Syracuse, N.Y. — A teenage boy was walking alone in one of Syracuse’s many city parks a few years ago. He had nowhere to go and no home.
Brandon Hanks, a Syracuse police officer and high school basketball coach, approached the teen to help.
“He grew up in one of the worst parts of the city, right at the heart of the south side,” Hanks said. “I met him, and I just said, ‘Hey, we got a tournament this weekend. You want to play?’ Ever since then, he’s played every single year.”
Hanks did not share the teen’s name for privacy reasons.
Each summer, kids from around the Syracuse area gather in Wilson Park for the $10K Basketball Tournament. The event, now in its fifth year, is a joint effort between the Syracuse Housing Authority and various community partners.
The tournament features four brackets: boys 16-19, girls 13-18, boys 13-15, and young adult co-ed. Saturday’s games showcased the boys 13-15 bracket.
“Seeing the kids and stuff all together, there’s nothing better,” said SHA deputy director Jalyn Clifford, who has helped spearhead the event all five years. “The first year, I think we raised like $12,000, that was it, and we were only able to do one bracket, because we had to find money to cover the prize funds. We are probably five times our original amount (this year).”
Syracuse Housing Authority Kicks Off 5th Annual $10K Youth Basketball Tournament
Before the tournament, the athletes go to training camp. Besides practicing basketball, partnering organizations offer mini-classes and training to youth in financial empowerment, health and wellness, education and job training.
The tournament aims to bring together the community to support young people who live in public housing. These youth are more at-risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of community violence.
“I know how a lot of kids are less fortunate and they don’t have opportunities to go to some of these more expensive AAU tournaments,” said Hanks, who is heading into his second season as the head basketball coach at Henninger High School. “It’s all for the kids, keep them out of trouble, keeping them here with us at the park for three separate days throughout July.”
Among the participants, Peyton Harrison played for one of Henninger’s two teams in the tournament. His dad passed away when he was just one, so his mom had to juggle work and raising him. She often doesn’t get home until after 10 p.m., so Harrison needed something to do between school and then.
“It’s just good for me to get outside here,” Harrison said. “People, teenagers, our age, you know, are all the time killing each other and stuff, so I feel like it helps us for something good.”
The police and fire departments attend the tournament each year, which is a crucial component of the event for Hanks.
“As soon as a cop is on my court at the same time, you can really see that cops aren’t really that bad,” Henninger student Quazire Hawkins said.
“I feel like it gives the kids a chance to build relationships and maybe understand them more, to make them feel like they are here to help and protect them by actually being here and supporting them,” said parent and Nottingham girls basketball coach Cintia Johnson. “And also to get a better understanding of the children as well.”
Kids in the community need to have more positive encounters with the police, Hanks said. Events like this help young people and the police build relationships.
“If the only time we’re seeing these kids and engaging with them is when we’re putting handcuffs on them or we’re investigating a crime or something that happened in the neighborhood, that is not good. We gotta be able to come meet them somewhere positive, like playing in a tournament,” Hanks said. “So now when the kid sees you on that shooting or on that stabbing or on that domestic at somebody’s house when they’re going through a rough time, they remember you. ‘Oh, you were at the $10K tournament, mister. You’re the one who said I had a good shot. You’re the one who came up and shook my hand and said, Good play.’”
Taylor McFadden, who works in resident support services for the SHA, wanted to bring even more of the community to the tournament this year.
“It helps show that the love for the game is everywhere, not just in the city. So it helps kids just feel like they have a place no matter what,” McFadden said.
She invited players from the Le Moyne women’s basketball team to Saturday’s event to show support.
“We’re also from Syracuse, and it’s nice for the young hoopers to see college players come out and support them. I think it really means a lot for them,” said Amya McLeod, who currently plays for Le Moyne and is a former Rome Free Academy basketball star. “They came and thanked us for being here and supporting them. They think it’s very cool to see us and just be able to talk to us and ask us about our experiences with basketball and how we got to where we are today.”
Among the young athletes in the stands, there was buzz about what they would do with the money if they won. Many planned on getting new shoes or clothes. Some wanted to use it for sports equipment. Hawkins hoped to get a tattoo with his mom’s name. Harrison hoped to use it for school clothes to take some of the pressure off his mom.
“These kids don’t have a ride to school. They don’t have a ride home. They don’t have a ride to the basketball court. They can’t afford the latest clothes or shoes. So understand that their upbringing is a lot different than others,” Hanks said.
“Even if they are the suspect on some of these headlines ... Yes, I’m a firm believer in holding them accountable. You gotta hit them hard. Gotta hit them hard while they’re young so they learn. So when they get older, they’re not doing that stuff. But when you see these headlines, this kid got arrested for that, understand. They didn’t have it as good as the reader.”
The teen Hanks met in the park years ago will be a senior at a city school this fall. He’ll be going to college after he graduates. This transformation wouldn’t have been possible without the tournament, which has similarly impacted many other young people in the community.
“I don’t know where that kid would be if somebody didn’t bump into him like myself,” Hanks said. “He looks forward to it. When he’s not playing, he’s volunteering and helping us out. That’s very big and very key. We were able to change his life.”