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Dunbar passionate about basketball

By Eleanor Bailey 7 min read
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Jack Dunbar soars to the basket during section action against Trinity. The Peters Township senior recently surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in his scholastic career.

Jack Dunbar listens to his heart, not the rational of others. At 6-foot-3, 190-pounds, the senior is a standout basketball player at Peters Township, not a football player for the Indians, who last fall won their first WPIAL title and competed in the PIAA championships.

“No regrets,” Dunbar said. “Absolutely not. I love basketball so much.”

Dunbar easily could have developed a passion for football after all he has the pedigree. His grandfather, John Banaszak, was a three-time Super Bowl champion before embarking on a coaching career at Washington & Jefferson College as well as Robert Morris University. His father, Terry, played at Northgate and at W&J, during Banaszak’s tenure and while his mother, Carrie, played volleyball for the Presidents.

“There was a little pressure to play (football),” Dunbar said.

Dunbar did in fact play football up until the seventh grade. Admittedly, he was good at the sport.

“I realized it wasn’t for me though. It was not my thing,” he said. “I put my time into basketball because I love playing it. I have a passion for it.”

While Dunbar pursues his interests, Banaszak continues recruiting. Dunbar says he’s been working on his cousin. A future freshman in the Canon-McMillan School District, Johnny Banaszak, however, is a wrestler and lacrosse player for the Big Macs. There is also Dunbar’s younger brother who is in the second grade.

“He’s going to try with Tyler,” Dunbar said. “I don’t know how successful he will be because Tyler loves hoops too.”

Dunbar added that all his life he has seen Banaszak as his grandfather. “Not somebody with three Super Bowl rings,” he said. Dunbar also said that once Banaszak accepted his preference for basketball, a load was lifted off his own shoulders.

“He does enjoy going to my games. He might be my biggest fan.”

Dunbar has many admirers. He draws much attention on the court because he is a complete player. He averages 18.5 points per game and 5.8 rebounds. He has converted 36 percent of his 3-point shots and 55 percent of his 2-point buckets.

“Jack loves to compete. His competitive spirit is one of the things that makes him special,” said PT head coach Joe Urmann. “He has outstanding character traits including a desire for continuous improvement. He’s coachable and has begun to find his voice as a leader.”

Dunbar’s development took an arduous path. His career began in kindergarten, playing in a church league. He progressed to recreation ball then travel teams.

“No one could convince me not to play. I put in countless hours of shooting in the driveway or practicing at the rec center. Just putting in the work,” Dunbar said. “I just found it an interesting sport. Super easy. A simple game, but it can get complicated. “

The pandemic impeded Dunbar’s progress. As a freshman, he was not on the varsity roster in 2020. As a sophomore, he saw limited action.

“As a young freshman to be shut down and not have much of an opportunity because it was a COVID year was discouraging. I had hoped to at least be on JV and gain experience. Playing on the freshman team was a good thing though, I gained confidence.”

In 10th grade, Dunbar played strictly on the varsity. He averaged about 16 minutes a game.

“I thought that was good for me because I gained a lot of experience. I got thrown into big games. It was character building and a help in the long run.”

By his junior year, Dunbar was the catalyst behind PT’s historic season. As the Indians advanced to their first PIAA quarterfinal playoff game and posted a 24-5 overall record complete with a section banner, Dunbar averaged 18.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He garnered MVP honors for both the Observer-Reporter and The Almanac as well as all-section acclaim.

“Jack has been instrumental in developing and promoting our culture on and off the court. He has played a big role in our success,” said Urmann. “I am incredibly proud of him and thankful.”

Dunbar and Urmann are equally grateful for a recent achievement. On Jan. 30, Dunbar scored a game-high 19 tallies, including his 1,000th career point, during a 79-23 win over Connellsville.

“I am super proud of Jack,” Urmann said. “Scoring 1,000 points is a huge accomplishment for any high school player. He is one of the best pure scorers I’ve ever coached.”

The milestone surprisingly came on a layup rather than one of Dunbar’s trademark treys or thunderous dunks. Dylan Donovan assisted on the hoop.

“I would have loved it to be a dunk but it was a little layup in front of the hoop,” Dunbar said with a laugh. “I played it safe and laid it in there.

“I am just pleased to have accomplished this. It was definitely a goal but for me it was tougher to achieve. Basically, this was done in two years,” Dunbar said. “Honestly though it’s a credit to my teammates. That’s a lot of assists going around to help me do this.”

High jumping in track has helped Dunbar, too. A two-time WPIAL qualifier, he earned an eighth place medal as a sophomore. This spring, he hopes to finish in the top four and qualify for the PIAA championships in the event he started in middle school.

“My dad encouraged me to do it because he thought it would be good for me. I’m decent at it and I enjoy it. I think it’s great cross training. It’s helped me get better on the court.”

Dunbar has now targeted making his team the best. Later this month, he hopes to guide the Indians back to the WPIAL Class 5A finals. Last year, Peters Township lost to Penn Hills in the championship game where Dunbar saw limited action because of a leg injury.

After a slow start, because the football players did not return to the basketball squad until mid-December, the Indians sit in second place in Section 1 behind Thomas Jefferson. They were 7-2 before tipping off at Bethel Park on Feb. 9 and 15-5 overall.

“At the beginning of the season it was weird playing with the younger guys, who had zero varsity experience, but they stepped up and played tough,” Dunbar said. “We’ve worked those (football) guys back into the lineup and we are starting to put things together.

“I think people view us as underdogs but we like being in that position. We are a team that feeds off that. Use it as fuel,” Dunbar continued. “My personal goals coincide with the team’s. We want to get back to the “Pete” and score a different outcome for ourselves. It’s going to take our best effort, our best game as a team. We have to play well to win.”

JACK DUNBAR

BIO BOX

Parents: Terry and Carrie

Siblings: Abby, Tess, Tyler

Age: 18

Birthdate: Oct. 9

College choice: Undecided.

Major: Sports business management

Food: Burrito from Chipotle.

Color: Red

Book: The Mamba Mentality by Kobe Bryant

Favorite athlete: Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves. “I like the way he plays. He seems like a funny guy, too.”

With whom would you like to have dinner? Michael Jordan “He’s the GOAT.”

Life lesson sports has taught you: Perseverance. Battle through and keep pushing no matter what

People might be surprised to know this about you: I can do a backflip off the diving board and I love to play pool basketball.

Did you know: Dunbar made seven 3-pointers in a row in games against Connellsville and Baldwin in his career. His most dunks in a game were two. “They are harder to get.”

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