Can Pitt Help?
Telep uses football-mad Texas as an example of how this can work the other way. “Right now basketball has taken off in Texas and talent is coming out of there at a prolific rate simply because it’s become chic to play hoops in Houston,” says Telep. Which raises the question: could a sustained run of the success Pitt’s program is now enjoying change the talent landscape of area hoops for the better? Could it spark a “crazy hoops guy” to organize and cultivate the talent that’s going untapped in the city? DeCourcy is skeptical. He points out that the greatest part of the decline in talent took place in the late 80’s. “Charles Smith, Jerome Lane, Brian Shorter and Sean Miller did some great things at Pitt right around that time,” says DeCourcy, “but that did not translate into more kids from the area playing basketball and playing it well.” John Miller is more optimistic. “What Pittsburgh needs is for the best talent to come together on one elite AAU team,” says Miller, “that way we can g
