Former college basketball star wants to give the pros another shot
Once upon a time, Kevin Pittsnogle was the pride of West Virginia: a basketball star who led with a funny name, a bowl haircut, a 6-foot-11 frame covered in tattoos, and a baby-soft 3-point shot he learned on the court at his trailer park. (“You couldn’t dribble because the rocks made the ball go the opposite way. So I would just shoot, you know, all day. We’d go out at nine in the morning and come back at nine at night.”) Pittsnogle, who came to fame during West Virginia’s unexpected thrill ride to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2005 was passed over in the 2006 N.B.A. draft. Today, he’s a 24-year-old elementary school teacher in his hometown, Martinsville, living in a double-wide trailer with his wife and two kids. But he’s shed 25 pounds and plans to give pro basketball one last shot.