Courtney Wallace is a physical guard who can pile up points quickly and is an outstanding rebounder, but the Neighborhood Academy standout said those typically aren’t the first things that are brought up when someone compares his game to his father’s.
“It’s the leadership and always having a smile on myself,” Wallace said.
These days, Wallace sure has a lot to smile about.
Not only has Wallace led Neighborhood Academy to the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL Class 1A playoffs, but he also knows where he will play in college after recently committing to Yale. Wallace informed Yale coaches of his decision Feb. 12 following an unofficial visit.
A 6-foot-3 junior guard and son of the former Perry High School and Duquesne University standout of the same name, Wallace is the total package on the court and in the classroom. Wallace averages 21 points per game and has produced four triple-doubles this season, and in his career has scored over 1,000 points. He also boasts a 3.9 GPA and is young for his grade, too, as he’s only 16 and does not turn 17 until June 16.
“He’s very good and he’s still young,” Neighborhood Academy coach Jordan Marks said. “His dad was a bigger guard, a 1,000 (points)/500 (rebounds) guy (at Duquesne). And his son is now leading the WPIAL in triple-doubles, making his teammates better and taking what the defense gives him. He’s a great kid whose hard work is paying off.”
Wallace chose Yale over offers from Fordham and South Carolina Upstate. Fordham extended Wallace his first offer just after his freshman season. Princeton and Boston University were both showing interest, as was Duquesne.
Marks said that Yale, which is tied for first place in the Ivy League this season, began to ramp up its pursuit of Wallace about two months ago just as Wallace was on an unofficial visit to Princeton. And it came with an assist from a former City League star. Jackson Blaufeld, an Allderdice grad who played at Dartmouth, is a mentor of Wallace’s. Like Wallace, Blaufield played AAU with the RYTES Warriors, coached by Marks.
“Jackson reached out to [a Yale] assistant coach,” Marks recalls. “He told the coach at Yale, ‘You guys should be in on a kid on my boy’s team. They have a kid at Princeton this week, and he’s good.’”
Yale coach James Jones, the reigning Ivy League Coach of the Year, must have liked what he saw because he made his way to town to watch Wallace and Neighborhood Academy roll to a 70-23 win at St. Joseph on Feb. 6. Wallace scored 20 points, and Jones offered him afterward.
“Coach Jones came here and was blown away,” Marks said. “He said to me afterwards, ‘You know what stood out?’ And I said, ‘What?’ And he said, ‘He was the only one standing up and clapping for their team in the fourth quarter.”
The following weekend, Wallace was with his parents at Yale for an unofficial visit.
“My favorite part was the classrooms and the library they have there,” said Wallace, who lives in Garfield. “Everything looked so cool and looked like a nice place to go and learn and play basketball. My favorite part was the academic buildings, but the athletic buildings are nice, too.”
While on the visit, Wallace and his family watched Yale defeat Cornell, 80-78. Yale is 17-7 overall and 8-1 in Ivy League play. The Bulldogs played in the NIT last season and in the NCAA tournament a season earlier.
“I picked Yale because the playing style of the team and the way coach Jones coaches is very unique,” Wallace said. “It’s the toughness and the way they rebound and pass it to each other, and the on-ball defense.”
Wallace and Neighborhood Academy (16-5) will begin postseason play Wednesday when they take on Aquinas Academy (15-8) in a WPIAL Class 1A quarterfinal at Norwin. The Bulldogs have won 10 of their past 11 games.
Wallace’s dad helped Perry reach the City League championship game in 1997 before going on to star at Duquesne, where he scored 1,394 points and grabbed 509 rebounds. Playing alongside the likes of Wayne Smith, Kevin Forney and Jack May, Wallace led the Dukes in scoring his senior season in 2001.
Two decades later, another Courtney Wallace is excited to follow in his father’s footsteps of becoming a Division I basketball player.
“It means a lot,” the younger Wallace said, adding that his mom, Janel Saban, is his No. 1 fan. “He never forced me to play basketball, but I always felt it was what I needed to do, not just for him, but for my family.”
Baseball commitment
Montour’s Josh Peremba (Trine).
Basketball commitments
Blackhawk’s Katie Enderle (Penn State Beaver); Chartiers Valley’s Ella Cupka (Mercyhurst); Elizabeth Forward’s Alyssa Terza (Clarion); Keystone Oak’s Bailey Rieg (Penn State Beaver); McGuffey’s Grayson Wallace (Lees-McRae); Quaker Valley’s Joey Coyle (Allegheny).
Football commitments
Avonworth’s Andrew Kuban (Gannon); Belle Vernon’s Luke Bryer (Case Western Reserve); Bishop Canevin’s Marquis Carter (Marietta); Chartiers Valley’s Rudy Morris (Washington & Jefferson); Hopewell’s Jacob Brunton (Westminster); Keystone Oaks’ Ryan Hazlett (Seton Hill); Laurel Highlands’ Billy Barton (Edinboro); McGuffey’s Ryan Keith (Seton Hill); Mount Pleasant’s Dante Giallonardo (Washington & Jefferson); North Allegheny’s Aidan Buggey (Duquesne); Our Lady of the Sacred Heart’s Dorrien Tate (Edinboro); Thomas Jefferson’s Aidan Whalen (Washington & Jefferson); West Mifflin’s David Fleming (Washington & Jefferson).
Lacrosse commitment
Pine-Richland’s Giovanni Aiello (Susquehanna).
Wrestling commitment
Pine-Richland’s Cole Wilson (Penn State Behrend).
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.