You can’t miss him, not really, because he stands 6 feet, 8 inches tall and looks like he could take the court and get down to business today.
You know, grab a couple rebounds, set some picks, help a team get to the finish line.
Plus, well, his last name is Unseld.
That’s right. Basketball royalty in Kentucky.
Warren Central High School boys basketball coach William Unseld has his team pointed toward the finish line, in his case the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen, which unfolds on Wednesday morning at Lexington’s Rupp Arena.
Warren Central (26-3) will face the Commonwealth’s No. 1-ranked team, Louisville’s Male High School, in the first game on Thursday, set for a 10 a.m. CDT start at Rupp. Male (28-5) needed three overtimes and a 17-foot buzzer beater to slip past Ballard High School 82-80 in the KHSAA 7th Region Tournament championship game last week.
Unseld’s Dragons, the 14th District and 4th Region champions, are no strangers to the Sweet Sixteen.
They had back-to-back Sweet Sixteen semifinal appearances, and, in 2020, were poised to go back to Lexington until the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic instead meant they’d be staying home.
Now, two years later, Warren Central’s back, and they’re bad, baby.
And it means a little more, just a little bit, because this time, Unseld’s 16-year-old son, Kade Unseld, is a key player on the Warren Central squad. Usually the first or second guy off the bench. A pure shooter. An improving defender. At 6-foot-5, a multi-dimensional weapon.
And a pretty quiet kid, when you get down to it.
William Unseld admitted the obvious when Warren Central turned back Turner Buttry and the Bowling Green Purples, claiming a 58-50 victory in the KHSAA 4th Region championship game on March 8 at WKU’s E.A. Diddle Arena.
It meant a lot to the Dragons’ veteran players, guys like senior forward and leading scorer Jaiden Lawrence, who played their way into the Sweet Sixteen in 2020, only to miss out on the experience because of the pandemic.
Unseld can let his guard down, just a little, when talking about his son after a game. William Unseld played at Warren Central himself, graduating in 1992. He’s a cousin of Basketball Hall of Famer Wes Unseld, the late, great All-American from the University of Louisville who won an NBA championship with the Washington Bullets in 1978.
“It is, a little more special, that Kade is going to be a part of it,” William Unseld said on the E.A. Diddle Arena floor just a few minutes after the Dragons stopped Bowling Green in the 4th Region title game. “To get to play at Rupp Arena, in that environment … it’s a special experience.”
William Unseld has been pushing his team since the hard-fought victory over Bowling Green last week, doing some live scrimmaging in between the normal nuances of basketball practice. The Dragons thrive on getting down and dirty, hitting the floor for loose balls, mixing it up under the boards and fighting through picks on defense.
That’s the Warren Central way.
And that’s what Unseld tries to get across to his son. Kade Unseld, 16, was on the Dragons’ varsity roster last season before moving into a more prominent role as a sophomore.
That doesn’t mean basketball is a 24/7 thing in the Unseld home. The game is pretty much a way of life, but letting up on the accelerator is a big part of it, too.
“Basically, our relationship … We don’t take it home with us,” William Unseld said after Sunday’s uptempo practice in the Dragons’ gym. “Here, I’m ‘Coach.’ At home, I’m ‘Dad.’ I let Kade know, if he wants to talk to me, about a game, an opponent, he can talk to me about it. Just like any other player here.
“I let my assistant coaches talk to the kids, too. Kade’s been in the gym since he was five, six weeks old. In the crib, of course … When I was an assistant coach here, with Coach (Tim) Riley, Kade was around.
“Kade’s older brother, Kaelon Willoughby, helped me get to my first state tournament.
“We want our kids to enjoy the experience, playing at Rupp Arena. Embrace it. They’ve worked really hard to get here.”
Kade Unseld included, even if it seems that he gets up and down the court almost effortlessly. He has a quick first step and a deft outside shot, and he’s always working on his game. As a grade schooler, he tried football, and baseball, but basketball always was his first love.
And yes, Kade’s heard the catcalls from the opposing team’s fans, being the son of the head coach.
“I’m used to it. I tune it out,” Kade Unseld said with a shrug. “Growing up, I was just always in the gym. I’d go with my Dad to the Christmas tournaments, things like that.
“Our whole team is pumped about going to play in the Sweet Sixteen.”
William Unseld got to play at Rupp Arena, as a forward for the University of South Carolina from 1994-96. He didn’t get there with Warren Central, but he’s thrilled his son will get his chance this week.
Kade Unseld averages 9.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, numbers likely to make a significant jump in the 2022-23 season, but his father and the other WCHS coaches are believers in player development, and understanding their roles with the team.
“Sometimes, we have to remind ourselves, ‘Kade’s only a sophomore,'” William Unseld said. “In the Region tournament, he wasn’t scared of the moment. In fact, he thinks he’s going to make every shot he takes.
“We’re all looking forward to it, getting a chance to play in the Sweet Sixteen.”
