Gerard, Guerriere speak at 1K club dinner
Submitted photo
Gus Gerard was a 1,000-point scorer for Laurel Highlands in a basketball career that led to him playing in the NBA and Robin Guerriere Amend also reached the 1,000-point milestone while helping lead Geibel Catholic to four consecutive WPIAL girls basketball titles from 1993 to 1996.
The two took time to speak at the Sports Wall of Recognition dinner honoring five Fayette County high school basketball players who ended the 2025 season with over 1,000 points at Rizz’s restaurant on May 14.
Attending were Uniontown seniors Calvin Winfrey III and Notorious Grooms, Laurel Highlands seniors Ayrianna Sumpter and Miya Harris and Brownsville junior Skyler Gates. Albert Gallatin senior Mya Glisan also reached the 1,000-point mark this season and Geibel Catholic junior Emma Larkin, like Grooms, joined the 1K club last year.
Gerard went to play in college at Virginia and began his seven-year professional career in the ABA for two years before playing five years in the NBA. Guerriere went on to be a four-year letterman at NCAA Division-I Saint Francis where she helped the Red Flash win four consecutive conference championships.
Both are in the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame, Guerriere twice, as a member of that Lady Gators team and individually, and both were happy to be asked to attend the event.
“It was a fun evening,” Gerard said. “Rick Gates and (Rizz’s owner) Ben (Venick) did a marvelous job getting it together for the first time and I’m hoping they can continue it.”
“I thought it was a great event to honor those athletes,” Guerriere said. “It’s not often you have so many 1,000-point scorers in the same year so it was nice to see the community take an interest in recognizing our athletes, especially with the rich tradition we have in the area.
“I hope they continue that and I hope other community members kind of piggyback off of that and give our kids the accolades and the appreciation that they deserve.”
“This group of kids achieved something that not many players do,” Gerard said. “To score 1,000 points is a big deal in high school. I wanted to emphasize that accomplishments like that just don’t come to you, you have to earn it with hard work and also you need help along the way from your teammates.
“All the time spent practicing and sacrificing to work on your game, to reach that milestone makes it all worthwhile.”
Guerriere, who is on the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame board of directors, told the group they could carry over their high school accomplishments past graduation.
“My message to them was reaching 1,000 points and everything they’ve learned along the way, that shear hard work and determination pays off, is something they can take on with them throughout life whether they play sports in college or not.
“They were learning lifelong lessons on the court, not just putting a ball through the hoop, that there’s more to sports than the final score and how many points you had and the trophies you’ve earned. You’re also learning these lessons that you can take in life and apply to your day-to-day life or the workforce and your family.”
Gerard, who once played in the ABA finals for the Denver Nuggets against Julius Erving and the New York Nets, pointed out to the group that others take note of their success.
“I wanted to tell them how the community really looks up to them, whether they realize it or not, and there’s a generation coming underneath them that sees that 1,000 points, sees them play ball, sees their team success, so the example they set while in the community means a whole lot.
“There were many great players here that were my heroes when I was growing up, (Wil) Robinson, (Jim) Hobgood (of Laurel Highlands), and players from Uniontown and all the great teams they had.”
Gerard commended Guerriere’s career also.
“I remember going to Robin’s Hall of Fame induction (2022) and the great teams she was on at Geibel and I told her she was one of my heroes, too,” Gerard said. “She’s just a class act.”
Gerard noted the impact Laurel Highlands graduate and current West Virginia football player Rodney Gallagher had on the area. Gallagher was a four-year all-state basketball player who went on to become LH’s all-time leading scorer.
“There was kind of a drought here and then Rodney comes along and kicks it all up in all the sports and gets everybody fired up,” Gerard said. “There was a whole generation that looked up to him. And now you have players such as the ones that we honored this night, they’ve had an impact on fans around here who’ve watched them throughout their careers. I, myself, am glad I got the chance to see some of them play this year.”
Guerriere reflected on the perspective she had her senior year.
“I thought, ‘What’s next? How do I get better to play in college?’ But it’s a completely different environment now the way the NIL is set up,” she said. “We knew in September, October where we were playing (in college). We were already signed so by our senior year we were still honing our skills but it was more relaxing. Not everyone is like that. Cal is just making his decision now. Tori hasn’t really decided the path he wants to take yet.
“Now at certain levels there’s money, deals, factors that we never had to consider. Our senior year it was get that fourth (WPIAL) gold medal. That was the goal. I scored my 1,000th point that year and I believe Tara (Cochrane) scored her 1,000th point later in the season. Alison (Watts) got her 1,000 before us and (Jen) Surlas was right on our heels.
“But it wasn’t ‘hit that milestone,’ we were all thinking how do we get that next medal and it just so happened the points came and we reached some individual goals.”
Gerard felt it was a fun night for Guerriere, himself and the players.
“It was a very nice, informal, kind of just wing it get-together,” Gerard said. “I think all involved enjoyed it. I thought it turned out pretty well.”