Hoops Classic Skills Contest
Memorable night on tap at Uniontown High School Tonight should be a memorable night at Uniontown High School.
Four Uniontown Red Raiders will be making their final scholastic appearance at the A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium.
Taking part in the Pittsburgh Hoops Classic Skills Contest will be Uniontown’s trio of 1,000-point scorers, Terrance Vaughns, Christian Jacobs and Dierre Jenkins along with the Red Raiders stalwart point guard David Winfrey.
After winning the WPIAL Class AAAA crown this year, the Red Raiders advanced to the PIAA championship game where they lost to Harrisburg High School 69-62.
Vaughns’ appearance will be coming off his selection last weekend to the Associated Press Pennsylvania Big School Boys Basketball First Team. He was the first Red Raider selected to the top squad since Pat Yates in 1965. His brother, Don Yates, made the first team in 1961 and 1962. Ron Sepic made the team in 1963 and Stuart Lantz did likewise in 1964.
Vaughns was selected for the Classic’s Pennsylvania team while Jacobs, Jenkins and Winfrey were selected for the WPIAL-City League team. The Pennsylvania team will battle a team of international all-stars at the Pitt Fieldhouse on Saturday at 8 p.m. The game will be preceded by a contest of the WPIAL and City League all-stars at 6 p.m.
Joining Vaughns on the Pennsylvania team will be two Harrisburg players, 5-10 guard, Alphonso Burnett and 6-7 forward Lawrence Hamm. Burnett made AP’s second team while Hamm was selected to AP’s fourth team.
Also on the Pennsylvania team are Bryan McAllister, a 6-3 point guard from West Mifflin, who made the second team; Michael Blackshear, a 6-6 forward from Simon Gretz High School in Philadelphia, who made the second team; Perry Patterson, a 6-4 forward from J.P. McKaskey High School in Lancaster, who made the third team; and Terance Mack, a 6-6 forward from Episcopal Academy in Philadelphia, who made the AP’s Small School second team.
Included on the international team are two Pittsburgh University recruits, Edward Turner, a 6-6 point guard from Buffalo, N.Y., and Gary Ervin, a 6-3 guard from Brooklyn, N.Y. The team also features 6-10 Samuel Byrd of Houston, Texas; 6-8 Stephen Briggs of Houston, Texas; 6-5 Denhan Brown of Toronto, Canada; 6-5 Cedrick Hensley of Cleveland, Texas; 6-3 Tristan Martin of Toronto, Canada; 6-5 Kevin Massiah of Toronto, Canada; 6-8 Nana Mensah-Bonsu of New Jersey, and 6-8 Daryl Pegram of San Bernadino, Calif.
Players from all four teams will take part in tonight’s skills contests, which includes a brief scrimmage, a three-point shooting exhibition and a slam-dunk competition.
Included tonight will be a tribute to the 2002 Red Raiders and their coach Dave Shuck. Several other people involved with the Red Raider basketball program will also be honored.
Meanwhile, Richard Lovelace, executive director of The Horse Will Drink, the non-profit organization that sponsors the classic, said that a color guard from the Uniontown Fire Department will take part in the opening ceremonies.
Lovelace said his group wants to pay tribute to all local firefighters, police officers and emergency medical workers in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
“We want to pay tribute to those who put their lives on the line for us everyday,’ said Lovelace.
As part of the tribute, all firefighters, police officers and emergency medical workers will be admitted to the competition for $2. Tickets for the general public are $5. Lovelace noted that a limited number of tickets will be available at the door and urged fans to get their tickets as early as possible. The doors will open at 5:30 p.m. with the event beginning at 6 p.m. and expected to last until 9 p.m.
Also being admitted for $2 are local basketball players from grade school to high school, their coaches and parents.
Tickets for the competition are available at Uniontown High School, Fayette Street, Uniontown; A&L Locksmith, 38 N. Gallatin Ave., Uniontown; Mom Maruca’s Pizza Shop, 265 N. Gallatin Ave., Uniontown, and the Herald-Standard offices at 8-18 Church St., Uniontown.
Cooperating with the THWD in bringing the game to Uniontown are the Uniontown High School Boys Basketball Boosters Club, the Uniontown Kiwanis Club, the Chestnut Ridge Rotary Club and the Herald-Standard.
For more information on tickets, contact Mark O’Keefe, Herald-Standard managing editor (day), at 724-439-7569.