Matt Furjanic (left) introducing Chuck Cooper III to the Woodland Hills Basketball Team.
When Matt Furjanic became the boys’ basketball coach for Woodland Hills High School in October, he created a mentorship program for his young team.
“We want to bring in former players who played for me or for Woodland Hills,” said Furjanic. “Mentor them about the value of education, being on a team and making the right decisions.”
Furjanic brought in Chuck Cooper III last Thursday, to talk about the legacy of his father, the first African American drafted in the NBA.
The two have a history together. Cooper met Furjanic when the coach was recruiting him to Robert Morris University.
Members of the Woodland Hills Basketball Team listening to Chuck Cooper III's presentation. Photo by Tyler Polk.
“I did not play for him, but I remember being excited when I got a letter from coach,” said Cooper III. “He cares about those young men, to run a program like that goes beyond basketball.”
This mentorship program goes back to Furjanic’s days at Rankin High School from 1964 to 1968. His head coach, Paul Birch, Duquesne University’s first All-American, would bring in Brue Jackson, the first black athletic trainer for a major college and former Dukes coach Chick Davies to talk to the team.
“They would mentor us about the history of the game and Pittsburgh’s history, too,” said Furjanic. “Brue would tell us stories about Chuck Cooper being from Pittsburgh and how he’s the Jackie Robinson of basketball.”
Deontae Williams, member of the Woodland Hills Basketball Team, wearing a Celtics hat and holding Chuck Cooper's Basketball Hall of Fame Trophy. Photo by Tyler Polk
In addition to talking about basketball, they would talk about the times they were in. For Furjanic and his high school team, there were worries about the Vietnam War and the anti-war protests. He understands the youth have tough decisions of their own.
He believed that Cooper III’s foundation, with its focus on mentoring kids with the Beacons of Light outreach program, would be perfect for the team’s mentorship. He got in touch with Cooper in December to schedule this meeting.
“The path to success in life is all about exposure,” said Cooper III. “If you,” to people who are successful, it is hard to understand that you can be successful as well.”
He talked to the players for an hour, showing a video on his father’s impact on the game, talk about his life after basketball, the Chuck Cooper Foundation and the impact it has made today.
“did not here because of you because I care about you guys,” said Cooper III, during the presentation. “I want to share our story, so hopefully it motivates you and gives you something to shoot for.”
Members of the Woodland Hills Basketball Team, Coaching Staff and Chuck Cooper III in a group photo. Photo by Tyler Polk.
After the presentation, the team got a chance to try on some of the merchandise from the Pro Basketball Hall of Fame. Cooper’s Hall of Fame jacket and trophy were on display along with gear from the Boston Celtics, the team that drafted him.
“It was a really good, really nice experience about how things were back in the day and how his father paved the way basketball,” said Raeshon Robertson, a senior and co-captain on the Woodland Hills basketball team.
The team was intrigued about how much the team respected him at Duquesne when they wanted Cooper to play against the University of Tennessee despite their coach not wanting him on the floor.
Furjanic’s has brought in three mentors in addition to Cooper III this season. The next person he wants to bring in is Billy Knight, a Braddock native who played college ball at Pitt, in the NBA and ABA all-star games and former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks.
“These talks help me as a basketball player, just be hungrier, work ten times harder than the next person,” said Jihaad Denard, a fellow senior and co-captain. “It just makes me more humble.”
Published in The Valley Mirror.