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Relationship with Myers a big key for Kodye Pugh

05/04/2015, 10:15pm EDT

By Ari Rosenfeld

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_Rosenfeld)
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Sometimes you never know when a quick encounter with a stranger at a restaurant could turn out to be life-changing.

For Kodye Pugh, one such encounter has already led to a change in high schools, a change in high school classes, and looks to be opening up a number of greater opportunities for him when it comes time to select a college.

Several years ago, Pugh met Terrell Myers at a restaurant in his home state of Maryland. Myers, now the director of Delaware-based AAU program WeR1, recognized Pugh from the AAU circuit and apparently liked he had seen.

“We actually just saw each other in the lobby, he recognized me actually and was like, 'I think you’re a good player, you should take interest in my AAU team,’” Pugh said. “This was two or three years ago, and then last year recently when I was looking for a new AAU team, we hit him up and it just went on ever since.”

Joining WeR1 ultimately paid dividends for Pugh, a 6-foot-7 wing. Since joining the program last year as a relatively unheralded recruit, he has seen his recruiting stock explode, with high-major programs like Georgetown, South Carolina, and Virginia Tech, among others, all extending scholarship offers in the last year.

Now, Pugh’s connection with Myers has him preparing for another major change; a few weeks ago, he announced his decision to transfer from Boys’ Latin School of Maryland to Blair Academy (N.J.), and he will be reclassifying from the 2016 class to the 2017 class.

“Transferring schools was a major decision for me, and [reclassifying] was another huge decision that I had to make, but I made that decision based on the fact that I wanted to help myself grow into another player and the player I know I can become,” Pugh said. “That’ll give me give me more time to develop and just playing against that higher level of competition, that’ll help me a lot. I know my opportunities will open a lot more if I’m at Blair, so looking back at that I feel like I made a good decision.”

It was Myers that put Pugh in touch with the Blair coaching staff after seeing Tim Delaney, a 2015 Villanova signee who is also a product of the WeR1 program, spend his senior season there after starting at Pitman (N.J.).

“[Myers] thought that would be a great fit for me,” Pugh said. “I visited up there, met with the coach and the staff, and I decided that I felt comfortable there and I trusted them enough to make that move.”

The decision to transfer came as part of a big month for Pugh, as April’s two live recruiting periods also saw WeR1 take part in the first two sessions of the Under Armour Association, in which the sneaker brand’s top sponsored AAU programs participate.

WeR1 wrapped up the two four-game sessions in New Orleans and Louisville with a 7-1 record, tying them with New York-based New Heights for the top mark in the league. Through the eight games, Pugh is averaging close to nine points and more than four rebounds per game from the small forward position.

“With the UAA live periods, I feel like our team just had a great start,” he said. “Personally I feel like throughout the whole live periods, I could’ve been more aggressive on the offensive end, but I played great defense, hustled on the floor, kept the guys motivated. I’ve been that active player on the floor, so overall I feel like I did a pretty good job.”

Repeating his junior year means that Pugh is now playing up a year by playing on the 17U circuit. Along with fellow 2017 guards Quade Green and Trevon Duval - both of whom join Pugh in the starting lineup and have a litany of high-major offers - he represents both the present and the future of the prestigious WeR1 program.

Duval is new to the program this year after coming over from the New Jersey Playaz, while Green switched over from Team Final (Pa.) last summer, playing on the 17U circuit while Pugh played 16U. Nevertheless, Pugh has made fast friends with his talented teammates, setting the trio up to make a splash on the AAU trail over the next two summers.

“Over the past two live periods, I already feel like we’re getting closer and bonding a lot more than from our first games," Pugh said. "From seeing us now and then seeing us when we first started playing together, you can already tell it’s a big difference. We’re getting comfortable with each other’s games, knowing what each other likes to do on the court, where each other likes to be. We’re still figuring it out, exactly how it works, but we’re starting to click.”

Big men Sedee Keita and Nysier Brooks round out the WeR1 starting five, a group that has obviously been instrumental in the team’s hot start. They’ve certainly made an impression on college coaches, with South Carolina opting to offer the entire starting lineup during the Louisville session of the Under Armour circuit.

“That just proves how well we play together, how hard we play,” Pugh said. “For a coach to just recognize all the qualities of each starter, we take pride in that. It’s a great feeling.”

A lot has changed for Pugh since he first met Myers in that Baltimore restaurant some three years ago.

It’s not always bad to talk to strangers, clearly.