Step into the Ammon Recreation Center gymnasium, and the retired jerseys hanging from the ceiling are difficult to miss.
The row of colorful banners reads like a who’s who of Western Pennsylvania basketball royalty. The names — Maurice Lucas, Sam Clancy and DeJuan Blair among them — ring out just as loudly as they did when they were in their heyday, making names for themselves playing in the Ozanam Summer Basketball League.
“Listen to the names, right? They came up through Ozanam, and then they blossomed and took the world by storm in their sport,” said Dr. Karen Hall, whose No. 32 jersey is one of the ones that hangs from the rafters.
But what makes this gym on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District so unique is that many of those Ozanam greats aren’t just names from the past. Their faces can be seen each and every night, as quite a number of the legends are still involved with the league to this day. One evening last week, Hall and Darrelle Porter were in the house helping to organize things, Major Harris was refereeing, and Kirk Bruce was coaching.
“The best thing about Ozanam is that it’s all run by alumni,” Hall said. “There’s not many organizations where it’s all alumni based. That’s the uniqueness of Ozanam.”
The Ozanam League, the iconic summer league, is celebrating its 55th anniversary this year. It’s highlighted by next weekend’s celebration, which includes championship games Saturday outdoors at Manchester Academic Charter School and an alumni cookout next Sunday at Ammon Recreation Center.
The league might not be the only summer show in town like it once was — the rise of AAU basketball and 7-on-7 football have a lot to do with that — but area youth are still flocking to take part in it. Porter, the league’s executive director, estimates that 450 kids are participating this year. That number includes boys and girls in several age groups — high school, 14 and under, 12 and under, and 10 and under. The games are played Mondays through Thursdays at one of three sites — Ammon, Manchester and the Kingsley Center.
“I think it’s a staple of this area,” said Porter, who starred at Brashear and Perry and then Pitt. “Most of the better kids play in this league, especially when they’re younger. We identify these kids when they are like 10, 12 and under. Dante [DePante] at Central [Catholic], he was here shooting those same shots at 12 and under. When he’s doing that in high school, it’s like, ‘I’ve seen that.’”
Porter and Hall make a great team. Hall, a former standout at Mount Alvernia and UNLV, is the assistant executive director. Hall credits Porter for keeping the league afloat.
“He’s a mainstay,” Hall said. “He stayed in Pittsburgh and stayed connected to Ozanam. Ozanam never missed a beat because Darrelle, as an alum, always was here.”
Harris, a former football star at Brashear who finished third in voting for the Heisman Trophy while the quarterback at West Virginia in 1989, was also quite a basketball talent in his day. The Ozanam experience was important to him, Harris said, and that’s one of the reasons he’s in his third year of refereeing games in the league.
“Growing up, when I think back, Ozanam was a big part of my life,” Harris said. “Especially in the summer, getting ready for the games. After-school programs sometimes. I got involved with that. A lot of times, you were playing players that you had heard about. So I just got a kick of it.”
The Ozanam League looks a little different than it did decades ago. For one, the games are played indoors instead of outdoors. Also, many players, particularly at the high school level, sometimes don’t make the league a priority due to other athletic obligations.
“To manage all of this is a lot,” said Porter, whose son, D.J., is also a referee for the league. “And then what we’re running into is there’s more things to compete with now. Before it was just basketball. Now you’ve got the 7-on-7. So now some of our players have been traveling to play football. And then some are traveling to play basketball.”
But one of the staples of the league has remained the same, that being the impressive diversity of it. Black. White. Public. Private. Rich. Poor. All are welcome, and all continue to make the league what it is today.
“I think what Ozanam has done with the history of bringing communities together, kids from all walks of life and all different neighborhoods, and bringing them to a place where they can play basketball,” said Bruce, who played at Pitt before coaching the Pitt women’s team for more than a decade.
Bruce coaches a team in the league, as does Alvis Rogers, who is also the coach at Gateway. Rogers said he has been involved with the league for the past five or six years.
“I think it means a lot,” Rogers said of the league. “Guys coming out and playing against great competition, different styles of basketball. Athletic kids. And I think it’s going to get better.”
The Ozanam League provides fans with a glimpse of tomorrow’s stars today. Just a few years ago, one of the league’s middle school boys teams featured Meleek Thomas, Amari Evans, R.J. Sledge and Jayden Davis. Thomas (Lincoln Park) and Evans (Overtime Elite) are now national recruits, Sledge (Imani Christian) has won a pair of PIAA titles, and Davis (Chartiers Valley) is one of the top scorers in the WPIAL.
Porter spoke glowingly about a ridiculously talented Ozanam team he had about two decades ago.
“I had Onion [Jamaal Bryant] running the point, I had Herb Pope running the right wing, D.J. Kennedy running the left wing, DeJuan [Blair] running to the block, and Terrelle Pryor was the trailer. And then Cameron Hayward was on that team. Man, we were loaded,” Porter said.
Jaydan Brown wasn’t around to see that team play, but Brown, a junior at Central Catholic, said he has seen a lot of talented players play in the league since he began taking part in it when he was a little kid.
“There’s definitely a lot of inspiration coming up through this league,” said Brown, adding that he likes the league because it’s able to help him with his fundamentals.
The Ozanam experience begins daily with the “Breakfast Club,” in which “the best of the best” gather at Ammon to work out Monday through Friday at 8 a.m.
“We’ve got people driving from Meadville, Greensburg, all over just to come work every morning,” Porter said.
But Ozanam isn’t all just about basketball. There are academic and after-school programs, as well as volunteer work and mental health support.
Having been a part of the fabric of Western Pennsylvania basketball for more than a half-century, the Ozanam name is one that is known far and wide.
“No matter where I go, somebody recognizes this shirt,” Porter said, pointing to his red shirt with white lettering. “I was at the Final Four in San Antonio, and somebody is like, ‘Ozanam! Where’d you get that from? I didn’t know that was still around.’ It was some guy who used to live in Pittsburgh.”
Yes, the Ozanam is indeed still around, and, thanks to its dedicated alumni, it doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.