Hoops And Hope Proudly Shines Spotlight On Medford's Dugger Park

MEDFORD, MA — Sammy Newman-Beck remembers Dugger Park as one place in the city where everybody's differences melted away into a pool of community, fun and basketball. It was like that for him growing up in Medford two decades ago as neighbors came together at the park and West Medford Community Center, and bonded over the connections that united them instead of dwelling on the racial and cultural backgrounds that could have divided them.

"It’s a part of the city where everybody knows everybody," the Medford High alumnus said. "There are a lot of family histories going back 20, 30 years — with a lot of diversity."

It's a place that stayed very close to Newman-Beck's heart as he went on to play basketball at Emerson College, wrote for SLAM Magazine, worked for the Boston Celtics for a season and was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves organization for eight years. It's a place he hopes to showcase for as many Medford residents — and people from throughout Greater Boston — as possible on Aug. 25 at Hoops And Hope to benefit the West Medford Community Center and the Krystle Campbell Memorial Fund through the Boston Foundation.

The sponsor-supported free event will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with basketball and football clinics featuring NBA players R.J. Hunter and Georges Niang, as well as former Waltham High and Bentley University star Mackenzy Bernadeau, who played in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers, Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. It will include the seventh annual Brandon Bolden Basketball Tournament in memory of the Medford resident who died of a heart condition at 16 years old while playing basketball in 2000.

"To bring more than a thousand people together to celebrate anything in a community is incredibly important," said WMCC Director Bill Hager. "The sense of fun — the sense of positivity — that comes out of that is fantastic. It's a wonderful opportunity to build community. To watch all the people enjoying themselves, and sharing time with friends and neighbors, just makes you smile."

The Brandon Bolden Tournament began as a men's competition that has since expanded to include a high school boys and girls division — including Medford High School teams — as part of Hoops And Hope.

"Every year we do it more people know about it and more people look forward to it," Hager said. "Historically, Medford has had a unique interest in basketball. I talk with guys in their 50s and 60s who grew up in the city all the time and they say their fondest memories are from playing basketball. This helps expand on that history and tradition."

There will also be food trucks, football and soccer clinics, speakers, autograph sessions and a silent auction. Current or past professional athletes from Greater Boston involved in the event include: Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton, who grew up in Arlington; former Boston College and Detroit Lions star Gosder Cherilus, who is from Somerville; former BC and Celtics star Dana Barros, who is from Mattapan; and Newton England Revolution and Haitian National Team player Zachary Herivaux, who grew up in Brookline and attended Beaver Country Day.

"This is not just for Medford people," said Newman-Beck, now an assistant coach for the Erie Bayhawks, the G-League affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks. "We say that it's for everyone in Greater Boston. It gives anyone in the area a chance to be a part of this and gives kids a chance to come and learn from a pro athlete."

That mission has special meaning to Hager when it comes to the MWCC, and what he hopes those who attend Hoops and Hope will see when they spend a day at Dugger Park.

"Our entire reason for existing is to bring the community together and build a greater sense of community," he said. "Sports is a unique way to make that happen. One of the things the community center strives for is to get people to think outside of our own neighborhood see Medford as a whole. Then this helps bring people from Cambridge, Somerville, Newton to Medford to experience that as well."