Red Raiders’ Melvin chooses Thiel
Isaiah Melvin fit in perfectly with a Uniontown boys basketball team than swept its way to back-to-back Section 3-AAAA championships while going a combined 39-7 the past two seasons.
Melvin was looking for another good fit when it came to continuing his academic and basketball careers at the collegiate level. That led him to Thiel College. He recently signed a letter of intent to join the Tomcats.
“I went up for a visit and I had a chance to go to a couple of their games, talked to their coach,” Melvin said. “I just feel like I’ll be able to fit in. There were some areas that I saw, watching them play, that feel I could really help out the team.
“In terms of academics, they had the major I was looking for, computer science. Plus, it’s not super far away so my family will be able to come out and see all the games. Those factors are what pushed me to go to Thiel.”
Melvin, the son of Isaac and Yvonica Melvin, has a 3.89 GPA at Uniontown. The 6-foot-3 forward will be playing for head coach Tim Loomis and assistant coach David Pastorkovich. Loomis is a former men’s coach at California University of Pa.
Melvin, who averaged 13 points per game his senior year, will likely play small forward for the Tomcats.
“Coach will probably have me playing the three,” said Melvin, who is a versatile player. “That’s one of the things I’m trying to focus on is being able to play as many positions on the floor as possible, being able to defend all five positions and doing whatever I need to do to help the team win.”
Red Raiders coach Rob Kezmarsky lauded Melvin.
“Isaiah had a very good two years and played a big part on those teams,” Kezmarsky said. “He’s everything you want a student-athlete to be. He was one of the most explosive players in the WPIAL.”
Melvin enjoyed his time with the Red Raiders.
“It was great. I learned a lot,” he said. “I grew a lot as a basketball player and a person. Of course you could always hope to do a little bit better. Everybody but one team ends on a loss. But I would say, overall, it was a great experience playing with all the guys, the coaches, and the fans, especially, too.
“It’s just a great atmosphere at Uniontown.”