James Lee, recruiter for University of Houston men's basketball

Ok, not really.

But in the latest issue of the Houston Press the front page story is "Bringing Back Phi Slamma Jamma". Of course, this spin off of a fictional fraternity name refers to the glory days of UH's prosperous and nationally-renowned basketball program under the helm of former coach Guy V. Lewis some thirty years ago. The article goes into depth about the rise and fall of such an amazing basketball program and how it is currently brewing a desperate comeback to what the students used to look forward to seeing on campus. One very fine point that is well known throughout this whole dilemma is that the modern-aged program at UH hasn't had much emphasis on retaining and recruiting talents from the Houston area. Houston is a region rich in amazing young athletes in all sports and much of this talent is exported to bigger and more well known schools with stronger basketball programs such as the University of Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, Connecticut and the like. Though it may seem logical that UH would extend it's recruiting efforts in it's own city, it can almost seem like a trivial effort considering the offers that young high school athletes get from more prestigious athletic programs. Newly hired coach James Dickey claims that one of his missions during his tenure will be to tap into the basketball goldmine that is Houston. The mission will take lots of work and a true belief in selling the product that is UH. I mean, why would you, an 18 yr old high school senior, with the choice to play anywhere in the nation chose to stay at UH and not gain nearly as much national recognition? Well, here is the logic of one James Lee, recruiter of UH men's basketball, and his pitch to a high prospect athlete deciding where to take his talents.

"Dear Young and Nationally Ranked High School Prospect,
It is my pleasure to write to you today and to invite you to consider making the University of Houston your home for your collegiate academic and athletic career. With your great talent and attitude, it is of no doubt to me that this letter is only one in a continuous contingent of recruiting letters from other fine universities and basketball programs; I would expect nothing else when considering your abilities both athletically and scholastically.

I am writing you today because I want the UH men's basketball program to be something special. In order for me to do this, I am targeting directly the best talent this country has to offer and making you aware that you and I can help this amazing university and it's basketball program get back to the national spotlight where it belongs. I have watched your progress through your prep career and you possess the strength and determination to help our efforts of resurrecting a program that belongs in the spotlight.

We are well aware that you may be considering other option and fine options at that. You may chose to go to a great program to be a part of something big. If you bring your talents to UH, you will be doing something big, not just joining it. Once you step foot on our campus, we will make you stronger, faster, and help you improve your game everyday in conjunction with our goals to turn fine athletes such as yourself into better players, citizens, and men.

Mr. Prospect, we are truly looking for the nation's finest. Athletes who can not only excel at the game, but also contain the strength and honor to fulfill a very strong duty to the University of Houston. Together we can truly bring a new fire to this town and you , prospect, are someone whom we can trust this responsibility to.

We hope you can join is this fall as we begin our training camp

Thank you for your time and we wish you nothing but success for your life.

sincerely,
James Lee"

Some things will remind you...

When you teach 35 students a week, you tend to bury yourself in the grind of just getting through all of those lessons. Sure, you do realize that you are teaching an amazing gift to younger people but not all lessons lend themselves to such a beautiful ideal. I mean, lots of kids don't practice or care. Most of the time (well, a LOT of the time) students are not prepared.

I would like dedicate this post to two of my newest of students, Ethan and Nicolas! These two fine young men are sixth graders who just signed up for lessons and their enthusiasm and excitement of learning how to play a long metallic slidey thing has truly been an absolute joy to be around. This is probably the happiest I have ever been while playing simple tunes such "Jolly Old St. Nicolas" and "Ode to Joy" in the most simple of rhythms! These two kids remind me EXACTLY how it felt to first hold the trombone and with their pure excitement comes a newly found love of quarter notes on my part!

A little spare time

I have just begun the preliminary steps to becoming a volunteer in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization in Houston. It's hard to explain what compels me (us) to do such a thing but the more and more I think about it, the stronger the pull is towards joining. It flusters me when I try to think about why it is that I want to do this ...but I do.