A Scout's Honor

You don’t get to choose which parts of your past are remembered. 

Longtime NBA scout Pete Philo was invited back to his home state last month to be inducted into the Upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame. At a $75-a-head dinner in the ballroom of a hotel in Troy, Philo was hailed as a pioneer in gathering intelligence on import-ready hoops talent. He had built a sterling professional reputation through running a camp in Italy for European NBA prospects long before foreign players were en vogue, and through successful stints in the front offices of the Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers. That expertise had Philo in demand for behind-the-scenes breakdowns of how overseas players are chosen in the NBA Draft.