John Blackwell has been thinking about the idea for a while.
One of Beechwood’s assistant boys basketball coaches wanted to combine his love of high school hoops and a fervent desire to raise money for cancer research. His solution: the inaugural Cincy Shoots for a Cure – a series of 20 games involving teams from Northern Kentucky, Greater Cincinnati and Indiana.
“It is something I thought about for a while and kind of dreamed and schemed in my mind and talked to some people about and how real it was to get it off the ground,” Blackwell said. “Spent a lot of time this spring getting it all lined up.”
The five games featuring Northern Kentucky teams are: Simon Kenton at Conner, Dec. 1; boys Ninth Region runner-up Lloyd Memorial at Ryle, Dec. 10; Walton-Verona at Covington Catholic, Jan. 14; Newport Central Catholic at Newport, Jan. 27; and Highlands at Beechwood in a boys-girls doubleheader Feb. 19.
Emails everywhere
After the high school seasons ended in March, Blackwell emailed seemingly every coach and athletic director in the Tri-State. He started with Ohio schools because he didn’t have as many connections and thought Northern Kentucky schools would respond quicker.
“I think I would sit down on a Monday night and send an email to all the ADs in the GMC (Greater Miami Conference),” Blackwell said. “And then the next night I would do the CHL (Cincinnati Hills League), and then the next night I would do the ECC (Eastern Cincinnati Conference), and the next night, I would do the Miami Valley Conference. At first, it was beggars can’t be choosers; I wanted this to be a city-wide season-long initiative.”
It didn’t take Ryle boys coach Nick Dorning long to sign on. His stepfather, Bob Ryan, had a form of skin cancer that Dorning said is under control.
“The sell to me was that it was a nonprofit event that was aiming to raise money for cancer awareness and cancer research,” Dorning said. “And anytime that we can be involved with helping to find cures for people with cancer, I think it’s a great idea.”
Blackwell said most of the proceeds go to the American Cancer Society, but he’s willing to donate to a local cancer-related agency if a host school chooses. CovCath athletic director Tony Bacigalupo said money from the Walton-Verona game would go to ‘I Have Wings’, an Erlanger organization.
Blackwell also said Coaches vs. Cancer, a collaborative with the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, would offer a partnership once Cincy Shoots has 501(c)3 tax-exempt status.
Pickleball, cornhole and free throws
There will also be a pickleball and cornhole tournament from 4-8 p.m. July 26 at General Ormsby Mitchel Park in Fort Mitchell, a free-throw-a-thon from 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. Aug. 23 at Beechwood High School and a preseason basketball coaches clinic and social in September at Beechwood. (The date and time have yet to be determined.)
“I’m no good at pickleball; I don’t think I’ll be participating,” Blackwell said. “I think I’ll be making sure the night runs smoothly and telling everybody how much I appreciate them … Maybe I’m a little more experienced in cornhole. I grew up in southern Indiana, so, I’ve thrown a cornhole bag my share of time.”
And free throw shooting?
“My coach (Mike Pratt) was sending me in to hit the free throws at the end of the game,” Blackwell said. “He wasn’t sending me in to guard the other team’s best players.”
Blackwell lost his father, Steven Blackwell, to cancer in 2000, when he was a senior at Lawrenceburg; he said his goal is not to make the event all about him.
“Sometimes it feels like it was a couple years ago, sometimes it feels like it was a lifetime ago,” Blackwell said of his dad’s passing. “I just know that it’s something that’s impacted me … Some of my best friends have lost family members as well, and one of my best friends just lost his sister last year at age 47.”
Blackwell is optimistic that basketball can still unify communities.
“I think high school basketball is a pretty powerful mechanism, I think it’s a pretty powerful thing,” Blackwell said. “I think it’s something that, you know, as much as the world around us is changing, I think high school sports are something that people still get behind, want to get behind and will get behind.”
For more information, visit cincyshootsforacure.org, email cs4ac@yahoo.com or call Blackwell at 317-529-9251.