Alston back to coach in Houston

Rafer Alston thinks back to when he was a small person doing a big thing, and it seems like such a long time ago.

He is 34 now. Old enough to reflect a little. So when people recognize him in his native New York-- "I'm not Rafer to them," he says. "I'm Skip." – it strikes him a little more deeply than it once did.

Skip To My Lou has been the long and most reverential way of referring to Rafer Alston. Until now. Now people are going to be calling him Coach Alston as the coach of a tiny Christian academy in Houston. He is essentially The Black Shadow, a modern-day, hip-hop adaptation of Ken Reeves, the fictional coach of "The White Shadow's" Carver High.

"I never could have imagined this," he said.  

A lot of people say Skip was the last true streetball legend. This is a heavy designation Alston says he doesn't necessarily feel himself, though he will not dispute it.

"I think what makes you a legend is the people that watched you grow up and play all those years, their take on everything," he said.  "I know over the years it dawned on me that I really captured a lot of people's attention on the playground."

Christian Life pastor Richard Rodriquez said when he posted the job opening, he received resumes from all over the world, including from at least one other former NBA player.
 
"But Rafer is a pioneer," he said.
 
Alston's name recognition, basketball expertise and ties to the AAU circuit, where he has coached a team for the last five summers, won him the job.
 
"I believed he could bring the attention and also expertise to the program that we need," Rodriguez said. "We've got a lot of good ballplayers here that are looking to expand their career into the college level and possibly the pro level, and I felt like a guy like Rafer is someone they'd respect and listen to."