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MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2014
PAGE 14
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
GIVING BACK
Former athletes compete to help area families
BLAIR SHEADE
sports@kansan.com
The sixth annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic was Thursday inside the Lawrence High School gymnasium. Former University athletes and local celebrities played two 20-minute halves and held a silent auction that helped raise the money for families of Lawrence children diagnosed with cancer.
The charity basketball game welcomed back former basketball players such as Ben McLemore, Tyrel Reed, Brady Morningstar, Sherron Collins, Wayne Simien, Cole Aldrich, Aaron Miles, Russell Robinson, Jeff Graves, Mario Little and Conner Teahan. Former University football players Todd Reesing and Brandon McAnderson also participated. The athletes were split into two teams—red and blue—
to put on a show for the full gymnasium of fans.
The spotlight was on the players, but the cause was for the children.
"We wanted to make this event something the kids would never forget," Brian Hanni, director of Rock Chalk Roundball Classic, said.
The proceeds from the basketball game and silent auction will go to the families of Maddox Parsons, 3, Adison Whitenight, 7, and Bo Macan, 4, all of Lawrence. In past years, the Roundball Classic was only able to sponsor two families.
"We get over 100 applicants and it's so hard to pick between the last three," Hanni said. "We were happy this year that we had enough private donations to split the money between three beneficiary families."
Last year, the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic raised more than $22,000 to
help the families, but this year the directors are predicting a larger amount in donations than previous years. The final figure will be released within the next week after all donations are collected, but as of Saturday, they were nearing $30,000 according to event's Facebook page.
"This has been our biggest event that we have ever held," Hanni said. "We were at standing room only for the first time in the six years that we've held this event."
Ben McLemore, who was drafted seventh last year by the Sacramento Kings and the leading scorer in the charity game with 27 points, said he came to the event because when he was growing up he didn't have anyone come back to help him out.
"Having this opportunity is a blessing and that's the reason why I come back and do what I do," McLemore
said. "This is something I've always dreamed of doing."
The basketball portion of the charity event lived up to the hype as the red team won 91-89 on a last second shot from former national champion shooting guard Tyrel Reed, who is now in his third year of the doctoral physical therapy program at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
"The main thing is that it's for a good cause, and that's why it so much fun—coming out here, raising money for these kids," Reed said. "When I was here at KU, all the fans, coaches and teammates were the best to me, so it's so important to give back to the community because they were so great to us."
The event connects the Lawrence community to the athletes that want to give back. Brady Morningstar, who was part of the national title team in 2008 and a current player for the Tapiolan Honka basketball team in Finland, said that growing up he noticed the closeness in Lawrence.
and bigger, and more players keep coming, so it makes for a fun experience every year," Morningstar said. "The fans want to see a show and we wanted to put one on for them."
"Every dollar [people] spend goes back into the community to help the local children," Hanni said. "The community considers this event one of the highlights of the summer, which helps bridge the gap between March Madness and the Late Night [in the Phog].
Even though the game is over, the fundraising isn't. Hanni said that a PayPal account for the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic on its Facebook page will stay open for a few more days.
Hanni said he was thankful for the athletes' dedication to the event and the families.
"We couldn't have done this event without the great ambassadors of KU because their hearts are as big as their basketball skills."
"This community always gives back and this event keeps getting bigger
— Edited by Emma LeGault
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
The red team, which included former Kansas athletes like Todd Reesing (left) and Ben McLemore (right) won the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic 91-89 with a game-saving shot by Tyre Reed in the final seconds. The Classic raised money for area families' children with cancer.
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