Alumni basketball game organizers hope event brings the community together

AIKEN , S.C. (WJBF) – Juice Hoops is an alumni basketball event that will feature athletes from around the CSRA.

The event happens on Saturday, July 27th at 9 A.M. at First Baptist Gymnasium at 120 Chesterfield Street in Aiken.

You can expect music, vendors, scholarship giveaways, and more.

We sat down with one of the organizers, CY Young, to talk with him about the event and what people can expect from it.

What is this event all about?

“It’s a tournament that we started last year: myself, Neek Parker, and Driq Dunbar. It’s something we try to do for the community, and bring in alumni from schools all around the CSRA. We’re just trying to bring the community together. We’ll have different vendors, and we just want people to come out, have fun, and be safe.”

I see you’ve given out scholarships at these events. What do you want people to take away from these events?

“I grew up in foster care, so I’ve seen how people come from rough places. We like to give scholarships to families to see if we can help them get out of the community and try to experience the world. We started these events last year. Neek Parker came up with the idea, and we just love doing it for the community.”

What’s the reaction when people come to these events?

“There’s been a lot of support. I appreciate all of my people in Aiken and the surrounding areas.”

Where do you want these events to be in 5 years?

“I want it to be big. I want to take it on the road and have people from around the area experience New York, California, things like that. I really want it to be a major event.”

What kind of vendors?

“There will be people making lemonades, and there will be a lot of new faces. Some people will be coming from out of state. We’re dropping the whole list on social media so you can look their.”

Talk to me about the alumni players who are participating.

We’ve got a lot of big names coming out, so people from South Aiken, Aiken, Ridge Springs, all the schools from the South Carolina side. These are some of the top players that played back in the day, but they came back to support their alumni, support their schools, and support Juice Hoops.

Juice Hoops tickets are on sale now. For tickets, you can reach out to CY Young at (803) 552-2409 or email him at Carltonyoung1988@gmail.com .

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