Memory Lane: Mays excelled in basketball, football at Uniontown
James 无毛视频淛unior无毛视频� Mays forged an outstanding athletic career at Uniontown, but looking back he wishes he had done things differently off the court and off the football field.
Mays got an early start in athletics and benefited from Uniontown无毛视频檚 great playground culture.
无毛视频淚 was playing pickup over in the neighborhood in Holiday Mobile Park,无毛视频� Mays recalled. 无毛视频淚 played basketball, football and street hockey. I really didn无毛视频檛 get the feel for basketball until I moved to the East End, and that无毛视频檚 where I started going to Bailey Park and Grant Street and where all the athletes gathered.
无毛视频淚t was like playing for blood because you knew if you lost you were going home. Older guys would come back and play and I actually played down in the Brownsville Recreation League with the older guys. When I got into junior high and then high school I played both football and basketball. I played for a while in junior high and then quit and mainly played pickup ball. I didn无毛视频檛 start playing organized football until my freshman year. I quit football during my sophomore year at training camp and focused on basketball. I played football again as a junior and a senior.无毛视频�
Mays was a part of Uniontown无毛视频檚 great WPIAL championship basketball team in 2001-2002, a team that finished 30-2, beating New Castle to win the WPIAL title, 60-57, and eventually losing to Harrisburg in the PIAA Class AAAA championship game.
Mays saw some action that season, scoring 49 points.
无毛视频淚t was a great experience, but I lacked the discipline of being punctual,无毛视频� Mays lamented. 无毛视频淚 had an off and on stint with that team and it was my fault. I ran into problems with coach Dave Shuck, he didn无毛视频檛 think being late was acceptable. He had zero tolerance for being late. I got kicked off the team and they let me come back, but I rode the bench.
无毛视频淐oach Shuck was a great coach, but he had zero tolerance for the nonsense. If you don无毛视频檛 have discipline you are not going to be a great player. I made sure I wasn无毛视频檛 late for any more practices after that.无毛视频�
Dave Shuck retired and his assistant Rob Kezmarsky took over the program and Mays flourished on the court developing into a deadly scorer.
无毛视频淚 had a good relationship with him,无毛视频� Mays offered. 无毛视频淗e and his brother Steve looked out for me a lot.无毛视频�
Mays scored 459 points as a junior and the Red Raiders were 13-1 in Class AAA section play and finished the season with a record of 20-3. They lost to Hampton in the WPIAL playoffs 63-48.
Mays exploded as a senior, leading the WPIAL in scoring for most of the season and ending up with 584 points on a team that went 19-5 and fell to Knoch in the WPIAL quarterfinals, 60-52. Mays was ice cold that night finishing with a season-low seven points.
For his career Mays tallied 1,092 points and is one of 16 Red Raider boys to score 1,000 points. Mays was All-Section as a junior and a senior, All-WPIAL Class AAA as a senior and was named second team All-State by the Associated Press as a senior. He saved some of his best performances against arch rival Laurel Highlands, torching the Mustangs for 38 points as a junior and 33 as a senior.
无毛视频淪coring 1,000 points was a great individual accomplishment and without my teammates that would not have been possible,无毛视频� Mays said. 无毛视频淚 would trade 1,000 points for a championship. I really didn无毛视频檛 think too much about All-State or All-Section. I wanted to win a championship.无毛视频�
Mays excelled on the gridiron for the Red Raiders, playing on teams that went 6-4 in 2002 with a loss to Knoch 34-7 in the WPIAL playoffs. Mays, a tight end/receiver, scored two touchdowns as a junior. He had a breakout season 2003 on a team that posted a record of 4-6. Mays caught 40 passes for 670 yards and scored seven touchdowns for coach John Fortugna. He was named All-Keystone Conference.
When the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Mays graduated from Uniontown in 2004 all of the interest from colleges was for football.
无毛视频淚 had offers,无毛视频� Mays explained. 无毛视频淢y grades were a big problem and ruined my chance to play college football.无毛视频�
Mays decided to join the Army and served on active duty for eight years at Fort Hood, Texas. He went into the National Guard for three years. Then bounced around in various jobs.
无毛视频淭he military was a good experience for me,无毛视频� Mays said. 无毛视频淚t was definitely an eyeopener.无毛视频�
The 38-year old Mays resides in Reading and has been going back to school. Not married, Mays has eight children ranging in age from 20 to 3 years old.
Looking back, Mays regrets missed opportunities and potential.
无毛视频淚 was 50-50 with what I did in high school,无毛视频� Mays stated. 无毛视频淎thletics, I was happy, on the school side of things, no. I wish I had showed up more. I was more an athlete-student not a student-athlete. I无毛视频檓 disappointed that I was more focused on being an athlete than a student.无毛视频�
George Von Benko无毛视频檚 无毛视频淢emory Lane无毛视频� column appears in the Sunday editions of the 无毛视频-Standard. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.