On a personal note, one of the most enjoyable things about my immersion in basketball is the great bond it can strengthen it allows us to build with our children. I think all of us who have sons and daughters enjoy watching/coaching our kids more than when we played ourselves. Last week up in Philadelphia I had a chance to sit and visit with two generations of the Piotrowski Family. Principal, Coach and Proud Father Tom Piotrowski was on hand at Rick Barrett's Midnight Madness Showcase with his two sons.
In the middle, Big Tom Piotrowski standing 6'11" is flanked by his two boys. On the left is 2009 7'1" Mat and on the right is 2011 6'9" Luke.
Pops played for LaSalle University, graduating in the early 80's. He then went on to play with the Portland Trailblazers from 83-85 with Houston's own Phi Slama Jama Alum and NBA great Cyde "The Glide" Drexler. The elder Piotrowski is now Principal and Head Basketball Coach at Atlantic Christian High School in New Jersey. Of course his two boys are under his wing there, and excel in the classroom as well as on the court.
Like most Bigs, Mat is still developing his post game. There is no doubt though, he will be a fine college player and with a 3.4 GPA he is already being recruited by the likes of Arizona State, Stanford, Rutgers, and Virginia. Look for him to play the 4 spot in college.
Sophomore Luke is a little bit more agile than his brother, with a softer touch. His recruiting is also brisk with Stanford, UCLA, Cal and Virginia in the hunt for his services. He is projected to be a face up 3.
One of the great things about the circuit is that you get to see a lot of the same folks several times a year and friendships can blossom amongst the kids and the coaches. I met Tom out at the Pangos Camp back in early June in Los Angeles. We got to chatting, hit it off and found out we knew a lot of the same folks in the basketball world. Here we are a few month later meeting up again in Spetember at the Philadelphia event. Small world. Keep an eye out for the Piotrowski Boys.
