Once again, the green and gold of the parish gymnasium at St. Kevin in Flushing turned into a sea of orange and blue … at least for one morning.
On Jan. 4, the parish’s Youth Guild hosted its annual sports clinic, which features a former professional athlete as the special guest. For the second time in recent years, New York Knicks shooting guard and fan-favorite John Starks was in the gym for the clinic, which has been a mainstay at the parish since 2010 and welcomed the likes of Knicks greats Bernard King, Larry Johnson, and Walt “Clyde” Frazier.
More than 100 kids from grades pre-K through eighth participated in the clinic, founded by John Bonanno, the director of the St. Kevin Youth Guild sports clinic. Bonanno has also hosted baseball and football clinics, but basketball is always the most popular since basketball is the largest Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) sport in the parish.
“These are some great kids out here,” said Starks, 59. “They enjoy the game of basketball, and that’s what this is about … just to see the smiles on their faces when they make a basket. We just want them to get out there and enjoy it and learn a little about the game.”
Starks opened the clinic by discussing his experience playing at Madison Square Garden and his journey to the pros. He said the top moment of his career was advancing to the NBA Finals in 1994 after a Game 7 victory over the Eastern Conference rival Indiana Pacers and star guard Reggie Miller.
The 1994 NBA All-Star and 1997 NBA Sixth Man of the Year led the different age groups in drills before signing autographs and posing for photos with the newly minted fans. Even though the children never saw Starks play live, they could sense how meaningful it was to have an NBA star in their gym.
“I think it’s really cool,” eighth grader J.D. Moussally said of Stark’s visit. He is the point guard on the St. Kevin CYO boys’ team. “I enjoy meeting all the players and getting the autographs. It’s really fun. He’s [Starks] a really good example. I’ll train hard and do my best.”
The story of how Starks made it in the Big Apple is quite interesting. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, he played only one year of high school basketball and then attended five different colleges, finishing his collegiate career at Oklahoma State University.
Starks was not selected in the 1988 NBA Draft, but that did not crush his hoops dreams. He signed with the Golden State Warriors and appeared in 36 games that season.
After spending time in the Continental Basketball Association and World Basketball League, he tried out for the Knicks in 1990 and made the team. He went on to spend the next eight seasons calling the Garden home and will be remembered for his physical play and clutch-shooting ability.
In 13 NBA seasons, Starks averaged 12.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He remains the Knicks’ all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 982 and was the first player in NBA history to make more than 200 3-pointers in a single season.
“He was the pre-Steph Curry back then,” said George Baynes, president of the St. Kevin Youth Guild and the CYO parish athletic representative. “It brings back a lot of memories. I grew up playing in this gym, so seeing a legend in here is so exciting.”
“It’s great to have a player come back and be in front of these kids,” he added. “Everyone wants to be a pro in the end, so it gives them hope that if they work hard and keep putting the effort in and going to practice every week, they can do it someday too.”
While Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are fan favorites for today’s youthful Knicks fans, no doubt having Starks in the St. Kevin gym led the young athletes to look up his highlights and learn about what an impactful player he was on some talented teams.
Hopefully, these new Starks fans can learn from his example of perseverance and tenacity as they incorporate these skills into their game.