‘I just enjoy the smiles on the faces:’ Central Connecticut men’s basketball play some ball with those with disabilities

At one station, the visitors were shown the finer points of rebounding, at another, ballhandling, at another, shooting. Kevin VanVoorhis looked like he was having a ball, with assists from Central Connecticut basketball players Dion Perkins and D.J. Holloway.

“For Kevin, it’s good to have an interaction with his peers,” said Zofia Bogli, who brought a group of seven from Favarh, a nearby community for people with disabilities. “For him to actually be here taking part in an event like this, sharing, high-fiving his friends, being one with a team. He’s proud of himself right now, I can tell. They have day-to-day problems and this is something he’s been looking forward to.”

At another corner, Rachel Desires is asking for help, and Central’s Kyle Rocker walks out to help her line up her shot. At the “money station,” the baskets counted toward crowning a winning group, with Nigel Scantlebury and Kellen Amos keeping watch.

“I just enjoy the smiles on the faces,” said Scantlebury, a senior who will be leading CCSU into a new season starting Nov. 7. “Everything with basketball is serious, so doing an event like this is a breath of fresh air. They don’t know that they’re actually making our day.”

The 40 visitors were on the court at the Detrick Gym under the auspices of the Beautiful Lives Project, a nationwide not-for-profit organization that gives people with disabilities the opportunity to actively participate in activities and events that may not have been available to them. It was founded by Anthony Iacovone, who owns the New Britain Bees baseball team, and Bryce Weiler, who, though he is blind, has worked on baseball radio broadcasts for various professional teams, including the Yard Goats.

Events like this are staged all over the country. Within the last week, visits with Central’s football and men’s basketball teams brought them close to home.

“We promote social inclusion through sporting events, arts and crafts, music, dance, cheerleading,” said Tony Gionfriddo, Beautiful Lives’ executive director. “Whatever we can do to get our participants out of their environment and feel like — today, they’re a part of Central basketball, last Saturday they were part of Central football. Central, I couldn’t be prouder of, because I’m from New Britain. They have been great the players have been great. We have people with disabilities here, you have people who are lucky enough not to have disabilities here, and we want to bring them together.”

The visit helped coach Patrick Sellers, in his second season back at his alma mater, pass on the commitment to community service he learned at his several coaching stops, including UConn, where he was one of Jim Calhoun’s assistants, to his current players. The Blue Devils were 8-23 last season, and picked sixth by Northeast Conference coaches to begin this season, but have more experience and cohesion now that seven freshmen have stayed and committed to Year 2.

“We had seven new guys who came in and had never played college basketball,” Sellers said. “We were saying new terminology they never heard before, it was a whole new world for them. Now, having a whole summer, a whole preseason, it’s like we have a bunch of veteran guys and they know what we’re talking about. We could put a new play in now and these guys will pick it up just like that.”

Davonte Sweatman, who didn’t play a lot last year, vowed he would work and improve and show Sellers he can play, “and he has been a really, really big-time leader for us,” Sellers said. Jayden Brown, who was slowed last season with COVID and Abdul Momah, recovered from an ankle injury, have made a big improvement. Versatile Kellen Amos, a 6-foot-7 transfer from Binghamton figures to play a big role. Scantlebury, who averaged 13.4 points and was a preseason all-NEC selection, and Joe Ostrowski, who played 17 minutes as a freshman, return to the lineup. State players include Perkins from Seymour, and Holloway from Orange, Tre Breland from Hamden, and Brody Limric from Glastonbury.

“We’re picking it up a lot more quickly,” Scantlebury said. “Even the freshmen, they have a lot of knowledge. What Coach is telling us, we’re able to teach to the younger guys.”

Building a connected team, not so easy in the age of easy transferring, and connecting it to the surrounding community, are tasks for Sellers, 53, who was an assistant at eight schools before landing his first head coaching job.

“My history, I’m just a baller,” Sellers said. “If I could still play, I’d be playing right now. When you’re dealing with young guys, you’ve got to know them and talk to them, not just about basketball, but about life. So one of the big steps for me was getting to know these guys, taking them out to walk around campus. I’m getting better at it. I feel much more confident, doing it for a year, seeing how guys react, knowing when I’ve got to push, knowing when I’ve got to pull back, after-time-out plays.”

As the morning session ended, Sellers invited the visitors from the Beautiful Life Project to return and see his team in action. Central begins its season at UMass Nov. 7, opens at home vs. Quinnipiac on Nov. 13.

“When I was here as a player, Coach [Howie Dickenman] would always do something at Christmastime for the homeless,” Sellers said. “We’d go to schools and read to kids. He was always big on community service, and our guys got better and better at it. I’d go with Coach Calhoun and he had his food drive. Guys like Kemba Walker and Andre Drummond that I coached in the past, they had things going on with community service. It’s teaching these guys to give back.”

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com