South Windsor Remembers Offiaeli With Basketball Tournament

It’s been three and a half years since Timothy Edwards Middle School eighth-grader Kenny Offiaeli, 13, collapsed and died while playing basketball.

“We we devastated by that,” said middle school athletic coordinator Travis Edwards in a telephone interview. “He was a great kid with a bright future with basketball. He was already 6’-2” and everyone gravitated toward him. He was a great teammate.”

So, To help fund a scholarship in his name, the middle school hosted the “Kenny O” 3-on-3 basketball tournament on Nov. 9, Edwards said, raising $700 on the evening.

It was the second year that the tournament was held, according to Edwards, who said that he, then-Principal Kristin Heckt and Craig Zimmerman got together to organize the event in 2011.

The teams were divided into four categories - boys middle school, girls middle school, boys high school and girls high school - with some 200 kids participating.

There were no winners and scores weren’t kept - it wasn’t that type of event. The goals were to remember Kenny, raise money for the scholarship and have a fun night of playing basketball, all of which were met.

“The tournament will always be held as long as I’m here,” Edwards said. “It’s nice to see some of my former players.”

Scholarships are awarded to three students at the middle school who are good students who are also involved in jazz band and basketball, Edwards said.

Anyone interested in donating to the scholarship can make checks out to the Kenny Offiaeli Scholarship Fund and send them to Travis Edwards, athletic coordinator, at Timothy Edwards Middle School, 100 Arnold Way, South Windsor, CT 06074.