Why Pharoahe Chose the Rec

(Photo: Sysqo Grice, Pharoahe Zaire, Tysean Grice and DiAngel Grice of Howard Recreation Center 18U Basketball.)

On Jan. 16, 2025, Pharoahe Zaire took the court for the first time since last February, when he was the varsity starting center at International High School as a ninth grader.

Now in tenth grade, and still attending International, the only thing Pharoahe plays at International is the drum. The six-foot-nine, 340-pound center, had a band concert the day before his game. You may be asking, "What game?"

Pharoahe returned to the Columbus Recreation and Parks League, where he now plays for Howard Recreation Center in the 18U Division. This was the league where he started playing as a nine-year-old in 2018. Why is it that one of the city's most coveted middle school players in 2023 and one of only two International High School players that scored over 10 points per game in 2024, is no longer playing high school basketball?

During the summer of 2024, Pharoahe made a decision, one of many that he has made over his basketball career. After a middle school career at Woodward Park, where his team went 24-5 over two seasons and earned an appearance in the City Championship game, multiple players and coaches from different high schools attended Pharoahe's games in hopes that he would choose their varsity teams to continue his career.

Pharoahe's success allowed him to get national exposure as he was not only featured on the local top basketball media outlet 270 Hoops, he was also showcased on Ball is Life. Pharoahe's video on Ball is Life as an eight grader earned over one million views on Instagram in one day.

His stock was high as he even was allowed to visit a shoot-around with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he got to meet and get advice from NBA champion coach Doc Rivers, NBA champion coach and player Sam Cassell before taking a photo with NBA MVP James Harden.

Out of all the high schools whose coaches and players that actively visited his middle school games, Pharoahe decided to attend the one school that recruited him academically and hadn't shown any interest in him athletically. Much to the surprise of many and against the advice of some, Pharoahe picked International High School, which isn't known for its athletic success.

Pharoahe chose International for two reasons. He desired a safe academic environment, which many inner-city schools don't have. International is a school that doesn't tolerate chaos as much some other Columbus City Schools may allow. He also wanted to play with his friend, KJ Jones who was entering his senior year. Jones is also 6-9. He and Pharoahe knew each other because they were both trained by IBT Academy during their youth.

Not being sought after by International as an athlete eventually proved to be a problem throughout Pharoahe's freshman year. The young student-athlete, his teachers as well as the academic staff and administration held up their end of the bargain. For the first time ever Pharoahe was an Honor Roll student for the entire school year. He worked hard in practice and during the games becoming the boys basketball team's most efficient player. Pharoahe was second on the team at 10.3 points, while leading the team in rebounding at 9.1 boards per game. He was also the only player that made over 50 percent of his shots.

The problematic part was it seemed that on the athletics side, International wasn't prepared for a player of Pharoahe's status and stature. While many people around the city wondered where he'd be competing, it was announced on Instagram by former WWE World Champion Mark Henry that Pharoahe would be attending International. A few cheerleaders from the school as well as collegiate and pro athletes, including a couple of Harlem Globetrotters were seen of social media celebrating his choice to play high school basketball for International.

Multiple hiccups occurred during his freshman season, one includes the fact that there was not a properly fitting uniform available for him until the final game of the year. He was expected to play in an XL uniform, when he is 3XL sized player. There wasn't even a 2XL available. He was forced to play 19 games in an uncomfortable jersey and his parents had to purchase his home and visiting shorts from a store.

When asked about why his uniform wasn't ordered, the person responsible for ordering them, who will remain nameless replied, "Who knew [Pharoahe] was coming here?" This and a few other incidents, including lack of care during an injury, in the absence of the athletic trainer, made Pharoahe and his family question if his presence was appreciated.

While he continued to do the right thing on the court and in the classroom, he saw some teammates who didn't always do the right thing get more opportunities to dominate the ball and lead the team. Those choices by the basketball program proved to be consequential. As Pharoahe's involvement in the offense dwindled, the team went from being a promising bunch to a 3-19 punching bag.

This led to Pharoahe's decision during the summer of 2024. In about 20 minutes during a supervised summer pick-up game with many of the players he would've been playing with at International, he'd had enough.

After respectfully dismissing himself, during a team lunch session to go to his summer volunteer job where he trained youth basketball players as well as helped serve their lunches, he decided he was done playing basketball at International. He elected to remain at his school, where he appreciated the help of his teachers, principals and other administrators who helped him have his most successful academic school year.

What happened during that summer pick-up game that would make a team's most productive returning player just stop? Pharoahe ran up and down the court, rarely got a pass from any of the players and was subjected to watching guys who were less accomplished than him shoot and miss with little regard to playing the game in a successful way. He'd experienced that during the second half of his freshman season and decided it wasn't worth to go through it again. "They don't listen and don't value their minutes," he said with frustration of some of his former teammates. "They do whatever they want, because they know they're not going to be taken out of the game."

So far Pharoahe's decision to stay at International has continued to pay off in the classroom. He had Honor Roll for the fifth time in his first five high school grading periods, during the first quarter of his sophomore year. His decision to return to play basketball with Columbus Recreation and Parks has brought happiness back to his basketball life.

In his first game with Howard Recreation Center, Pharoahe led his team to a 50-26 win over Schiller Recreation Center. He scored 12 points with seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and a steal.

Right away Pharoahe's presence was made as he scored his team's first basket and got an assist on the next possession. His team took a 4-0 lead that turned into a 18-2 advantage. While Pharoahe is physically the biggest guy and has the most varsity high school experience, he is not the only person with talent that elected to play for the rec league instead of their school team.

Two brothers, Sysco Grice and DiAngelo Grice are in eighth grade and constantly gave the high school aged guards of Schiller a difficult time while helping Howard earn the win. Their big brother Tysean is a ninth grader who also caused grief for Schiller with his intelligent play and shooting. The Grices are home-schooled but declined the opportunity to play for their resident school system this year.

Another standout is Sidy Balde, who attends Gahana Lincoln. He too decided to play with Howard instead of his school. He brought a level of grit and intensity during the Howard's win only matched by KeMarquez Turner-Green.

Turner-Green attends Westerville South where he plays football, but unfortunately missed the basketball tryout due to being out of town. During the opening game he proved he belonged on the court for a high school team, just as much as he belongs on the football field.

Perhaps, the brightest future star talent on the squad is Xander Jackson. He's a six-foot-four eighth grader that runs the floor and finishes just about as well as any power forward that Pharoahe has played with. Keep in mind Pharoahe has played with KJ Jones and Reuben Holmes (now with Beechcroft High School). Both Jones and Holmes earned high post-season honors after the 2023-24 high school season.

This was the first of a seven-week, six-team regular season. Howard's team appeared to be the biggest and best out of the bunch on night one, but nothing is guaranteed as the games are all decided on the court.

With all that being said, Pharoahe Zaire ended the night, where he longed to be during the first year of his high school career. On a team that appreciated him, filled with teammates that he appreciates in return.