Last dance
Roundball Classic provides one final basketball game for select area seniors
Rob Kezmarsky should feel right at home while coaching the Class 5A South boys basketball team in the 2025 Roundball Classic on Saturday even though the game will be taking place at North Allegheny High School.
That无毛视频檚 because Kezmarsky will have assistant coaches Warare Gladman and Calvin Winfrey Jr. with him along with senior Red Raiders Notorious Grooms, Calvin Winfrey III and Kelan Milsom on his squad.
无毛视频淲hen you have really good high school careers you get picked for this game, like Cal, Tori and Kelan,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淚 was really happy for Kelan to get that recognition because everyone knows how great Cal and Tori were but Kelan had a great season, too.无毛视频�
The Roundball Classic also has a slate of games on Sunday and if the Class 2A team needs a lengthy shot at the end of a quarter it has the right player on its roster. That would be West Greene无毛视频檚 Lane Allison, who made an almost full-court heave for a game-winning 3-pointer that handed Chartiers-Houston a shocking defeat and drew national attention this past season.
There were 11 area players invited to play in the 2025 Roundball Classic and seven are expected to take the floor during the weekend. In addition to the Uniontown trio and Allison, Albert Gallatin无毛视频檚 Mya Glisan (Class 5A West girls team) and Belle Vernon无毛视频檚 Zion Moore and Tommy Davis (Class 4A team) are confirmed to be participating.
Other area players who were chosen to play in the Roundball Classic but won无毛视频檛 be able to participate are Miya Harris and Ayrianna Sumpter of Laurel Highlands (Class 4A/City League girls team), Grayce Panos of Albert Gallatin (Class 5A West girls team) and Elliot Premus of Southmoreland (Class 3A team).
The group of invitees includes seven 1,000-point players in Grooms, Winfrey, Moore, Allison, Glisan, Harris and Sumpter.
Kezmarsky is familiar with the Roundball Classic, having played in it himself representing Laurel Highlands in 1990无毛视频檚 preliminary game after leading the state in scoring with a 35.7 points per game average. He scored 19 points and was named his team无毛视频檚 MVP.
无毛视频淭hat game was at the Civic Arena,无毛视频� Kezmarsky recalled. 无毛视频淚 still have my Roundball jersey and I remember sitting on the Gateway Clipper with Penny Hardaway. After the game I was interviewed by Bill Hillgrove so that was pretty cool.
无毛视频淭he Roundball has changed over the years but it无毛视频檚 still a nicely run event by (Roundball Classic director) Allen Deep that honors top senior players and it无毛视频檚 a nice way for the kids to end their (high school) career.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 Class 5A South team will face the District 10 team at 3 p.m. Saturday.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e going to have one practice Friday,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 15 kids on my roster so we无毛视频檒l probably have three sets we无毛视频檒l run in and out together around every four minutes or so. I无毛视频檓 not sure who the starters will be or how that无毛视频檒l work out yet but I think that无毛视频檚 sort of a collaboration with the Roundball people.无毛视频�
When asked if he无毛视频檒l try to put all three Uniontown players out on the floor at the same time, Kezmarsky said, 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 kind of an interesting thing so I think I无毛视频檓 going to talk to Allen on that. If I split Cal and Tori then I无毛视频檓 assured of having a really good point guard on both teams, so I don无毛视频檛 know yet.
无毛视频淚n my opinion, this is a recognition game. It无毛视频檚 not about who wins, it无毛视频檚 supposed to be fun and then they can say forever they played in the Roundball Classic.无毛视频�
Kezmarsky did hedge a little bit on not worrying about winning when asked how he无毛视频檒l coach if the outcome is still up in the air near the end of the game.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檒l try to play everybody about the same amount, but in the last couple minutes if it无毛视频檚 close I might go with our best guys to try to win,无毛视频� said Kezmarsky whose Red Raiders have been well represented in the Roundball Classic over the years.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檝e been very fortunate to have a lot of players play in this game,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said. 无毛视频淥ur kids always appreciate it when they get that opportunity.无毛视频�
That includes Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 nephew Christian who played in the 2013 event.
Roundball Classic games are known to be high-scoring affairs in recent years, which led Kezmarsky to have one tongue-in-cheek piece of advice for his three players in the game.
无毛视频淚 told them don无毛视频檛 take the ball out of bounds,无毛视频� Kezmarsky said with a laugh. 无毛视频淚 know there无毛视频檚 a lot of offense in these games.无毛视频�
Moore and Davis, who helped lead Belle Vernon to a WPIAL championship in coach Joe Salvino无毛视频檚 final season, will lead the Class 4A team against the Class A/City League team at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Allison无毛视频檚 Class 2A team plays the Class 3A team at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday.
无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 pretty cool. There无毛视频檚 only a select amount of players who get to do it every year so it无毛视频檚 an honor to be chosen for a high-level event like this,无毛视频� Allison said.
Allison was a 1,000-point scorer who helped lead the Pioneers to the playoffs in three of his four years, but the shot heard round the country still resonates with him.
无毛视频淚 look back at a lot of things in my career but my mind always goes back to that full-court shot,无毛视频� Allsison said. 无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 ever stop thinking about that one. That will always be in my head.无毛视频�
The miraculous last-second shot, which came off a short inbounds pass after the Buccaneers had scored to take the lead, handed Chartiers-Houston its only section loss of the season.
Allison will be accompanied at the game by his family and former head coach Jim Romanus, who stepped down after the season.
无毛视频淗e was such a great guy and great coach, I无毛视频檓 not sure any coach could replace him,无毛视频� Allison said of Romanus.
It will be Allison无毛视频檚 final organized basketball game as he has chosen not to pursue playing basketball in college.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l be studying sports management at PennWest California,无毛视频� Allison said.
无毛视频淎s for the game, I无毛视频檓 going to try to have some fun and try to score a little bit, and play some defense, maybe,无毛视频� Allison said with a laugh.
Glisan无毛视频檚 Class 5A West team will play the Class 6A team at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
无毛视频淚 was definitely not expecting to be chosen so I无毛视频檓 very honored to be,无毛视频� said Glisan who was a four-year starter for the Lady Colonials.
Glisan will play in college for Potomac State after wrapping up her career with the Lady Colonials with over 1,000 points.
无毛视频淧otomac State told me they see me as someone who can play anywhere and that gives them a lot of options on how to use me,无毛视频� said Glisan, who will attend the Roundball Classic with her family.
无毛视频淚 put in a lot of hard work so I无毛视频檓 glad to have this chance to play in this game. My mindset going in is to obviously have fun and just do the best that I can and hopefully show people what kind of player I am.无毛视频�