"Basketball was my first love"
— A PGC Grad Story —

By Alex Lilac (PGC Grad)

Basketball was my first love.

My dad’s been the varsity basketball coach at my alma mater for almost 30 years. My grandfather coached varsity basketball for 37 years and won a New York State Championship in 1988. I was always around the game, so naturally, I became a skilled player with a general understanding of how to play the game.

Prior to attending PGC, all I ever wanted was to become the best player I could be and eventually play at the college level. But it was hard, because I hadn’t yet learned how to THINK the game.

Going into the summer of 2009 after a strong season on JV as a 9th grader, I knew I had to get outside of my comfort zone and absorb as much knowledge as I could. My father read Dick DeVenzio’s Stuff Good Players Should Know and immediately signed me up for PGC.

After my first summer at a PGC Basketball camp, I was hooked.

I remember leaving my first week of PGC and realizing that my life would never be the same. Basketball became more than a game – it evolved into something deeper.

I learned what it truly means to be a leader, both on and off the court. I learned how a game could teach lessons that last a lifetime. I learned that basketball was my calling.

I attended PGC three times as a player, eventually producing a three-year varsity career that my dad and I look back on fondly with no regrets. I came from a small, rural town that graduates less than 100 students per year, so the odds were against me. But ultimately, I earned my way to playing four years of college basketball.

I was fortunate enough to win two conference championships, play in two NCAA tournaments, and serve as team captain my senior year of college.

A year after graduating, I was named head varsity basketball coach at a school in the same league as my dad’s team, and now we coach against each other twice per year. In the summers since my hiring, I’ve attended PGC as an observing coach and had dozens of my players attend.

In 2009, I had no idea PGC would not only profoundly impact my life, but also shape future lives of the kids I love. I still have my notebook from that summer many years ago.

The cover is creased and the pages are starting to tear away. But the meaning behind those pages will endure for generations.