Dec 12, 2024 3 min read

Name: Isaac Ellsworth

School: Uniontown

Class: Junior

Sport: Basketball

Ellsworth’s week: The Red Raiders’ sharpshooter scored 67 points in three games, including a career-high 37 points in Uniontown’s season opener, which was also Ellsworth’s first varsity start.

Ellsworth made 10 3-pointers against Thomas Jefferson in the Red Raiders’ 81-65 victory.

He put in 16 points against Belle Vernon and 14 against Elizabeth Forward. He had four 3-pointers in both games against the Leopards and Warriors for 18 made shots from behind-the-arc.

Ellsworth is averaging 22.3 points per game.

“Obviously, there are nerves before every game, but once I hit that first shot, it all went away,” Ellsworth said. “I put in a lot of time over the summer to work on my shot, but I have always considered myself a pretty good shooter. That was always my speciality.”

Credit to his teammates: Uniontown features a 1,000-point scorer in Notorious Grooms, and Calvin Winfrey III needs 43 points to reach the mark. The duo are always on the opposition’s radar to watch when on defense, which freed up Ellsworth, who was glad to receive the passes and put in the shots.

“Those guys do a great job of getting me the ball,” Ellsworth said. “I wouldn’t get the opportunities if it wasn’t for my teammates.”

Tradition never graduates: The pressure of playing for the Red Raiders is not lost on Ellsworth, but he relishes the opportunity to play in front of the fans at AJ Everhart Memorial Gymnasium, and looks forward to games on the road.

Uniontown was 23-5 last season and advanced to the WPIAL semifinals and PIAA quarterfinals.

The Red Raiders lost both games to eventual district and state champion Lincoln Park, but were in both contests to the very end. They lost the first game, 74-63, and the state quarterfinal, 66-62.

“It is great to play for a program that has this much tradition,” Ellsworth said. “We know that teams will always be looking to knock us off, but we work really hard and are always ready to go.”

Hoop dreams: Ellsworth competed in baseball and track & field, but basketball has always been his No. 1 sport. He would like to play at the next level if the opportunity presented itself.

“I started playing basketball in first grade, and ever since then, it has always been my favorite thing to do,” Ellsworth said. “I have gotten some interest from schools, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with that. I would love to play basketball in college.”

Family comes first: Basketball is important to Ellsworth, but he credits his family for pushing him to do well in not just his athletic achievements but his academics.

Compiled by Jonathan Guth