DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — When he was in second grade, Jesse Pistokache signed his first contract.
“I told my kids you can be anything you want to be, you just have to be willing to outwork the other people,” said Duke, Jesse’s father. “If you commit that you’re going to go all out and all for it, I will have you sign this contract that says Dad will do everything in his part to put you in the right place at the right time, regardless of cost to family.
“That’s what I did. They signed it and I held them to it. They had to train, had to focus and had to meet certain grades.”
Pistokache chose to pledge his life to basketball, and Duke followed suit.
Born in McAllen and living in Mission all his life, Pistokache grew up through the Valley’s local basketball clubs, the Dallas and Houston AAU circuits and through three programs in high school — Sharyland High his freshman and junior years, Blair Academy (New Jersey) his sophomore year and Ferry Christian Academy (Georgia) his sophomore year.
It was the final stop that got him noticed and attracted the University of Richmond. On Wednesday, Pistokache, a 6-foot-3 point guard, signed a letter of intent to play at the NCAA Division I program that competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
“I had a lot more downs than ups, but if you don’t want it it’s not going to happen,” said Pistokache, who averaged 23.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists at Ferry Christian, playing for former Duke standout, first-round NBA draft pick and longtime mentor Roshown McLeod. “It has to be a burning desire. I’m extremely thankful. I just want to go out there and just take it. The work is just getting started from here.”
Initially, Pistokache had verbally committed to play for UNC-Charlotte. But after the school and coach Alan Major, who had taken two medical leaves of absence the past year, mutually agreed to part ways, Pistokache’s future as a 49er became cloudy.
“I had no idea what I was going to do,” Pistokache said. “I was so unsettled. And then Coach (McLeod) tells me, ‘But a couple of schools have opened up, and I think you’re going to go to Richmond. I think that’s the place.’”
Pistokache also received offers from Tennessee and Western Kentucky. But Richmond’s open, guard-oriented offense and the graduation of star player and senior point guard Kendall Anthony attracted Pistokache, who grew into his own as a lead guard under McLeod.
“This past senior season was the best basketball I’ve ever played,” Pistokache said. “For the first time, I had the opportunity where things were built around me and Coach put a lot of confidence in me. Being the guy to where all the pressure was on me, that really helped.”
Pistokache’s journey to DI basketball rivals that of J.J. Avila, the former McAllen High standout who played all four years of high school for the Bulldogs before starring collegiately at Navy and Colorado State.
“You compare how Jesse did it to how J.J. did it, it just shows there are more ways than one to get it done,” said Arnold Martinez, coach of AAU’s South Texas Hoopsters. “Jesse went out and left to get his chance. J.J. stayed here. There are two blueprints.
“At the end of the road, they both signed Division I basketball scholarships.”
For Duke, it only vindicated the contract. Like Pistokache was true to his word, Duke was true to his.
Duke recalled taking Jesse to tournaments out of town and having to wait in the car because he didn’t have the twenty dollars to pay the entry fee. He remembers having about $900 to use for two months of travel for Jesse’s tournaments, knowing that at least $400 of that would have to go toward gas.
“We went through things,” Duke said. “We had to sleep in the suburban countless nights. Dinner was bologna sandwiches. On the good nights, we’d have pizza or a tub of chicken. There were some house payments missed. For eight different springs and summers, I’ve had to do it.
“Sure, we would’ve liked to go on vacation. We would’ve liked to buy a new car. But it’s a contract.”
Their word was their bond, and a ticket to a future in basketball for Pistokache.