49-year-old Alston becomes head coach of a high school basketball team! Best teammate starting center? Chooses Yao Ming over Howard

On October 29th Beijing time, the Houston Chronicle reported that 49-year-old ex-NBA player Alston has officially taken the role of head coach for the boys' basketball team at Houston Southern Lutheran South College.

This guard, who played 11 seasons in the NBA, dedicated 4 years to the Houston Rockets and became Yao Ming’s teammate. Previously, on the Mark Jackson Show, he was asked which five former teammates he would pick for a starting lineup if he were to form a team.

His response was: “I would definitely pick Tracy McGrady... then Ray Allen, Yao Ming, and Vince Carter. I’d leave myself out — but this lineup still needs a point guard, so I’d have to include Dwyane Wade as well.”

American media noted that the choice for the center position was particularly interesting — Alston placed Yao Ming ahead of Howard. Alston played alongside Yao Ming for 4 seasons with the Rockets, but this iconic New York basketball figure also reached the 2009 NBA Finals with “The Beast” Dwight Howard.

Alston explained: “The reason is simple, you can’t rely on fouling to stop Yao Ming. His free throw percentage is over 80%. But against Howard, if you really can’t guard him, the opponent can use fouls to handle it. I know clearly that Howard can’t replace Yao Ming’s spot — because Yao’s presence is just too impactful, man.”

Now, 49-year-old Alston has become a high school basketball head coach. This is not his first coaching role; during the summers of 2024 and 2025, he coached at several high-intensity, highly watched AAU games. This fall at Lutheran South College, he has become a gentler, more patient coach, largely shaped by the current circumstances.

The team competes in the second-largest private school league in the Houston area. Currently, there are very few (if any) players on the roster likely to play at the college level; and over the past two seasons, under two different coaches, Lutheran South College’s winning percentage has been below 50%. Alston admits that moving from AAU leagues to private high school basketball requires him to adjust his expectations, which is a challenge for him. “Obviously, I don’t have a player like McGrady around,” he said, “nor do I have an ‘Alston’ to push the ball in transition.”

As a point guard who grew up playing on street courts, Alston is known for his aggressive style and fierce competitiveness, always breaking through defenses. But now at Lutheran South College, people have seen his softer side.

“In his first few days here, I saw him chatting with a kindergartener in the hallway and even shaking hands,” said Mueller, the athletic director at Lutheran South College. “Sometimes we tend to imagine professional athletes as ‘unapproachable,’ but this coach is nothing like that. I always see him spending time with the kids in the hallway. It’s all genuine.”