First off, what have you been up to since your playing days at RMU and Overseas?
I’m in Las Vegas now working for Equa Solutions helping with on the job training and work internships for the community – helping people get fresh starts who had issues with drugs and alcohol or issues with the justice system.
I came out here originally for another company but it folded. I hit up Indeed and Equa called me – I’ve been here now for three years and was recently promoted to Business Services Development.
Has your sports career helped you in your new career?
Of course – any time you’re on a team setting you have goals and deadlines. In basketball the ultimate goal is a championship – to hit that big shot as a player. You can transfer those skills to the workforce. So many people in sales have an athletic background – they have that competitive nature and love those bonuses! Knocking down that three or getting that big dunk is like a big sale. We work closely with the Raiders and Aces here – selling to them is like knocking down a big dunk!
You were a very good football and basketball player at New Brighton. Why choose basketball?
They had some great running backs then at New Brighton. I was a linebacker and a good receiver – a lot of people don’t realize that I was one of the fastest on the team even at my size. I returned kicks too. But they weren’t throwing the ball to me and I got disgruntled. I was 18 – I wanted to score and got ticked off. At the same time I was having 30-point games playing basketball. Chris Pritkin was there – he and I would go at it and I followed what he did.
I didn’t want to play linebacker and receiver wasn’t working out. So I decided to play hoops.
You stayed local and played for RMU – why there?
I tell kids now, it’s all about the grades. I was recruited at first my Michigan State, West Virginia, Clemson…. But I wasn’t committed to my grades until too late and I had some off-the-field antics and that scared the schools. Michigan State was going to have me play basketball and football if I went there. But then I was a high-risk guy and teams were too worried.
When I speak now at my basketball camp, I tell kids there are a lot of guys that can jump as high and are just as fast that are doing better in the classroom so you have to do well in the classroom.
How did your game develop at RMU?
Jarrett Durham was my coach there. I was an undersized forward but I could step away from the basket and shoot. I had a good mid-range jumper. But Durham told me I wasn’t playing high school kids anymore. He didn’t give a damn how I did in high school. The NEC was tough then – it was a poor man’s Big East. There were a number of guys that played in the NBA.
I changed my game from high school. I learned to handle the ball better. I was always powerful – I was a linebacker and played at 235 pounds. They compared me to a Charles Barkley type of player.
You played professional ball overseas in England and Ireland. What took you there?
I went to the NBA camps and played in the East Coast Basketball League. Atlanta scouted me when my agent called and asked me “Gabe, do you want to work 9-5 or play in the U.K.?” I said “Come on! What’s over there?” The team owner talked to a player in Ireland who I faced in college for Marist. he asked the player about me and the player said “Go get him!”
So I went over and played in their preseason tournament and hit the game-winner to win the tournament. I asked the owner then if he wanted to sign me and he said “Yeah, we’ll keep you!”
What was that overseas experience like for you?
I loved playing in England and Ireland. It was a great experience. I was a small town kid and got to go to England and Ireland. In New Brighton where I grew up there was a good deal of drugs. My dad left us when I was 12 and my mother raised us. So I figured basketball may be my way out. My neighborhood wasn’t the best but as I progressed as a player I got support from the community.
In 2019 I went back to play in the Masters Tournament there. It was a feather in my cap to go back and we won the tournament! It was a good feeling to see my old teammates. It took a lot of Icy Hots and Gatorade though, I’ll tell you that! It was eight minute quarters but it took my six months to get back into shape. I felt like I was hearing that Rocky music playing in the background! It was worth it. Next Spring I’m going to go back for the 50-and-over tournament.
How did the overseas game differ from the U.S. style then?
My first time over there I was playing against another 6’7 or so guy. The first time I faced him I thought he was going to try and post me up, then he dribbled between his legs and hit a three! He hit two more threes after that! Out coach was Danny Fulton – he screamed at me. He asked “Do you like it here? Because if they hit another three I’m sending you back to Pittsburgh!”
They didn’t play physical ball like they do in the states, but they could hit threes and dribble. Their skillsets for the bigger guys were better than those in the states because they didn’t like physical play.
So how did you change the way you played?
After Fulton yelled at me I stayed on my guy from the end-line to the end of the court! I didn’t want to lose my contract!
Any fun stories stand out from your playing days?
The best story was when I was playing with Javan Dupree. He was a North Texas guy who is now like the Michael Jordan there. Well, one day we were playing a b-level team – it was just a scrimmage to keep our legs warm. Danny Fulton told us when we were on the bus going there not to dunk the ball – the backboard was made out of wood – it wasn’t strong.
Well, we’re on our way there and it’s in the backwoods. I was worried – we had no idea where we were going. It was like the movie The Hills Have Eyes!
Well, we get to the game and I caught a pass baseline and spun towards the hoops and just instinctively dunked the ball. The whole thing came down! It was just wood – the screws – everything came down. Fulton was screaming at me and I looked over and Dupree was laughing so hard tears were coming down his face. He told me I should see the look on my face. That look of “Oh no!”
But the guys there brought out their drills and saws and they had it fixed in an hour! But on the bus ride back Fulton wouldn’t say one word to me the whole way home!
Lastly, when you look at the basketball scene in Pittsburgh, what advice would you give local guys to get seen and to see more guys in the NBA?
Yeah, Pittsburgh isn’t known for basketball. It’s a football and hockey town. TJ McConnell is the one guy people know. A lot of guys are going the NIL and AAU route now. The best advice I can give guys is to play hard and travel to get exposure. Scouts aren’t coming to Pittsburgh. Go to other leagues where the scouts are. Get seen.