Basketball: Summer Pro-Am League fills void in Pittsburgh

When longtime Pitt basketball fan Sammy D’Agostino walked into the Greentree SportsPlex at 6… When longtime Pitt basketball fan Sammy D’Agostino walked into the Greentree SportsPlex at 6 p.m. on Monday, 200 people had already crowded onto the bleachers in the gym.

Even though the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am Summer League added two extra sets of bleachers behind the basket since last week, the only space left was standing room by the time the first game tipped off at 7 p.m.

D’Agostino plays a major role in coordinating and running the league that allows local college athletes to play together during the summer. He said he noticed a growth in the league’s popularity last year.

The league started six year ago, but beginning last summer, there was nowhere to stand by the time the games tipped off.

“Obviously, I’ve been fortunate — I sit on the floor, but I notice people don’t have great seats, but they’re great fans,” D’Agostino said. “They come early, stay late and they cheer.”

The idea for the league started with Pitt head coach Jamie Dixon himself, who mentioned to D’Agostino that the Pittsburgh area needed somewhere for the athletes to play while they went to summer school.

Unlike most big cities, Pittsburgh didn’t have an organized summer league for college athletes. So D’Agostino — who hasn’t missed a Pitt home game in 23 years — and other fans took the idea and ran with it.

Now he can’t believe the crowds that arrive at Greentree to watch the games. This summer, the league started on June 20. The teams will play every Monday and Wednesday until July 13, excluding July 4.

There are three games per night beginning at 7 p.m. Playoffs take place from July 18 through July 20.

The league features seven teams with players from schools such as Pitt, Duquesne and Robert Morris as well as some Division II players, athletes who are graduates of local high schools but attending other universities and former players who are returning to the area.

This season, D’Agostino said there are 68 Division I players from 11 schools as well as 15 former Division I players  and two Division II athletes.

A Basketball Town

D’Agostino grew up around basketball. He had five cousins who played Division I, and since he’s from Aliquippa, he said a love for the sport is in his blood.

He added that he was a decent player, but the smallest in a family with male cousins that stood anywhere from 6-foot-3 to 6-foot-5. D’Agostino is not even 6 feet tall. In the past five years, the only Pitt games he missed watching in person were four road games.

He transferred that love of basketball into running the summer league at Greentree.

“I like to hear the people cheering and when they clap for the kids after games,” he said. “It’s a fun thing. It warms my heart that we’re doing something for the kids and the community.”

On Monday, two Pitt fans — Joe Brown and Bob Johnston — made their first trip to the games, setting up their folding chairs next to the bleachers.

By the time the final game was winding down, Brown said they would “unquestionably” be back.

Brown called himself an avid basketball fan, whether it’s at the college or high school level. After Pitt lost to Butler in the NCAA Tournament last year, Brown sounded so upset on the phone that Johnston thought he lost a family member.

“I said, ‘You don’t understand, it’s devastating to me,’” he said. “I love basketball. I’ve been brought up on it since I was a kid. Bob told me about this league … and it’s been a joy. I said my wife probably thinks I got lost.”

Watching the games on Monday, Brown felt himself getting excited for another Pitt season, but he also asked a question that’s on the mind of many Panther fans as the season nears.

“It’s going to be another 20 wins,” he said. “But are they are going to break my heart again?”

Johnston said the two decided to attend the summer league games “for the enjoyment of watching basketball.” He said Pitt basketball is especially entertaining for him because his brother and sister-in-law both worked for the University of Connecticut.

“There’s always a big rivalry game between the Huskies and the Panthers, and the bragging rights with the family’s on the line,” he said. “They always talk about the West Virginia-Pitt rivalry, but in our house it’s the Pitt-UConn rivalry.”

The area needed a summer league that can attract so many high-caliber athletes and local fans, D’Agostino said.

Years back, Pitt wasn’t a nationally-recognized program, Duquesne wasn’t playing well and Robert Morris was still an up-and-coming program.

“There was really nothing for kids to look up at, other than high school football and the Steelers,” he said. “Growing up, when they had to make a choice, they usually picked football.”

D’Agostino said that, 30 years ago, around 10 athletes from Beaver County would move on to play Division I basketball. Now when D’Agostino tells Dixon that story, the Pitt coach asks where those players are.

“It helps every program when there are good players locally,” D’Agostino said. “Obviously, some people will come in and poach a kid here and there. But for the most part, when there are programs like there are now, kids want to stay local.”

He added that with the excitement that comes from Pitt’s success — as well as Duquesne’s improvement and Robert Morris’ recent trips to the NCAA Tournament — there is more excitement for basketball in Pittsburgh.

“It’s a basketball town now,” he said.

Running the League

Because of NCAA rules, the league can’t charge for anything — not admission, parking or programs. D’Agostino said he would never risk the eligibility of any student-athlete.

“We monitor very closely and Compliance is aware of everything that goes on,” he said. “The worst nightmare for me would be if someone was ineligible because they were playing in the league.”

The league needs sponsors to help pay for expenses such as uniforms, rent for the gym, a trainer that always has to be on site, officials and insurance. Sponsors donate to the Pittsburgh Basketball Club that runs the Pro-Am League.

According to its website, the Pittsburgh Basketball Club is “a nonprofit … organization that organizes, directs and promotes youth basketball throughout the tri-state area.”

“It’s certainly not a for-profit league, at all,” D’Agostino said. “If we meet expenses, we feel very fortunate. Everyone that does this does it out of love — the scorekeepers, stat keepers, the kids wiping the floor. Everybody has pitched in because I think they see what a great thing it’s been for the fans and for the kids.”

D’Agostino said getting sponsors is a balancing act.

“You don’t want to beg,” he said. “We certainly don’t want to go in the red. We welcome any sponsor, anybody who gives, every little bit helps defray the cost.”

The major sponsors — UPMC, SPK Law, The Lair (Pantherlair.com), PGT Trucking, Center Court, PBC and SteelCityTickets.com — are also the teams’ names.

The most complicated aspect of running the league is finding volunteer coaches. D’Agostino said the league wants one coach per team for the entire season, but added that that’s been difficult to achieve.

“That’s the one thing that kind of saddens me in a way, because you’re coaching great kids, potential pros, guys you’re going to see on TV every night — but even the basketball guys in the area don’t want to donate their time,” he said. “Anybody that wants to coach, we’re happy to have them.”

While the people who run the league tell the volunteers to coach to win, all the players also have to get minutes on the floor, which helps the developmental aspect of the league.

“As the league goes on, the teamwork gets better, the games get better, the kids get to know each other and they cheer for each other,” he said. “They’re good kids.”

Pitt junior Dante Taylor said the league is especially beneficial for incoming freshmen, who build chemistry with their college teammates by playing with and against them.

The new players also get a glimpse of the college game and every player gets the chance to prepare for the upcoming season.

“It lets me get ready for the season, stay in shape and keep playing,” he said. “It’s beneficial for everybody to come in and play college-caliber — Division I-caliber — teams.”