Jenkins won’t back down from tough competition
Dierre Jenkins never shied away from tough competition as a player, and he won’t back down as a head coach.
The former Uniontown basketball star, who scored 1,000 points in his career and helped lead the Red Raiders to a WPIAL championship in 2002, along with advancing to the state final in 2000 and 2002, is back in maroon and white but in a different capacity.
Jenkins was hired over the offseason to replace Penny Kezmarsky, who stepped down after eight seasons at the helm.
Ironically, Jenkins’ most recent high school coaching experience was at Uniontown’s cross-town rival Laurel Highlands as an assistant under Rick Hauger when the Mustangs won the WPIAL Class 5A Championship in 2020 and 2022.
Jenkins knows his team will be in for a challenge, as the Lady Red Raiders are in Section 4 (5A) with Peters Township, Thomas Jefferson, Trinity, Albert Gallatin, Baldwin and Bethel Park.
The Lady Indians are the defending WPIAL champions and advanced to the state semifinals last season. The Lady Jaguars feature plenty of Division I recruits and Trinity has a history of solid play, but Jenkins doesn’t want to take any team for granted.
“We are going at it every night with the top dogs,” Jenkins said. “When you look at a team like TJ, who we play early, they have four or five girls that have college scholarships,” Jenkins said. “They play basketball the entire year and have everyone working on their weaknesses in the offseason instead of the season. We need to get back into that culture where everyone wants to work in the offseason.”
Jenkins will be assisted by Calvin Winfrey Jr., Jerrod Murtha and Tasha Baker.
“I have a great cast behind me, and we all share the same goals,” Jenkins said. “These girls are going to have to get used to me, and I am going to have to get used to them. I need to see what we do well and what we need to work on. I need these girls to follow my lead.”
Jenkins’ style of coaching may harken back to when he played for Dave Shuck, who didn’t hesitate to provide brutally honest criticism, but he insists that there is a point to when a coach raises their voice.
“Obviously, Mr. Shuck didn’t play around, and I learned so many valuable lessons from him, and many of them the hard way, but he had a point when he told you something,” Jenkins said. “I have learned that you need to find that fine line, but when we yell at them, it is not as a form of discipline, we are just trying to make them better basketball players.
“We also have a lot of times where girls will miss a shot and worry about it. You can’t worry about that shot. You just have to worry about the next shot, and that carries over in life. You can’t go off emotion because it messes everything up. We want these girls to come out here and enjoy playing basketball because it’s fun, and not to look at it as a chore.”
While Jenkins wants his players to enjoy the game, he expects them to work, and he has several pieces returning, plus a new face to the team, but one he is familiar with.
Aierra Jenkins played her first three seasons at Laurel Highlands, but will compete under her father as a senior. Aierra is closing in on 1,000 career points, which is something Dierre is excited to see.
Aierra also brings an inside presence and plays the game all year long.
“It is great to have her here,” Dierre Jenkins said. “It will be really nice to share being a 1,000-point scorer with her. I have a number of family members who scored 1,000 points across Fayette County, but I haven’t heard of too many father-daughter combos. That is a night I am looking forward to.”
Uniontown also welcomes back seniors Lyric McLee and Khloey Wakefield, and sophomore Charley Murtha.
Murtha, who has qualified for the state meet her first two seasons in cross country, has the stamina, but Jenkins is working with her to use those qualities to translate into basketball.
“Obviously, Charley is a great cross country runner, but there are starts and stops in basketball, which is much different than cross country,” Jenkins said. “We do use Charley as the point when we are sprinting. We want the girls to catch her by the end of the season. She is going to get there. I just need to work on some of the little things with her.”
Freshmen Rhiannon Feather and Aubree Long come in looking to make an impact from the start. Junior Tessa Nicholson also returns.
“If these kids come in and pay attention, I think they can help us a lot,” Jenkins said. “We have a lot of learning and discipline to do, but we will continue to work to break some of those bad habits. It’s going to be way different in Class 5A, and we may have some tough games, but it’s what you learn from those, however, I want to win. That’s just how I am. My competitive nature is still there. The only thing is I can’t go out and play now. I have to instruct.”