WPIAL and PIAA championships is evidence. The Leopards won all but two of their nine playoff games in blowout fashion. The exceptions were a 74-63 win over Uniontown in the WPIAL semifinals and a 66-62 win over the Red Raiders in the second round of the state tournament.
Kezmarsky and his team had to be wondering if it might无毛视频檝e been them romping over Archbishop Carroll by 30 points in the PIAA final instead of Lincoln Park had they somehow gotten by the Panthers.
Uniontown will have a tough road to hoe this season also as it has been moved up to Class 5A and will compete in Section 5 with McKeesport, Gateway, Penn-Trafford, Franklin Regional and Latrobe along with Fayette County rivals Laurel Highlands and Albert Gallatin.
Kezmarsky is well aware of the task at hand.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e looked at our section since they came out after last season was over, checking to see what teams have coming back,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e feel there are a lot of good basketball teams in there. We无毛视频檝e scouted them. They无毛视频檙e more guard-oriented teams from what we usually see and they shoot a lot of threes.
无毛视频淎 lot of them play the same style as North Catholic, dribble-drive, penetrate and kick. We无毛视频檝e been studying them and now we无毛视频檒l get out and watch them.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky foresees a tight battle for the section crown.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 see any one team sweeping through. I see a lot of parity,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 14 section games. I won无毛视频檛 be surprised if the team that wins it goes maybe 11-3.
无毛视频淭he key is you have to protect your home court. That无毛视频檚 very important.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky knows what it takes to win section championships. Uniontown has claimed 51 of them over the years and 12 of those were under his watch. Kezmarsky has a career section record of 202-71 and has chalked up 346 total coaching wins.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 still an honor to coach here,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said.
Grooms and Winfrey lead the way for his 2024-25 edition. Grooms hit the 1,000-point plateau last season and finished his junior year with 1,208. Winfrey came into this season needing just 111 points to join him.
无毛视频淵ou don无毛视频檛 see too many teams with two 1,000-point scorers,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 incredible how hard they无毛视频檝e worked and continue to work. They go shoot every night and work on their game. We无毛视频檙e lucky to have them.
无毛视频淭ory probably scored more as a freshman than he did the last two years but he took a team-first approach.Calvin was having a great year last year and he had a serious ankle injury and it affected our team when we didn无毛视频檛 have him. He came back at close to 100 percent at the end of the regular season and the way he played in the playoffs was tremendous.无毛视频�
Kelan Milsom and Isaac Ellsworth will also be in the starting lineup.
无毛视频淜elan is a senior who has been outstanding,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淟ast year he was our sixth man. He started the North Catholic game (59-37 win) in the playoffs when K无毛视频橝drian (McLee) got hurt. He无毛视频檚 been playing so well. He does so many things for us besides scoring. On defense he无毛视频檚 always guarding the other team无毛视频檚 best man. He无毛视频檚 a great player.
无毛视频淚saac is a junior who I think is one of the best 3-point shooters in the WPIAL. It无毛视频檚 amazing how he shoots the ball.无毛视频�
Ellsworth showed off his long range ability in Uniontown无毛视频檚 first game, pouring in 10 3-pointers in a 35-point performance during an 81-65 win over Thomas Jefferson.
As for the Red Raiders无毛视频� fifth starter, Ayden Kiefer and Cam Dugan are expected to take turns filling that role.
无毛视频淲e actually have six starters,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淎yden is a 6-4 senior who played JV last year and he had a really good summer for us. Cam is a guard who makes us a faster team when he无毛视频檚 in there and gives us a different look.无毛视频�
Filling out the varsity roster are senior Trevor Uphold and sophomores Nolan Baker, Anthony Sheffey and Donovan Coffey.
无毛视频淪heffey has a chance to be a really good inside player for us with size,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淯phold played JV last year and will come off the bench for us. He无毛视频檚 a great role player and a great kid. Coffey is another kid who can contribute inside for us. He无毛视频檚 a sophomore. Baker, who is (former Red Raider star) Bakari Wallace无毛视频檚 brother, can provide us some offense off the bench.
无毛视频淭he bench players are developing. They无毛视频檙e really dedicated basketball players. When you have an injury somebody has to step up. That无毛视频檚 an opportunity for somebody.无毛视频�
The Raiders won无毛视频檛 play quite the same way they did last year, Kezmarsky said.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e playing at a faster tempo this year,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e want to push the ball down the floor more. We无毛视频檙e a different style team than we were a year ago. We shoot a lot of threes but we get to the hoop, too.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky stressed the amount of time the Red Raiders put in during the offseason.
无毛视频淲e worked as hard as you possibly can,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲e played in Pittsburgh Basketball Club again in the summer league, we went to Pitt team camp, we played at Grant Street, they played high-level AAU. We put a lot of time in to get ready for this season. It无毛视频檚 been a long road of work leading up to this so we无毛视频檙e excited that the season is here.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky acknowledged there are high expectations for this year无毛视频檚 team.
无毛视频淚 did see where we无毛视频檙e ranked No. 1 in one poll and up high in some others,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淲e don无毛视频檛 put much stock in that. The kids know you have to prove it on the court. We feel in 5A there are a lot of really good teams and we无毛视频檙e one of them.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky has the same three assistant coaches he had a year ago.
无毛视频淲arare Gladman has been with me a long time and it is amazing what he does for us,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭hen you have Calvin (Winfrey) Jr. and Ray Robinson. We无毛视频檙e blessed to have a really good staff.无毛视频�