Cummings Uses Hard Work and Determination to Achieve His Professional Basketball Dreams in Pittsburgh

Steel City Yellow Jackets team captain and veteran Gilmore Cummings knew from a young age that basketball was what he wanted to pursue as a career. Through hard work and perseverance, he was able to achieve that dream and now has become a star of this year's Steel City Yellow Jackets Team.

It all started with a six-year-old boy, a basketball hoop, and a dream of becoming a professional basketball player. Steel City Yellow Jackets team captain and veteran Gilmore Cummings knew that basketball was his sport from the time he was six years old. His dad bought him a basketball hoop for the back yard and introduced him to the sport of basketball. His dad showed him everything he knew, and Cummings immediately fell in love with the sport.

“I knew basketball was my sport since I was six years old,” said Cummings. “My father kept me around the game of basketball and showed me the ins and outs of the sport. He had me practicing shooting and that is when I developed a love for the game.”

This practice and hard work from a young age would pay off for Cummings and lead to what would be known as one of the top high school basketball careers in the Pittsburgh Area. Cummings attended David B. Oliver High School and competed in the Pittsburgh City League. He would start three seasons for Oliver earning four letterman awards. In his three years as a starter he would become the all-time leading scorer in Oliver High School Basketball history scoring 1,350 points in his three seasons of play. For Cummings, the experience made him realize that his childhood dream was soon to become a reality.

“At the high school level I was named player of the year,” said Cummings. “The whole high school experience made me realize that I wanted to make basketball my career.”

Coming out of high school, Cummings had every opportunity to do just that. He got letters from countless coaches across the college ranks looking for him to come and make an impact on their program. However, just as he was about to sign on with Robert Morris University, disaster struck as he got hurt before an all-star game. It was a tough time for Cummings, but he was determined to get back to the sport he loved at the next level.

“I was getting letters and having coaches calling me left and right,” said Cummings. “But then I got hurt going into an all-star game and Robert Morris pulled back their scholarship, and I went to Junior College instead.”

After playing two years at the junior college level, Cummings eventually made it back to the NCAA college basketball scene when he transferred to Division II Edinboro University where he played two seasons. In the 2008/2009 season he was second in scoring for the Fighting Scots with 437 points in 28 games played. He averaged 15.6 points per game while shooting 41% on the season, including making 42 of his 120 three point shots. After his time at Edinboro he went on to play for the former American Basketball Association team in Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Phantoms, before moving overseas to play in Germany.

After playing for a year over in Germany, Cummings got a call from a familiar friend about the opportunity to play basketball in Pittsburgh again. It was Cummings old high school coach and current Yellow Jackets Owner and Head Coach Averill Pippens, or as he is better known by players Coach Ace. Coach Ace informed Cummings of an opportunity to try out for the newly formed ABA team in Pittsburgh, the Steel City Yellow Jackets.

“I was playing over in Germany and Coach Ace met me and broke the news about the Steel City Yellow Jackets,” Said Cummings. “He told me I should try out for the team so I did and I ended up making it for that first season of play.”

Cummings and Coach Ace have had a strong bond dating all the way back to Cummings high school days at Oliver. Ace helped guide Cummings to become the leading scorer in Oliver high school history and even today he pushes him to be the best player he can possibly be. Cummings knows that if he ever needs anything Coach Ace will have his back and in return he would do anything for the third year Steel City Yellow Jackets Head Coach.

“I love Coach Ace,” said Cummings. “He has coached me since high school and he has always had my back throughout. I know he always has my back and I always have his back as well. Coach Ace has gotten a lot of people to commit on this team. Practices are now every day and we are trying to build a more consistent basis for our basketball team.”

Since joining the Steel City Yellow Jackets, Cummings has been the team leader year in and year out looking to steer his guys in the right direction as they fight for a playoff spot on a year to year basis. However, he has not been alone, he has had the help of his fellow veterans on the team Antonio Reddic and Lawrence Baker. All three of these players have been with the Steel City Yellow Jackets since the beginning and they have grown not only as teammates but as friends as well. According to Cummings, they have officially gone from teammates to brothers and it has helped this Yellow Jackets team take off.

“Baker and Reddic are my two favorite teammates,” said Cummings. “We make each other better because our chemistry has been consistent. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and those two guys are just great to play with.”

Cummings’s philosophy on the court is to just win. Whether it be against the best team in all of the American Basketball Association or against the worst, Cummings wants to play 100% and leave it all out on the court. He knows the Yellow Jackets are a growing team and are getting better and better every year and he wants to keep that tradition going. When teams play the Yellow Jackets, he wants it to be a hard fought battle that they won’t soon forget.

“When teams hear that they are playing the Yellow Jackets they play hard,” said Cummings. “We play hard and Coach Ace has us ready by going hard in practice every day so we are prepared for whoever we are playing.”

Cummings leadership both on and off the court have driven the Yellow Jackets for the past two seasons and he will look to lead the team to success once again here in 2017. His passion and leadership are two of the key ingredients that make this team go and he has helped to form the winning attitude that this team has been built around. Cummings career has come full circle from a six-year-old boy with a hoop and a dream, to playing professional basketball in the city he grew up in and loves.