Patty Mills Classic gives NBA vet chance to connect with community
Nov. 25—Basketball guard Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets did not need any coaxing to sign up for a good-neighbor policy.
Basketball guard Patty Mills of the Brooklyn Nets did not need any coaxing to sign up for a good-neighbor policy.
"I put my hand up when I got the phone call to see if I wanted to be involved in it, " he said of his title sponsorship of the Patty Mills North Shore Classic.
The four-team college tournament is today and tomorrow at the Cannon Activities Center on the Brigham Young-Hawaii campus in Laie. Mills and his wife bought an offseason home in Haleiwa in 2016.
"Living on the North Shore, the amount of friends and family we have there, it kind of made sense to be able to collaborate on something that was for the community, the culture, and doing it through a platform like basketball, " Mills said.
Mills' involvement stems from his long-time friendship with University of Hawaii basketball coach Eran Ganot and their ties to Saint Mary's College. Ganot was a Saint Mary's assistant coach before and after Mills' tenure with the Gaels. But Mills' wife, Alyssa, played for the Saint Mary's women's basketball team during one of Ganot's stints. The Saint Mary's connection blossomed into a friendship between Mills' and Ganot's families.
"I know Eran Ganot has been working behind the scenes for a long time to try to grow the UH men's basketball team outside of Honolulu and get into (other ) communities, " Mills said. "This was a great opportunity."
It is fitting that UH and Sacramento State are paired in today's opening round. Tipoff is at 3 :30 p.m. David Patrick, who coached Mills at Saint Mary's, is Sacramento State's head coach. "Stars have aligned for the first North Shore Classic, and having David Patrick and Eran Ganot compete (against each other ), " Mills said. "I'm excited."
Mills cannot attend the tournament because of the Nets' hectic schedule. But he is confident the tournament will be an annual event.
"Hopefully, this is an event that can continue to grow and get more schools and get the community involved, " Mills said.
Mills, who grew up in Australia, said the North Shore is similar to the Torres Strait islands. "The culture and traditions are very strong back home, " he said. "The lifestyle on the North Shore is very familiar and similar to back home. I have a great appreciation for the culture and the land and the sea. Even more than that is the people we've been able to create strong friendships with that really make a place special."
As part of his sponsorship, Mills wanted to make the event affordable. General admission tickets are priced at $10 apiece. There is no admission fee for military personnel who provide valid IDs at Cannon's box office. There also is no admission charge for UH and BYUH students, as well as children 12 and younger. Parking is free. There also is a social-media competition in which five finalists will be chosen from submission of pictures captioned on their meaning of aloha. Prizes include a trip to New York for a Brooklyn Nets home game, and jerseys signed by Mills, Kevin Durant and Ben Simmons. A cultural welcoming will be performed at 3 :10 p.m. today ahead of the UH-Sacramento State game.
Ticket details are available at.
