When you ask Curtis Aiken what he took away from a childhood being raised by his grandmother on the East Side of Buffalo, he is quick to reply.

The former Bennett basketball star may not reside in his hometown anymore, but the lessons he learned from the city hold a daily presence in his life.

"The greatest thing that I've learned from Buffalo is my work ethic," said Aiken, who now lives in Pittsburgh. "That's what it's all about, no matter what you do."

Due to hard work, success has followed Aiken throughout his career and the theme continues on Nov. 9 when he is inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo.

Aiken was Western New York's all-time leading scorer with 2,130 points when he graduated from high school in 1983, a time before the three-point line. He went on to captain the University of Pittsburgh to a Big East regular season championship. But his career will come full circle with his latest honor.

"It's always good to come home," Aiken said. "When you are able to come home and be honored and be amongst your peers and family, it's a celebration and I'm looking forward to it."

At the root of Aiken's work ethic lies a relationship that was formed when he was 10 years old. Up until that point, Aiken was interested in boxing, but after attending a basketball camp run by Joe Brown at the Masten Boys and Girls Club, a new passion began.

Eventually, Brown became Aiken's mentor, taking an interest in the young point guard because of the way he would do exactly as he was told. Brown wanted 20 push-ups, Aiken gave them to him.

Aiken's grandmother, Marion, did her best to raise a young boy on her own, but he still lacked a prominent male figure in his life. Brown realized this and was happy to step in.

"I was keeping a promise to a guy who worked at the boys club before me, William Raspberry," Brown said. "He helped me when I didn't have anybody."

Aiken attended Brown's games when he was a small college All-American at Daemen College, and Brown would return the favor when Aiken made it to high school. Instead of going to parties like a normal teenager, Aiken would meet Brown at the club for late-night practices.

"We lived in a pretty rough neighborhood," Aiken said. "My friends would walk me to the boys club where I'd meet Joe. I would work on my game until 12:30 or one o'clock at night. When my friends got done partying, they'd stop by and walk me back home. Those were the types of memories that I have of Joe Brown."

After Aiken shot 500 jump shots, Brown would remind him that there was some kid in Texas who was shooting 600.

So Aiken shot 100 more.

"I just remember passing him the ball and watching him shoot. It was continuous, I would pass the ball and he would shoot until his arms fell off," Brown said. "Then he'd want to come back into the gym the next day."

Nowadays, Aiken, 47, runs his own business out of Pittsburgh -- ProTech Compliance, a technology and services company. He has spent time coaching basketball for both of his two children, Alexis, 17, and Curtis Aiken Jr., 12, teaching them the same things that Brown preached to him when he was younger.

"He always tells me to go my hardest," said Aiken Jr. of his father. "If you want to get the most playing time, then you have to go the hardest. But, most of all he wants my grades to be high. If my grades aren't high, then I can't play basketball."

Brown is now 54 and lives in Birmingham, Ala., where he is the President of Young Stars Inc., a group focused on developing young kids with the help of basketball camps and teams. He has been mentoring kids for 40 years and says that to this day Aiken is his go-to example when trying to motivate other kids.

"Out of all the kids that I've worked with I always tell them about Curtis Aiken," Brown said. "I always tell them about this kid and his work ethic. He was a kid that said he was going to go and play college basketball, and he did it."

It's been seven years since the two have been together, but there are plans to reunite on the night of Aiken's induction. The two can't wait to see each other, again.

"We've only talked over the phone," Aiken said. "But to be able to tell him how much I appreciate him at that forum, it will be a lot more special than telling him over the phone."

For dinner tickets, call 888-2977 or go to www.gbshof.com.

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