Texas high school hires 11-year NBA veteran Rafer Alston to coach basketball program

Streetball legend, former Rockets guard tabbed to guide Houston-area program

Orlando's Rafer Alston drives for a layup against Lakers Lamar Odom with Kobe Bryant looking on during Game 2 of the 2009 NBA Finals at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. / USA TODAY-USA TODAY NETWORK

Talk about making a splash.

Houston Lutheran Academy did just that on Wednesday when it tabbed 11-year NBA veteran and former Houston Rockets guard Rafer "Skip 2 My Lou" Alston as the newest head coach of its basketball program.

He will be tasked with helping turn around a Pioneers program that is coming off a disappointing 6-16 season in which they were outscored 1,320-935 during the 2024-2025 season.

Alston, who earned the nickname “Skip 2 My Lou” as a streetball legend from Queens, New York, first gained national notoriety as part of the 1999 AND1 Mixtape Tour and parlayed that into a long NBA career.

Jul 26, 2022; New York; Rafer Alston attends The NYC Point Gods Premiere at The Midnight Theatre. / Jessica Alcheh-Imagn Images

“LSA welcomes new Head Boys Basketball Coach Rafer Alston,” LSA Athletics posted on X, formerly Twitter, in a post on Wednesday. “Coach Alston is known for his tremendous playing career including a 5 year stint with the Houston Rockets. He is excited to take the reins of the LSA Boys Basketball program!”

Alston is currently coaching COOZ Elite 3, an AAU program based out of Houston that is affiliated with Puma and is part of the PRO16 League. That team will compete this weekend at a Pro16 session in Richmond, Virginia; taking on Rhode Island Elite, PAC, Louisiana Elite and Louisiana Titans Jetlife from July 10-13.

Alston coached that squad to the 15U national championship last July.

“Congratulations and well deserved Coach!” COOZ Elite posted on X in response to the news of Alston’s hiring.

A streetball legend in New York, Alston spent his high school days at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, where he played for coach Ron Naclerio. It is Naclerio who was credited with getting Alston’s tape into the hands of AND1 staff – thus launching Alston into the national spotlight when he competed on the legendary AND1 Mixtape Tour in 1999.

Congratulations and well deserved Coach! https://t.co/QxxVVXrC00

— COOZ Elite (@CoozElite3) July 10, 2025

After a three-year college career at Ventura College (1994-1995), Fresno City College (where he redshirted in 1996-1997) and Fresno State under Jerry Tarkanian (1997-1998), Alston impressed enough with AND1 that he landed an NBA contract with the Milwaukee Bucks – where he played from 1999-2002.

Alston’s NBA career seemed to be on shaky ground after the Golden State Warriors signed him and quickly waived him in 2002, but he wound up signing with the Toronto Raptors and spent the 2003 season with them – averaging nearly 21 minutes and 7.8 points per game.

He would go on to play alongside Dwayne Wade with the Miami Heat from 2003-2004 – helping them reach the 2004 Eastern Conference semifinals – before signing a reported 6-year, $26.3 million deal to return to Toronto in 2004. He was subsequently traded to Jeff Van Gundy’s Houston Rockets for Mike James in late 2005.

Jan 8, 2010; Phoenix, Arizona; Phoenix Suns player Steve Nash (13) is guarded by Miami's Rafer Alston (11) at US Airways Center. / The Arizona Republic-USA TODAY N

Alston went on to spend the remainder of the 2005-2008 seasons with the Rockets before playing for the Orlando Magic (2009) and the New Jersey Nets (2009-2010) before returning to Miami to close out his career in 2010.

He closed out his professional career with the Los Angeles D-Fenders in 2012.

For his NBA career, Alston averaged 10.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists. He scored 6,799 points and recorded 1,891 rebounds and 3,202 assists.

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