Clear Lake Falconhoops

Houston Hoops boss denies profiting from team, other criticisms

By JEFFREY MARTIN
HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Aug. 4, 2010,

For 30 years, Hal Pastner worked in sales and marketing for a local industrial company.

He says that's where he made his money. He scoffs at the suggestion he has profited through any involvement with the Houston Hoops, the AAU organization he founded. As for Vision Sports, the business he formed in 2001 that provided guidance and organization while running AAU tournaments, Pastner says he sold it in 2007 to MaxxAthlete for $300,000.

The two never mixed, he says. Houston Hoops was and remains his hobby, a non-profit pursuit. Vision Sports, which he started after the industrial company he was employed by was sold, was his livelihood, an idea hatched after being around sports for so long.

But he insists the distinction remains critical.

"Vision Sports was my living," Pastner said. "Houston Hoops had nothing to do with Vision Sports. … We never mixed Vision Sports with Houston Hoops."

This matters because Houston Hoops is one of the most successful and high-profile programs of its kind, no doubt aided by being one of a select — 42, to be exact - travel teams in the 17-and-under division to be subsidized by Nike. And Pastner, while not a coach but more like the organization's CEO who literally wondered aloud Tuesday why he was still involved in all of this, is viewed by some as "the godfather" of the Houston summer scene.

With eight alumni currently in the NBA and dozens more enrolled in universities throughout the country, Pastner has ascended to heights most will only dream of achieving. So, naturally, there is skepticism regarding his methods.

Ask Pastner, and everything he's done has been for the greater good.

"What's the root of most evil? What's the root of many of our problems in society today? Greed," he said. "It depends on people's motives. If your motives are to enjoy the kids, the competition, that's fine. But when greed sets in and it becomes about the money first, that's a problem."

Defended by Dickey

University of Houston coach James Dickey was complimentary.

"I've always enjoyed working with Hal over the years," he said. "I knew him while I was at Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. The guys in the summer are all trying to provide opportunities, and the people I've always dealt with, including Hal, have been always been positive."

But ask others, specifically the competition, and the response is contradictory.

Some rival coaches say they fear uttering anything negative about Pastner because it might hurt how their players are viewed or even ranked by some online recruiting sites such as Rivals.com and Scout.com.

Pastner laughed Tuesday at the notion he might possess that sort of clout.

"I don't have that much control," he said. " If your name is out there in a positive way, there will always be people trying to tear someone down."

He cites the Kingwood Classic as an example. It's the tournament Pastner launched in 1995 with 12 teams and blossomed to more than 650 in 2007, his last year in control of the event. But there remain grumbling that Pastner was charging teams $700 for entry and then coaches another $400 for information contact books.

Expensive undertaking

These are the facts, he says:

Teams were charged $350-375 per team, although a quarter of the 650 or so teams never paid. Books were $175-200, but half of the coaches were given copies for free.

What wasn't mentioned, Pastner says, was the cost of officials for the approximately 1,500 games and other expenses associated with putting on the event.

"Every person was paid," Pastner said. "We never had a volunteer."

Which is a far cry from Houston Hoops, he says.

"If Nike didn't give us money, I'd probably stop doing it tomorrow," Pastner said. "It's too expensive."

According to various local coaches, the cost of travel, lodging, food and tournament fees for a 12-player roster in the 17-and-under division during the summer is between $50,000-60,000. Pastner said the check - he wouldn't divulge the actual amount - from Nike covers expenses and little else.

Pastner admits to hearing the chatter, such as Houston Hoops poaches players.

"Ridiculous," he said. "People call us and want to play with us… We're not even the best team in the city."

Or that he steers prospects to his son, Josh, the second-year coach at Memphis and a former assistant at Arizona.

"How many of our guys have played for him? Maybe Nic Wise," he said. " We don't have that much power or control. That's up to the parents."

Rival coaches are beyond skeptical. Pastner maintains his motives are different.

"I ended up loving the kids, the competition," Pastner said. "… Not everything in life is about money.

"I do the Houston Hoops for the love of Houston Hoops."