Experience is not be an area where the University Heights Academy Blazers will be found lacking during the 2022-2023 basketball season. In fact, the Blazers will be among the most “experienced” teams in the area. The key for the Blazers this season will be turning that experience into performance on the court, performance that could put them back into contention for the All A regional title and the 2nd Region championship come season’s end.
The UHA roster going into the season is loaded with players that saw action last year. The Blazers have a total of nine players that saw action in at least 16 games last season and five more players that saw at least some varsity time on the court.
Junior Gavin Grubbs led the Blazers in scoring last season at 14.5 points per game and figures to be at or near the top of the scoring list again this season. Grubbs led UHA in made field goals and was second on the team in made three-pointers.
Another key offensive piece figures to be senior Lamar Northington. Northington just missed averaging in double figures for 2021-2022, scoring 9.1-points per game. When he is clicking from the outside, Northington becomes a powerful offensive weapon and could give the Blazers a strong 1-2 combination, along with Grubbs, in putting points on the board.
The big key for UHA appears to be finding a couple of other players from last season to elevate their games and give the Blazers some additional, consistent firepower on offense. Several players on the roster have exhibited flashes and have the potential to help carry UHA back to regional contender status.
One of those to watch will be sophomore Elijah Walton. Walton can elevate and make things happen around the basket, and another year of growth and maturity could make a big difference in his game. In 18 games last season, he averaged 5.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per contest. Look for those numbers to climb this season.
Quinton Quarles spent a great deal of time at the point last season and averaged 7.2 points a game. Quarles is athletic and not afraid to mix it up down in traffic, plus he has a high-energy motor that helps drive the train when the Blazers are looking to get up and down the court.
Preston Thomas, Cam Brown, and Trevonne Wallace all had their moments last year and will be key players. Wallace and Brown were the team’s leading rebounders in 2021-2022, while Thomas gives the Blazers a player that can fly up and down the court, stressing opposing defenses.
Shooting will be a key for the Blazers, as they knocked down just 39.1-percent from the field and 27.9-percent from behind the arc last season. If the Blazers can get more shots to fall, thus giving them more opportunities to crank up the pressure, they will be more than a handful for any opponent this season.
Outside of a really tough district schedule, UHA will face off against defending 1st Region champ Murray, 1st Region runner-up McCracken County, Henderson County, Madisonville-North Hopkins, Bowling Green, defending 3rd Region champion Muhlenberg County, Paducah Tilghman, and Webster County.
Plus, mark down January 10th on your calendar. The Blazers will host Lyon County in the opening round of the 2nd Region All A Classic. That is set to be the first of two meetings between the schools, with the second one coming up January 31 in Eddyville.
The Blazers will open the season December 6 on the road at Murray.
