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.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e the leaders, the vocal leaders and the lead-by-example leaders,鈥� said Kezmarsky, who is in his 23rd year at the helm of the Red Raiders.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have that many kids who play almost 80 games like both of them. They play so much basketball, and they鈥檙e hard workers who are always trying to get better. The鈥檙e 4.0 students and, in my opinion, two of the best guards in the WPIAL. They have a lot of big-game experience.鈥�
The duo played key roles on what was arguably Kezmarsky鈥檚 best team last season, one that ended up with a 23-5 record and included the program鈥檚 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鈥檚 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鈥檝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.
鈥淚鈥檝e looked at our section since they came out after last season was over, checking to see what teams have coming back,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e feel there are a lot of good basketball teams in there. We鈥檝e scouted them. They鈥檙e more guard-oriented teams from what we usually see and they shoot a lot of threes.
鈥淎 lot of them play the same style as North Catholic, dribble-drive, penetrate and kick. We鈥檝e been studying them and now we鈥檒l get out and watch them.鈥�
Kezmarsky foresees a tight battle for the section crown.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any one team sweeping through. I see a lot of parity,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 14 section games. I won鈥檛 be surprised if the team that wins it goes maybe 11-3.
鈥淭he key is you have to protect your home court. That鈥檚 very important.鈥�
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.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still an honor to coach here,鈥� 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.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see too many teams with two 1,000-point scorers,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredible how hard they鈥檝e worked and continue to work. They go shoot every night and work on their game. We鈥檙e lucky to have them.
鈥淭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鈥檛 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.鈥�
Kelan Milsom and Isaac Ellsworth will also be in the starting lineup.
鈥淜elan is a senior who has been outstanding,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淟ast year he was our sixth man. He started the North Catholic game (59-37 win) in the playoffs when K鈥橝drian (McLee) got hurt. He鈥檚 been playing so well. He does so many things for us besides scoring. On defense he鈥檚 always guarding the other team鈥檚 best man. He鈥檚 a great player.
鈥淚saac is a junior who I think is one of the best 3-point shooters in the WPIAL. It鈥檚 amazing how he shoots the ball.鈥�
Ellsworth showed off his long range ability in Uniontown鈥檚 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鈥� fifth starter, Ayden Kiefer and Cam Dugan are expected to take turns filling that role.
鈥淲e actually have six starters,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淎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鈥檚 in there and gives us a different look.鈥�
Filling out the varsity roster are senior Trevor Uphold and sophomores Nolan Baker, Anthony Sheffey and Donovan Coffey.
鈥淪heffey has a chance to be a really good inside player for us with size,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淯phold played JV last year and will come off the bench for us. He鈥檚 a great role player and a great kid. Coffey is another kid who can contribute inside for us. He鈥檚 a sophomore. Baker, who is (former Red Raider star) Bakari Wallace鈥檚 brother, can provide us some offense off the bench.
鈥淭he bench players are developing. They鈥檙e really dedicated basketball players. When you have an injury somebody has to step up. That鈥檚 an opportunity for somebody.鈥�
The Raiders won鈥檛 play quite the same way they did last year, Kezmarsky said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e playing at a faster tempo this year,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to push the ball down the floor more. We鈥檙e a different style team than we were a year ago. We shoot a lot of threes but we get to the hoop, too.鈥�
Kezmarsky stressed the amount of time the Red Raiders put in during the offseason.
鈥淲e worked as hard as you possibly can,鈥� he said. 鈥淲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鈥檚 been a long road of work leading up to this so we鈥檙e excited that the season is here.鈥�
Kezmarsky acknowledged there are high expectations for this year鈥檚 team.
鈥淚 did see where we鈥檙e ranked No. 1 in one poll and up high in some others,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 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鈥檙e one of them.鈥�
Kezmarsky has the same three assistant coaches he had a year ago.
鈥淲arare Gladman has been with me a long time and it is amazing what he does for us,鈥� Kezmarsky said. 鈥淭hen you have Calvin (Winfrey) Jr. and Ray Robinson. We鈥檙e blessed to have a really good staff.鈥�