Community Through Basketball: A Slam Dunk for Future Generations

Civic engagement and leadership mean identifying issues in our community and engaging with those around us to find solutions. It is difficult yet important work. Mikayla Paquette, a member of Tufts University’s women’s basketball team, learned this firsthand when she traveled to South Africa with her father. This trip gave her the opportunity to step out of her own context and see a brand new perspective, one that reaffirmed her purpose around civic engagement.

Caption: Mikayla Paquette coaches members of the Soweto Youth Basketball Program at their outdoor court in Soweto, South Africa.

Throughout the trip, they saw what civic engagement could look like. They ventured to museums like the Apartheid Museum and the Hector Pieterson Museum, where Mikayla learned about triumphant leaders, like Steve Biko and Desmond Tutu, who fought tirelessly for the rights of their people and the privilege to keep their land.

“I am because you are. My humanity is tied to yours.” - Nelson Mandela

Mandela’s legacy is a lesson of leadership that Mikayla carries with her on her own civic journey.

I became further inspired when my father and I spent several days connecting with the Kliptown Youth Program, The Comeback Mission in El Dorado Park, and Soweto Basketball Academy, which are all youth community organizations in some of the toughest parts of Soweto. While visiting, I ran basketball clinics for the kids and was blown away by the community that was fostered in such a short time.

The youth in these communities are products of the resilience and determination of the ones who came before them. Furthermore, they instilled in me that being a part of a community, and empowering the ones around you through joy and care, is necessary for change in one’s community and the world.

I realized that the orange ball that you throw countless times through a hoop has the power to change the world.

Basketball became more than just repeating different moves and countermoves and working on shooting mechanics. It became a process of learning and understanding one another. We are all connected and deeply rooted in each other’s histories and experiences. There was an acknowledgment that we were all from different places, but on the basketball court, we were one team, one community. Playing together, learning and teaching one another, empowered us all.

The lessons I learned during my time in South Africa inspired me to bring a project back to my own community in Medford, Mass., through my fellowship with The Team. Through my project, Community Hoops, I aspire to create pockets of community that are brought together through basketball and art. They are spaces of celebration and empowerment that are fueled by collective passion of self-expression. I am all the more excited to launch a Community Hoops Camp to form relationships between the extraordinary Tufts basketball players and promising youth in the community. Mentorship — both being a mentor and a mentee — are instrumental in building a generation of empowered student-athletes. All it takes is one coach, one moment to change a young athlete’s life.

The camp will connect to the second component of the effort, The 94 Foot Project. We will be collaborating with Artists for Humanity, a local nonprofit organization that also focuses on the power of mentorship. Together, we will revitalize an outdoor public basketball court in Medford, creating a beacon for community building in the area. The mission of Community Hoops is rooted in the power of sport and the power of the collective, allowing youth to not only endure, but to also thrive through self-expression and community.

As I have learned from Nelson Mandela and the children of Soweto, it is important to believe in the collective. Our humanity is bound together in this life — we must choose to lift up everyone around us, to love and care for one another, in whatever way we know how. Through my civic journey, I have reaffirmed that basketball is my tool to change the world. What’s yours?

Caption: Greg Beckwith, a Hall-of-Famer and beloved member of the Spider Nation, who served as Spider Basketball’s radio and television analyst for more than 20 years.

Greg Beckwith, a Hall-of-Famer and beloved member of the Spider Nation, who served as Spider Basketball’s radio and television analyst for more than 20 years, sadly passed away at the age of 60. He is survived by his wife Julie and his children Brittany and BJ.

“Spiders everywhere are shocked and saddened by this terrible news.” - Vice President and Director of Athletics John Hardt

Beckwith was the starting point guard for the 1983-84 Spiders, leading the team to the ECAC South conference championship and the program’s first berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Spiders defeated Rider in the opening round before stunning No. 5 seed Auburn and Charles Barkley in the first round, a game that marked the start of Richmond’s reputation as “Giant Killers” in the NCAA Tournament.

Caption: Greg Beckwith, a Hall-of-Famer and beloved member of the Spider Nation, who served as Spider Basketball’s radio and television analyst for more than 20 years.

Arkansas head coach John Calipari is shifting through the shadows behind the scenes to ensure the Hoop Hogs have one of the most competitive rosters in the country during the 2024-25 season.

Arkansas has already made appearances in preseason rankings despite only having seven scholarship players, though it helps when some of those are names like Johnell Davis, Jonas Aidoo, and Boogie Fland.

The latest rumblings seem to indicate that Calipari is focused on adding 1-to-3 more contributors either from the NBA Draft withdrawal pool or the overseas market.

HawgBeat provides a recap with the latest intel, along with best-fit rankings of Arkansas’ known priority targets:

No. 1 - F Coleman Hawkins, Illinois

Caption: Coleman Hawkins, a priority target for Arkansas.