By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C.
Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 15, 2012 – The men’s
and women’s U.S. national basketball teams, which are preparing for the
upcoming Olympics in London, put on a show for service members, their families,
and other fans at the District of Columbia National Guard Armory here
yesterday.
The “Hoops for Troops” program, launched
in 2006, provides support for the U.S. military and their families through
programs, events, and partnerships, according to the USA Basketball website.
The audience included Army Gen. Martin
E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Navy Adm. James “Sandy” A. Winnefeld
Jr., JCS vice chairman; and Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Bryan B. Battaglia, the
chairman’s senior enlisted advisor.
Military children, service members and
fans were treated to activities including a girls’ basketball clinic led by
members of the women’s U.S. national basketball team, a skills challenge where
troops teamed up with NBA players, viewing of the men’s U.S. national team
conducting practice and a basketball scrimmage.
“It was awesome. It was just a
tremendous honor to be here,” Navy Lt. Cmdr. Charles Drey said. “It was a great
experience, and I was very excited.”
Drey, assigned to U.S. Fleet Forces
Command, represented the Navy and was paired with Brooklyn Nets point guard
Deron Williams for the skills challenge, which the duo won.
“My son got to watch me do it too, so I
was very happy,” Drey said. “It was such an honor to represent the Navy and the
men and women of the military and their families.
“And also having the wounded warriors
here,” he continued. “It was so awesome to be out on the court, even just by
the NBA players [and] Team USA -- the team that’s going to represent our
country … it was a great experience.”
The USA Basketball players were equally
happy to have an opportunity to meet with service members, their families and
fans.
“They humble us. I mean they do so much
for our country and … represent our flag,” said Kevin Love, power forward for
the Minnesota Timberwolves. “We just go out there and play basketball. So they
are the reason we have our freedom.”
Service members “protect and serve so we
can live the lives we live today,” Love added. “So it’s pretty cool to be out
there performing in front of them but they’re doing all the good deeds for us,
really, so we have to pay homage to them.”
Others such as ESPN basketball analyst
Jay Bilas were touched when members of the ceremonial 3rd U.S. Infantry
Regiment, the Army’s “Old Guard” presented the patches from their uniform
sleeves to USA Basketball team members as Dempsey wished the players well
during the London Olympics.
“It was a great day for USA Basketball,
for the Olympic movement and the Olympic team,” Bilas said. “I think it was
just a great day for our country.”
The basketball analyst noted U.S.
national men’s team Coach Mike Krzyzewski, a graduate of the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point, N.Y., served in the Army for five years, which has
inspired a lot of what the team does in emulating the military “on a much
smaller scale.”
Bilas said he was unable to put into
words what it meant to him to see the troops take their American flag patches
off their uniforms and present then to the basketball players.
“It was so moving,” he said.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment