Chicago basketball tournament with NBA star gives kids second chance
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some talented athletes will compete in a Chicago basketball tournament this weekend.
A former NBA great, Tim Hardaway, will be there, but trying to win isn't the only reason they're hitting the court.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray spoke with those using basketball to combat the gun violence in Chicago.
"You better catch up."
A little bit of trash talk between a mentor and his mentee.
"Go ahead. I'm going to let you start again."
They're practicing their skills for the third annual Hoopers 2 Heaven basketball tournament. The goal is to bring awareness about gun violence in chicago and keep kids on the right path.
Twelve-year-old Jason Ares has played in the tournament for two years. He was an innocent bystander hit by gunfire. Ares was shot when he was three years old.
"The bullets didn't hit my uncle. It hit me. It hit me, like, two times. My mom thought I was going to die. The doctors thought I was going to die too, but God gave me a second chance," Ares said.
The basketball court where Ares and many others will play is called the Bryan Leach Memorial Court, named after a local streetball legend and Greater Grand Crossing native, Bryan Leach.
NBA all-star player Tim Hardaway said he has known Leach since they were kids. Leach passed away in 2017.
"When Mike and Sam came up to me and said, we want to do something and keep Bryan Leach's legacy because he did a lot of stuff for the community around there," Hardaway said.
Michael McDowell is one of the people who helped orchestrate the event.
"Once people are gone, sometimes we forget about them. So we just want to keep that legacy going on, Hoopers 2 Heaven for Bryan Leach," McDowell said.
There will be a total of six teams this weekend. Each team will be named after someone who has passed away. Organizers said they also plan to give backpacks to neighborhood kids.
They'll also celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop.