The Pied Piper of Pittsburgh
J.O. Stright's Influence on Local Basketball
By Chris Dokish

The hot topic of conversation among western Pennsylvania high school basketball fans lately concerns the fresh new talent across the region. Are nationally recognized stars like Aliquippa's Herb Pope and Jeannette's Terrelle Pryor anomalies, or are they a sign of better days for an area that has not seen much elite talent lately?

That question has been answered. It has become clear that Pope and Pryor are the two top prospects not only in Pennsylvania, but among the best nationally as well. And they are not the only Division 1 prospects in the region. Elizabeth-Forward's Steve Sweich, and Schenley teammates DeJuan Blair and D.J. Kennedy join Pope as top prospects in the class of 2007; Norwin's Brian Shanahan and Aliquippa's Jonathan Baldwin join Pryor in the 2008 class; and Beaver Falls' Todd Thomas should be a bright star in 2009.

The emergence of top tier basketball talent in such a football-crazed area can be traced to two sources. The first is the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S, the AAU team founded by local businessman J.O. Stright. Stright started the J.O.T.S (J.O. Team Sports) 25 years ago with the help of former University of Pittsburgh stars Charles Smith and Demetrius Gore.

Stright stands out as a controversial figure, even in the often controversial world of college basketball recruiting. A close friend of another controversial figure, former Cincinnati and current Kansas State head coach Bob Huggins, Stright has drawn the ire of Pitt basketball, some of whom see him as the lone figure standing between Pitt basketball and greatness. Internet message boards burn with vitriolic words for Stright, cast as a Svengali for local high school basketball stars, as he is seen as leading them away from their hometown team and to his friend Bob Huggins.

"The truth is, I did that when Paul Evans was at Pitt, but I don't do it anymore," says Stright. "I put a kid where I think he will excel. If I think one of my kids has the best chance to excel with Huggins then I will send him there. But not every kid should be with him."

This leads to the second reason for the reemergence of Pittsburgh basketball - a successful local college basketball team for which they could aspire to play some day. The coming of age of Pitt basketball was melding perfectly, it seemed, with what Stright was doing for the J.O.T.S. If only it were that easy.

MOVING PIECES

Both Pope and Pryor are coveted by both Huggins and Pitt. In fact, both players verbally committed to the Panthers in the last year. But that, Stright detractors will tell you, was before Stright went to work getting them to change their minds.

"That's not true," contends Stright. "Herb came to me a few days after he committed to Pitt and said, 'J.O., I made a mistake. Call Pitt and tell them I de-committed.' And I knew that commitment wouldn't stick. It was a year and a half before he could sign, and the kid has never even lived in the same place for more than two years."

National basketball writer Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News is also not surprised by Pope's de-commitment. He relays the vibe at the prestigious ABCD basketball combine held last summer in New Jersey.

"Not one coach there saw Herb's Pitt commitment as an obstacle," says DeCourcy.

Not long after the de-commitment call was made, reports swirled that Pope was in Jacksonville, FL on a recruiting trip. Not for a college, but for a prep school. Pope was visiting, at the request of Stright, Arlington Country Day School, one of the best prep basketball programs in the country. At the same time that Arlington Day's coach, Rex Morgan, was telling media outlets that Pope was enrolled at the school, Pope himself was telling PSR that he planned to return to Aliquippa.

The incident raised red flags those already distrustful of Stright. Word spread that Stright was leading Pope away from the area-and away from Pitt-so he could deliver the star forward to his best friend, Bob Huggins. It didn't help that Morgan sends his best players to the Miami Tropics AAU team, headed by his friend Art Alvarez. Alvarez is best friends with former Miami high school basketball coach Frank Martin - an assistant for Huggins at Cincinnati and now at Kansas State.

Huggins is so highly thought of by the Miami Tropics that their star player, 7'2" Jason Bennett, waited all year to see where Huggins would land so that he could join him.

In addition to Bennett and Pope, Huggins has been working to line up the two most talented players in the 2007 class, teammates O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker. With Huggins recent hiring at Kansas State, that plan may be coming to fruition if a recent late night call from Pope to Stright means anything.

"Herb called me at 11 o'clock at night," laughs Stright, "and said 'Huggins is at Kansas State? So that's where we're going?' I laughed and told him that's his decision but I will listen to him if he has any questions."

MAKING CONNECTIONS

None of this, by the way, is necessarily underhanded or even uncommon in the world of big time college basketball recruiting. Connections are the name of the game, and Huggins and Stright know how to play the game as well as anyone. The question some have, though, is will Pope and Pryor go where they want to go, or where Stright tells them they want to go?

It's a question raised a lot in recruiting. How much influence should amateur coaches have on kids? Stright points to Danny Fortson's success in the NBA and in life as proof that he does what's best for his players. Fortson was Stright's first big splash on the scene, as he took Fortson away from a horrible family life in Altoona to an NBA career making tens of millions of dollars.

Although Pryor was also being courted by Arlington Country Day-he even says he was sending transfer papers to the school before changing his mind-Pryor seems less likely than Pope to turn away from Pitt. He does say that he may still leave Jeannette for a prep school eventually. As for which one, Pryor's answer surely will make Pitt fans cringe.

"I'll probably just go where J.O. puts me," says the 15 year old.

Despite some harsh words for Pitt's staff and how they recruit his players, Stright says he is a big Pitt basketball fan and big donor to the university. "I'm a Pitt guy," says Stright, who has season tickets, "and I am one of their top 100 givers. What's that tell you?"

Some at Pitt are frustrated, not only because of what they think Stright is doing, but also because they feel he is too powerful to stop. AAU coaches generally have better contacts and much more power than high school coaches in recruiting circles. AAU tournaments are where the best players are found, so it's also where the college coaches linger. Many of the most respected people in college basketball refused to comment on the record for this article, because they all need Stright in their own way.

One media member, speaking anonymously, comes to Stright's defense.

"He hasn't done anything yet so there is no smoking gun. Pope and Pryor are still at their high schools and neither one has gone to a college other than Pitt."

Until Pope and Pryor settle on a college, the battle for the minds and bodies of these two talented players will go on. Stright says he will do what he thinks is best for the players, whether that leads them to Pitt, Kansas State, or someplace else.

Pitt fans not looking forward to the recruiting battles are left hoping Stright puts his mouth where his money is.

Chris Dokish is the Recruiting Editor for the Pittsburgh Sports Report and the lead writer for Keystone Recruiting.