Into the Hall: Uniontown 2002 boys basketball
Terrance Vaughns was there at the beginning of what would evolve into Uniontown无毛视频檚 2001-02 WPIAL Class 4A boys basketball championship team.
无毛视频淲e knew back in eighth grade,无毛视频� said Vaughns, who would go on to become the Red Raiders all-time scoring leader with 1,721 points, a spot he still holds today. 无毛视频淗arold Clay was our coach. They did this realignment where BF (Ben Franklin), Lafayette, Menallen, Franklin, all came together for middle school. We were in the first year of it.无毛视频�
Uniontown无毛视频檚 team completely dominated.
无毛视频淲e had a board with a chart that showed all the different goals from eighth grade all the way to high school,无毛视频� Vaughns recalled. 无毛视频淭hat was just one notch on the belt we were looking for. We knew we were going to be good but we constantly were humble enough and confident at the same time to know we无毛视频檝e got talent, we无毛视频檝e got ability, we need to have the discipline from the coaching and eventually it will all come together.无毛视频�
The Red Raiders would defeat New Castle in the WPIAL final, 60-57, and reached the PIAA championship game for the second time in three years, falling to Harrisburg, 69-62, at Hersheypark Arena, to finish the season with a 30-2 record.
The 2002 Uniontown boys basketball team, which was led by head coach Dave Shuck, is part of the Fayette County 无毛视频 Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Vaughns said he was 无毛视频渉umbled and honored无毛视频� when discussing the team无毛视频檚 impending induction on Hall of Fame co-founder George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频 Line Talk Show on WMBS Radio recently. 无毛视频淭hat team was very special not just to me and those that were on that team but I think from a community perspective.
无毛视频淪ometimes when you get further beyond that time of reference people tend to forget about it. To hear that we kind of have our due in something so prestigious as this was more special than you could imagine.
无毛视频淭here无毛视频檚 a lot of history in Fayette County in general. I may be a little biased here with going to Uniontown so I know the rich tradition and history of Uniontown, whether that be just specifically around high school sports, college athletes, even the professional ranks, but also recognizing you无毛视频檝e got Albert Gallatin, Connellsville, you无毛视频檝e got Geibel, you无毛视频檝e got Laurel Highlands, you无毛视频檝e got a lot of these rich traditions of just talent and athletes that have impacted the world at large.无毛视频�
Wearing a Uniontown jersey was special, according to Vaughns.
无毛视频淭here is no shortage of pride that you take when you come from Uniontown to put that jersey on,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淲hether it was mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, grandfather, grandmother, there tends to be this history and tradition of even family, whether that be the McLee family, the Winfrey family, the Thomas, the Vassars of the world, the history can go on and on and on. It was a chance to really honor those who无毛视频檝e come before us that have really paved the way to put Uniontown on the map. Then we just wanted to do our best to try to continue that tradition and create our own lane and create our own space while we were there.无毛视频�
Vaughns was part of a starting lineup that also included Chris Jacobs, Dierre Jenkins, David Winfrey and Carl Farrell, with key players off the bench being Kevin McLee and Brandon Duncan.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l start with the glue, and everybody who played on that team would know who I无毛视频檓 talking about and that was David Winfrey,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淵ou needed someone that was selfless, that didn无毛视频檛 care about the glitz and the glamor, that didn无毛视频檛 care about whether he scored zero points or he scored about 20. At the end of the day he cared about winning. Because he didn无毛视频檛 have an ego it allowed other people无毛视频檚 strengths to really be evolved and developed over time.无毛视频�
Jacobs was a natural guard who played forward for the somewhat undersized Red Raiders.
无毛视频淐hristian Jacobs played the big man无毛视频檚 spot,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淗e was only like 6-1, 6-2 in high school and he无毛视频檚 going down there and fighting through all the big-guy stuff and getting rebounds and was effective on offense and quick and could shoot the mid-range game. He was an unsung hero at times even though he would get his due with 1,000 points.无毛视频�
Vaughns and Jenkins were both guards.
无毛视频淚 can无毛视频檛 say enough about Dierre who was kind of my running partner on the wing,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淗e was a great shooter, great tenacity.无毛视频�
Jenkins accepted any challenge present before, Vaughns said, pointing out how Shuck switched him to effectively defend New Castle无毛视频檚 point guard in the 2002 WPIAL final.
无毛视频淲e always had David on the point guard,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频�(Dierre) he took those challenges. I think about that, I think about the state championship game where he actually brought us back into the game. Dierre could get hot with the best of them and he could play some defense. It allowed me to get open and operate, too.无毛视频�
Farrell and McLee provided the muscle for the Red Raiders.
无毛视频淏oo McLee, God rest his soul, he无毛视频檚 no longer with us,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淢ost people don无毛视频檛 understand and know this but they could无毛视频檝e easily said that last year I无毛视频檓 going to bow out of playing basketball because they were focused on going to West Virginia and being the D-I (football) athletes. They could无毛视频檝e easily said I don无毛视频檛 want to get hurt, but unselfishly decided to play that year. We don无毛视频檛 go as far as we do without both of them. Boo was a bruiser. Carl was a freakish athlete, blocking shots and dunking the ball.无毛视频�
Vaughns lauded Duncan, also.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檒l give Brandon Duncan his credit,无毛视频� he said. 无毛视频淢r. instant offense, he无毛视频檇 come in and whether Mr. Shuck needed a 3, he needed a stop, he needed somebody to get somebody open, Brandon was very unselfish all the time.无毛视频�
Shuck, who died at the age of 74 in 2015, swirled the pieces together into a juggernaut.
无毛视频淚无毛视频檓 glad we had him,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淚 think about that team and the discipline we needed and instilling that kind of defensive mindset. We could score, but he knew what we needed, which was that kind of toughness mentality, that discipline to make sure we were all doing and playing our role and doing what our part was. He never let you get away from that. He had a different way of coaching than I would say maybe some do today, probably more old school. He didn无毛视频檛 mince words. He wasn无毛视频檛 scared to put you in your place.
无毛视频淗e instilled that defensive mindset which actually helped us become more of what our identity ended up being over the four years of high school. His coaching put us in a spot where it allowed our talents to flourish, it allowed our abilities to be maximized. He made sure that nobody was bigger than the team.无毛视频�
Shuck无毛视频檚 assistant coaches were Rich Bierbower and Rob Kezmarsky.
无毛视频淭here was no lack of toughness to Mr. Bierbower,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淗e would challenge you. I can still hear his voice ringing in my head right now, 无毛视频楤ounce pass Mr. Vaughns.无毛视频� Always very respectful, always coaching and teaching. He was just equally as part of that run of four years.
无毛视频淭hen Coach K came over for that last year. I had known Coach K for years from the YMCA days and when he was coaching at AG and knew the history of what his career was as well at Laurel Highlands. I tried to chase him from the shooting ranks in the foul shot record that he had. He was a great player and helped us as well.无毛视频�
Vaughns was one of the best and most clutch free throw shooters in Fayette County history but never could match Kezmarsky无毛视频檚 mark of sinking 52 in a row.
The record Vaughns does hold as the Red Raiders career scoring leader wasn无毛视频檛 one he sought.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know that was ever a goal,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淭hat was never a thing I shot for. Just like the rest of the team, my focus was on winning. That无毛视频檚 what I cared about. We could无毛视频檝e all easily said we无毛视频檙e really good individually, I want to go to Geibel because maybe I无毛视频檒l get more of a chance to shoot the ball or I want to go to Laurel Highlands, AG or whoever just because I无毛视频檒l get a chance to maybe be the No. 1 guy, but we didn无毛视频檛 have egos. I could无毛视频檝e probably shot the ball more at Uniontown, but it wasn无毛视频檛 about that, it was more about are we winning.无毛视频�
Vaughns recalled the passionate rivalry between Uniontown and Laurel Highlands.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know if I无毛视频檝e been a part of something so intense and that无毛视频檚 including state championships, WPIAL championship games we无毛视频檇 been to, other big games we played in,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 kind of the Duke-North Carolina of the Fayette County world. We were always up for that game. You talk about getting on the court, we hated them. I无毛视频檓 not going to mince any words. There was no sugar coating it. I无毛视频檓 sure they hated us just as well on the court and it played out that way. It was always competitive.无毛视频�
During the 2002 WPIAL playoffs the Red Raiders defeated Central Catholic, 69-61, and Mt. Lebanon, 73-52, and then faced undefeated New Castle in the final.
无毛视频淚t was about business at that point,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淚f I just go back to my freshmen year we got bounced out in the first round of the playoffs. We knew we got a taste of it. Sophomore year comes, we make it to the semifinals of the WPIALs. We had three seniors that were part of that rotation. We lost the state championship to the eventual national player of the year in Jameer Nelson and his team in Chester. It was a build. It wasn无毛视频檛 like one of those flashes in the pan. Third year we go to the WPIAL championship (Uniontown fell to Chartiers Valley) and I think the quarterfinals or semifinals of the state.
无毛视频淲e knew coming into our senior year it had to be special because we had worked all of our lives for that year, to get to that moment. And I think the playoff run was just a culmination of that. It was a straight business mission. We got to New Castle, we knew they were undefeated. Our only loss came in (Las) Vegas, so nobody in Pennsylvania had beat us at that point. We knew we were going to be in for a game. I think we let them back in that game more than we would无毛视频檝e liked but at the end of the day all those three years before had led to those moments to be able to seal it at the end and hoist that trophy.无毛视频�
Uniontown trailed by one point late but two free throws by Jacobs gave the Red Raiders a one-point lead and two more by Vaughns set the final score with New Castle misfiring on a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
无毛视频淚t was like the WPIAL championship was kind of the monkey-off-our-back moment,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淲e wanted Mr. Shuck, knowing that he was going to retire, to go out the right way and get the credit he deserved amongst Uniontown legendary coaches. We wanted to be remembered for not just being a really good team that couldn无毛视频檛 get over the hump and win anything. We had lost in games of high significance before that senior year.
无毛视频淚 don无毛视频檛 know that we fully appreciated it as much as we expected to do it that year.无毛视频�
Uniontown marched through the PIAA tournament, blowing out New Castle in the western final, to reach the final in Hershey but fell to a bigger, more athletic Harrisburg squad.
无毛视频淭hat game is probably the biggest regret of my high school career personally,无毛视频� Vaughns said. 无毛视频淚 felt like that was the year of destiny for us. That was the culmination game that led to everything we had worked for collectively and what we had sacrificed individually to make that team great.
无毛视频淲e were up 10 at halftime, playing the way we wanted to play, our speed, our pace, our game, and then we got in a little bit of foul trouble, they went on a little bit of a run, Dierre brought us back but we just didn无毛视频檛 have enough firepower to finish.无毛视频�
Hall of Fame festivities will be held on June 20 beginning with the annual golf outing at 8:30 a.m. followed by the luncheon and inductions at Pleasant Valley Golf Club in Connellsville. Golfers can register and luncheon tickets can be purchased by contacting Katie Propes by phone (724-415-2211) or email (kpropes@occluss.com).