Former Pitt standout Jeter searching for shot at NBA

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sheldon Jeter sat on the porch of his Beaver Falls home having just received thecall that would change his life. It was a sunny day in June 2013, yet his future couldn’t have seemed more cloudy. Jeter sat side by side with his father, Carliss Jeter, with his mother, Laurie Odum, looking on from the living room. “Depressed” wasn’t the word, maybe “down.” It was hard to pinpointJeter’s exact emotion.

But for a moment, he was lost. Jeter is described by many, if not all, as bubbly, talkative and vibrant, an “easy guy to get along with,” his high school coach Doug Biegasaid.

“He never shuts up,” Carliss Jeter said, laughing.

But on that day, he sat mostly quiet. Carliss saw it in hiseyes: Fear.

“Whatever happens, you have to keep on working,” Carliss remembered he said toSheldon. “You still got to go work out, you still got to get readyto play basketball.”

“Wherever you go, you haveto be ready.”

That call — a blocked transfer from Vanderbilt to Pitt — led Jeter to Polk State College in Florida where he sat out for a year awaiting another chance to reach the place he wanted. For the first time in his career, Jeter was forced to practice patience. Amid a tumultuous college career, “keep working” has remained Jeter’s mantra.

Now, a year removed from his last season at Pitt, Jeter is still searching for his NBA dream. He’s waiting to receive a call. When he does, he’ll be ready.

“Keep working,” he repeated.

Jeter’s athleticism fueled his will as he made his way through the high school ranks, his former AAU coach Percy Robinson said. “He loved trying to dunk on people,”Robinson joked.

But, when he arrived at Vanderbilt — a kid in cutoff jean shorts, a vest, high socks and Vans who hung out with nonathletes, listened to country music and didn’t know of J Cole — it became clear to former teammate Eric McClellan how he relied on parts of his game he was comfortableleaning on.

He was a “man amongst boys” in high school, McClellan said, and his skills remained unrefined by the time he made his way to the Commodores. He lacked ball handling, his shooting needed work and he was a “horrible” defender.

But, among the flaws, the constants remained: Obedience. Determination. Heart. He would spend hours in the gym. And by the end of his first year, he was a different player,McClellan said.

When he heard about the transfer, Polk State coach Matt Furjanic called Carliss to pique Sheldon’s interest in playing junior college for a year. After meeting with Jeter and his family, the conversationwas left with uncertainty, but in the car on his way back to his hotel, an idea dawnedon Furjanic.

He called Carliss to ask if Jeter would go to Polk State for a year, but he would sit out to maintain his eligibility. For Furjanic it wasn’t about putting a Division-I talent on his roster, rather his players would benefit from witnessing the Division-I mindset.

“Having Sheldon coming in to practice with us and being a role model in how serious you take your individual workouts,” Furjanic said. “Our players were able to see how a Division-I player approached his academics and hisgame every day.”

Where Jeter works, his game generally follows. Overseas this year, he shot nearly 42 percent from 3point range. His athleticism has always been his calling card, but he’s trying to become more well-rounded. Jeter said he still needs to work on his ball-handling and shooting. Since he has gotten home from Bulgaria, he has worked out every day to improve those skills.

Before the start of the NBA summer league, Jeter’s agent had conversations with the Boston Celtics. While Jeter wasn’t awarded a spot on the roster, he’s still awaiting his chance: “He wants to play at the highest level,” former Vanderbilt teammate AJ Ashrothsaid.

“He just told me to keep working out, so whenever you get the call and you got to be there in a day or two to go work out, you’re ready,” Jeter said of his agent. “I’m goingto keep doing my job.”

Last month, Jeter met with his former high school coach Biega for lunch. Since their time at Beaver Falls, Biega and Jeter were very close. Text conversations were signed off with “love you” and finding things to talk about was never difficult.

When Jeter was at Beaver Falls High School, he was one of the team’s best players. So he would tend to stay out of trouble on the defensive end, Biega said. To motivate Jeter and his team, Biega made a deal: You take a charge, you geta lunch.

In one of Jeter’s last high school games, he squared up and hit the deck, drawing a chargefor his team.

“He didn’t take many,” Biegajoked.

Six years had passed since Jeter last took a charge in a Beaver Falls uniform. But, he still wouldn’t forget what he was owed. He had worked too hard for it.