Westmoreland County Senior Spotlight: Ligonier Valley’s James Pleskovich

By: Anthony Difilippo
Monday, January 23, 2023 | 11:55 AM

Sometimes it helps to look past the record when evaluating a team and its leadership.

That’s the case for Ligonier Valley’s boys basketball team, which is 3-11.

The Rams have a young team after the graduation of eight seniors from last year’s team. This year’s roster includes just two seniors: 6-foot-4 forwards James Pleskovich and Haden Sierocky.

Pleskovich takes seriously his leadership role and being a mentor on such a young team.

“You have to keep everyone together and make sure no one keeps their head down,” Pleskovich said.

As the season progresses, the sophomores also have been developing, specifically Parker Hollick and John Jablunovsky.

Pleskovich, who’s a top scorer on the team, knows he doesn’t have to carry the scoring load as much now that some of the underclassmen have stepped up.

“I love scoring, but it’s best when I don’t score a lot and it’s more spread out,” Pleskovich said.

The nonsection schedule for Ligonier Valley has been one of the toughest in the WPIAL, pitting the Rams against teams such as Greensburg Central Catholic, Class 6A Hempfield, Berlin Brothersvalley and Geibel.

Even though those games didn’t end with them on top, Pleskovich still thinks there’s positive takeaways.

“It’s been nice staying busy and working hard,” Pleskovich said. “The more practice the better, and going up against harder teams like Greensburg Central Catholic, it helps you to play the best you can.”

The section record for the Rams is 2-3, which might bode well for them, as seven of their remaining eight games are against those teams.

Pleskovich said the team might start coming together as they play more familiar teams.

“It’s definitely been coming together well,” Pleskovich said. “We’ve been running our stuff better and learning from everything like we do in practice.”

On top of basketball, Pleskovich is also a standout on the track and field team, participating in javelin.

Pleskovich is planning on going into carpentry if he doesn’t go to college for track.

In the home stretch of his senior season, Pleskovich took some time for a Senior Spotlight Q&A:

How did you get started with basketball?

It’s just something most of my family has done, so I just picked up with it.

Do you consider interior defense and rebounding an important part of your game?

Yes, I would say 100%. I mean, it’s nice to score, but we really need me in there for the rebounds and defense to keep them out of the paint.

What’s your biggest strength?

I would say the inside in the paint, working the ball and driving.

Is there an area you’re looking to improve on?

On offense, for sure.

How did you get into javelin?

My friend Miles (Higgins), who I play basketball and football with, he got me into track, and I just fell in love with it.

What is one thing that people might not know about you?

I would say that I get judged a lot. People feel that I’m mean because of how big I am. I’m a caring teammate, and I just do my best.

Tags: Ligonier Valley