Basketball league helps local teens with academics, life
FLINT -- The Urban Legends Basketball Association plays their games on Saturday afternoons at Foss Avenue Baptist Church.
But on Wednesdays and Thursdays, league founders Randall Wilburn and Jordan Muneryan take the league to another level, using after-school time to mentor the 19-and-under teens at the Urban League of Flint.
"I saw that they had a gym that wasn't being utilized," Muneryan said. "I went to one of the young men and said, 'hey, how would you feel if if you had your own basketball team?' He said, 'yeah I would love it!'"
Before practicing at 6:00 pm, players must attend study hall from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
"We used basketball to kinda trick them into studying," Wilburn said.
One of the teens the league has had an effect on already is Flint Northwestern junior Terrance Moye. Since joining the league, he has boosted his GPA from 1.3 to 3.1 in just eight weeks.
"In school, I couldn't participate in any of the sports but now I get to do everything," Moye said. "I get to go on field trips now, it's good. Teachers look up to me now."
Moye is the one who looks up to Moye and Wilburn as father figures.
"My daddy died when I was young so they're like fathers to me," Moye said.
It's gratification that is not only felt by Moye but his mentors as well, seeing that funding for the league and practices come out of their pockets.
"It lets me know what we're doing is effective and it does matter because if we weren't effective with them, they wouldn't come," Wilburn said.
"The money that we're sowing to this thing is going towards something that's really positive that will really have an impact," Muneryan added. "These kids will have something sustainable that'll be with them forever."
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