Shaping Future Ballers - Priority Sports
Still not done with basketball, Cornette scored a job as a color commentator with ESPN until late 2011, when he met with Mark Bartelstein, long-time NBA agent and CEO of Priority Sports & Entertainment. Mark experienced what most did upon meeting Joey, and the story of his hiring lived on to be told at the Celebration of Life held at Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2016.
“I had six interviews and it took seven months before I got hired, and somehow Joel sold Mark in one meeting in a way no human has done before or since,” remembers Alex Tarshis, SVP of Athlete Marketing at Priority.
“Joel came in that first time, and I was awed,” said Bartelstein. “I pretty much asked him for a job when it was over.”
From 2011 until his passing, Joel worked as the Director of Basketball Recruiting and signed talent from Bradley Beal, to Wade Baldwin IV, Sam Dekker, the Plumlee brothers and more. Again, these players remembered Joel not just as a professional, but a confidant & friend.
“I lose a big brother, but gain an angel,” Beal wrote on Instagram. “Words can’t express the pain but I know you’re watching over me. Love you big bro!”
“Joel was more than just an agent to me,” said Dekker on Twitter. “He was an awesome man and unreal friend. Gone way too soon…gonna miss you man.”