Reversing The Cycle
Young Talent Putting Basketball Back On The Local Map
By Chris Dokish

Pittsburgh is a football town. As the saying goes, there are two seasons in Pittsburgh – football season and waiting for football season. From the Steelers to Pitt and Penn State to high school, the city gains such an identity from its football that it is ingrained in every man, woman and child from the day they are born. Other sports have never had a chance to gain a spot in the hearts of Pittsburghers. But don’t tell that to a talented group of teenage basketball players playing in the city right now.

“This group has more talent than any group the city has seen in 20 years, if not longer,” says former Pitt player and Duquesne coach Darelle Porter.

Porter should know. He coaches most of them for the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S, the city’s highly regarded 16-and-under AAU team. “We had a scout from PrepStars come in and evaluate the team and he gave every one of them a Division 1 grade. That’s the only time we ever had that happen.”

“It’s a welcomed sight,” laughs Pitt’s Director of Basketball Operations, Orlando Antigua, who likes what he sees locally. “It’s a big advantage and it’s great for the university to have such high caliber talent here.”

It’s not like talented basketball players have vanished from the area completely. Yough’s Ben McCauley, a top-100 recruit, will play at North Carolina State this fall. Danny Fortson of Shaler, via Altoona, was an All-American at Cincinnati before being an NBA lottery pick in 1997. Dante Calabria of Blackhawk and Kevin Salvadori of Seton-LaSalle won a National Championship together at North Carolina. True basketball, however, cities match that success every year.

TALENT TRENDS

“I think it’s cyclical,” says legendary basketball scout and Pittsburgh native Sonny Vaccaro. “You look at a city like Memphis. They had great talent there for years with kids like Penny Hardaway, but then it disappeared. Well, it’s back again. It happens to all cities. It’s just that for some reason it lasted longer for Pittsburgh. Twenty or 30 years ago, Pittsburgh had a lot of talent. Schenley High School was one of the top 10 basketball producers in the country“

Longtime scout Van Coleman of Hoopmasters.com agrees with the cycle theory. “Memphis is a perfect example of a city that had a down cycle but is now up again. And look at places where basketball wasn’t big before. In places like Houston it is now “cool” to be a basketball player and they are as much of a football area as Pittsburgh. The talent level in Florida for basketball is at an all-time high. Ohio is loaded with players this year like never before. That’s three places known for football now producing a lot of top basketball talent.”

But can the same thing happen in Pittsburgh, a city that not long ago was in the top 20 in population but now is not even in the top 50? Can it happen in a city that has less population than places like Mesa, AZ, Colorado Springs, CO, and Omaha, NE?

“The loss of population hurts, there is no doubt about that,” says Vaccaro. “But it’s not impossible for the city to have a good number of talented players beyond this group. It really helps that Pitt has those facilities there and has had recent success. It gives the kids something to shoot for. And in turn, it’s great for Pitt and Duquesne to have that kind of talent in their backyard.”

Pitt’s recent success, both on the court and in terms of facilities, is seen as a major boost by Vaccaro, who now has big plans for basketball in the area.

“You look at that new arena and now you can do things there you couldn’t do before,” says Vaccaro. “Look at Bob Gibbons Tournament in North Carolina. He has a big AAU tournament down there where they play on the campuses of Duke, North Carolina and North Carolina State. Well, that’s an opportunity for those schools to get those potential recruits in there for free. That’s a huge thing. I want to do the same thing at Pitt now. I was going to do it in two years but I think we can do it now. We can have major talent playing in Pittsburgh now because of those facilities and that will get the local kids excited even more.”

RISING STARS

And who are the top local talents that could be playing in such an event? The four players that are seen as guaranteed high Division 1 prospects all play for Porter with the J.O.T.S. One, Herb Pope of Aliquippa, will only be a junior in the fall but has already verbally committed to play for Pitt. He is considered one of the top 30 players in the Class of 2007. And just like decades ago, Schenley is again at the forefront of area basketball with the talented duo of DeJuan Blair and D.J. Kennedy, who as sophomores this past year almost pulled off a state championship until Blair suffered a season ending knee injury. But the best of the foursome may be Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor, who already has colleges drooling despite the fact that he’s a month removed from being a high school freshman.

“We have Pope as a top 30 player, “says Coleman, “and Blair is in our top 50 now. I can’t remember when the city had two kids in the top 50 before.”

Kennedy, whose dad, “Puffy” Kennedy, played in the city and at the University of Cincinatti, is a sleeper who is rising fast and could be at least a top 100 player. Pryor is expected to be one of the top players in the nation in 2008. Add to that three other 2007 Division 1 prospects in Albert-Gallatin’s Jawaan Alston, Elizabeth-Forward’s Steve Sweich, and last year’s third super-soph from Schenley, Jamaal Bryant, and you can see why the immediate future is bright for high school basketball in Pittsburgh.

The talent is there. But since most experts think it is cyclical, does that mean Pittsburgh will again be in for drought conditions after this young crop is plucked? Not according to Porter.

“I think it’s a sign of things to come. This is the first class that was in AAU basketball since they were very young. Now they have set the tone for the kids after them. Youth basketball here is better organized now and last year we even started an 8 and 9 year old team.”

Porter also coaches Team C.R.O.N.S, a group of 9 and 10 year olds that won the National Championship in 2004 and features Porter’s son, Darelle, Jr. Over a dozen eighth and ninth grade teams also exist in the area. Mike Shanahan, brother of former Duquesne player Brian Shanahan, led his ninth grade team to the western PA championship last year while Jeannette coach Rick Klimchock’s eighth grade team has been in the top 25 in the country for the past five years. Both have been with a lot of the same kids for years.

“They have become so seasoned now,” says Porter, talking about both his 16 year olds and 10 year olds. “We take them to tournaments and they feel like they belong. They aren’t intimated anymore. They know they can compete with anybody.”

Thanks to some very hard work by some very talented people, it seems as if the youth of the area will be well coached. But can they overcome Pittsburgh’s relatively low population? And is the problem a lack of big kids with talent more so than the lack of general talent? Pope and Alston are 6’8”. Blair is 6’7” and 245 pounds. Sweich is 6’8” and 265 pounds. Pryor is already 6’6” and 220 pounds. And all are still growing. Will the city be lucky enough to have the current kids already in the AAU system grow to those sizes?

All of these questions will be answered in the next few years. In the meantime, a group of dedicated coaches and players will try to reverse the cycle and make Pittsburgh a basketball city as well as a football city.

Chris Dokish covers recruiting for PSR. Sign up for the Keystone Recruiting newsletter at Pittsburgh Sports Report's web site.