How this Sacramento Summer League uses basketball to keep kids away from violence
Even as players rushed up and down the court, pouring in layups and splashing buckets into the final moments of the Kings and Queens Rise basketball tournament Friday evening, anyone paying attention to the action knew this was more than a game featuring kids on an NBA court.
“It’s about saving lives and keeping kids off the streets,” said Kenneth Duncan, the program’s commissioner. “We need to build bridges for kids out of bad situations, and this program has proven we can achieve that.”
The summer basketball league is designed to give kids from underserved Sacramento neighborhoods a haven away from the violence in their communities. This is the fourth year the Sacramento Kings partnered with local organizations — including The Center at Sierra Health Foundation, Black Child Legacy Campaign, My Brother’s Keeper Sacramento and Build.Black. — to connect more than 275 kids with networking, fitness and community support.
The program was developed by the Sacramento Kings and the Build. Black. Coalition in direct response to the 2018 killing of 22-year-old Stephon Clark of Meadowview by two police officers in his grandmother’s backyard. The Black Child Legacy Campaign also helped start the program, which is managed by The Center at Sierra Health Foundation.
Duncan has been there since the beginning. In a method that may deviate from how other coaches find talent, Duncan often recruits players through social work case files and referrals.
“If someone seems at risk and I reach out and suggest they play the league,” he said.
Plenty of the kids Duncan bring into the program expressed little interest in playing basketball or never dribbled a basketball in a serious capacity before joining the team.
That said, twins Iris and Lily Rochell, 15, had extensive basketball experience before entering King and Queens. Both competed at the championship level in Arizona before adding themselves to the Oak Park team roster as point guards. Their mother, who started coaching for the Kings and Queens Rise this year, was the one who signed them up.
“But we stuck around because of the warmth of the environment, and it was nice seeing people since COVID broke out,” Lily Rochell said.
Despite having competed in other leagues, they agreed that playing in Kings and Queens Rise finals felt extra special and nerve-wracking. Several members of the Sacramento Kings showed up to celebrate the players as kids displayed their talent on the court.
“It’s super cool because like there’s just a big court and saying that you play NBA core is a huge opportunity to do,” said Iris Rochell.
Both twins hope to continue to play basketball after they age out of the league, which will be soon.
The summer league only accepts kids from fourth to tenth grade, but Duncan hopes that kids continue to practice the lessons they learned beyond the program.
“We’re trying to teach that it doesn’t matter what neighborhood you represent, we’re all family,” Duncan said.
For the past few years, youths emerged from throughout communities in Sacramento to compete in the summer series. Duncan hopes the time the players spend in the league is enough to build a sense of solidarity and trust among the players.
“Down the line, if one kid is in a different neighborhood, in a bad situation with other people, we want them to be able to go ‘Hey, I know this person. I played Kings and Queens with them’ – and that could save a life.”
