Waynesburg guard upholds legacy
For Darton McIntire, Waynesburg basketball is a family affair.
His father, Steve, and uncle, Lance, both played for the Waynesburg boys basketball team and graduated in 1989 and 1990, respectively.
But it’s his aunt, Tammy, who’s the star in the family. She graduated from Waynesburg in 1986 as the all-time scoring leader for the girls basketball team and went on to have a standout career at California University of Pennsylvania.
It was Tammy who told current Waynesburg boys basketball coach Kirk King that her nephew, Darton, was transferring from West Virginia into the Waynesburg district to live with his dad.
Darton, who was an incoming sophomore at the time, didn’t start at his previous school, Trinity Christian in Morgantown, W.Va. But it didn’t take long for King to realize he had a potentially special player in front of him.
“Probably the first time that he came into an open gym,” King said. “He came to us ... in his sophomore year and he was coming into an open gym situation. I was watching him play in the pickup games and I could tell he had the entire game. He had all the tools necessary to be a good scorer. He had a really good jump shot, good handles, could drive, physically strong.”
Now a senior, it’s safe to say Darton has upheld his family’s legacy. McIntire became the all-time leading scorer for the boys team Feb. 2 with a 32-point performance against South Fayette, and is averaging 26.6 points and eight rebounds a game.
“It’s an honor to play at Waynesburg, play on the same court that my family members have,” McIntire said. “It’s a huge honor to think about that I’m walking in the same shoes as my uncle, my dad and my aunt. It’s pretty cool. Not many people get to play at their dad’s alma mater, my family’s alma mater really. I would say it’s very cool.”
Given his statistical accomplishments, King believes McIntire flies under the radar a bit. He said two things are working against McIntire — lack of exposure given that Waynesburg missed the playoffs last season and is just 4-15 overall this season, and that Waynesburg is on the smaller end of the WPIAL Class 2A Section 4 schools.
“If you look at our record, we lost 10 games by eight points or less,” King said. “That’s really tough because we’re very competitive. He probably flies under the radar in that we’re not up in the top of our classification or ranked in the WPIAL, so he doesn’t get as many looks or maybe as much notoriety because of that.”
McIntire, who said he’s receiving interest from a number of Division II and III schools, comes from a family of basketball fanatics. The sport dominates conversation during family gatherings, whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving or reunions. And his aunt Tammy, who now has the last name Mandich and is currently the special education director at Waynesburg, may be in his earmore than any of them.
“She always gives me pointers, always critiques me, but most importantly she always motivates me and uplifts me before games,” McIntire said. “I compete with her but she wants the best with me. We have a great relationship. Every day, she works in the administration over here. So everyday she pulls me out of class and we talk about the game. So we have a pretty good relationship. It’s fun, we tease each other and everything. We have an outstanding relationship, I would say.”
His parents’ divorce led him to move in with his father, but he still enjoys a great relationship with both parents. And he enjoys the benefit of having multiple family members from both sides of his family attend his games.
“Even my mom, who lives about an hour and a half away, usually makes every home game with about six other family members,” he said. “I usually have a ton of support, more than needed, really, but it’s fun to look up in the stands and in every corner you have six family members here, six family members there, and they’re all cheering and motivating me to play even harder.”