Unaka Rangers Rangers look to rebound from losing season

BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN STAR CORRESPONDENT

When senior guard Devin Ramsey fell to injury last season it seemed to take something away from the Unaka Rangers basketball team that they couldn’t recapture. The Rangers finished a disappointing 11-21 last season losing seven of their last eight games, including three straight in the district 1A playoffs.

Unaka will look to rebound in 2022-23 with seniors Joe-Z Blamo and Landon Ramsey taking leadership roles with a young team trying to find itself.

“I think a lot of people are going to underestimate us,” Ramsey said. “We want to win and we are working hard toward that goal. Some are going to doubt us and say we can’t win, but I think we can surprise some people. Last season injuries kept us from our potential.”

Seniors that graduated last season include Joseph Slagle, Gavin Seigfried, and Devin Ramsey and seniors this season that did not return include Ryan Sexton and Brady Taylor. Also sophomore Brynin Repass is not on the current roster.

Returning players include junior posts Marcus Shomaker and Brayden Powell along with sophomore guard Mason Wilson and junior Kaiden Benway. Blamo was Unaka’s leading scorer the last few seasons and has worked diligently on improving his game.

“I have been working on my game a lot,” Blamo said. “I have a lot of personal goals and team goals and one of my team goals is for us to get to the state tournament. And my personal goal is to be a finalist for Mr. Basketball. These are lofty goals, but if you don’t go big then you aren’t doing everything to the best of your ability.”

Last season the Rangers had a difficult time keeping leads and that is something the team has been working on keeping their mental edge and focus.

“I feel like I have to step up and take a bigger leader- ship role,” Blamo said. “Yeah, last season we lost some games because we lost our focus and that is something that I have stressed with the team. We have to maintain our focus late in games and win them and not make excuses.”

Some young additions to the squad include Wes Oliver, Jackson Deyton, Rylan Crabtree, Collin Deyton, Austin Lambert, Brinton Salinas and Logan Lewis but how these new players fit into the scheme is not yet known.

The Rangers open the season on November 18 against Cosby in the Hall of Fame tournament.