Orange legends reunite for CBT Basketball Classic
SU basketball legends team up for charity
Nothing quite speaks to the Syracuse community like a fun game of basketball, especially one featuring past legends for the Orange.
The 2021 Coming Back Together (CBT) Celebrity Classic, the second edition of the exhibition basketball game, was played on Thursday night at The Dome. The event commenced year 13 of the annual CBT, a triennial celebration of the university’s Black and Latino/a community.
“We got a lot of kids who are accepted to the university, but, ya know what, they needed books, they needed housing,” Derrick Coleman, head coach of Team Blue said. “This is what the game is about. This is what the whole weekend’s about.”
Coleman, a former SU basketball and NBA star, said there will be networking, mentoring and panels all weekend to support these students.
Fans watch from the stands as the Coming Back Together (CBT) Celebrity Classic exhibition basketball game enfolds.
Mookie Jones, right, elevates in the air before releasing a jumper over the outstretched hand of Jamont Kinds.
“This is not about us athletes,” Lawrence Moten, the current all-time leading scorer for the Orange, said. “We’ve had some great people who’ve come to the university who didn’t play sports. So I want that to be known also.”
The game saw Team Orange beating Team Blue 66-65 in a wild contest. Team Orange went on a 7-0 run in the final two minutes to clinch the win; sweet revenge for their loss in the charity game’s first contest four years ago.
This game is the first in the newly-renovated Dome, as the final construction finished over this past season. More information on the CBT Weekend, including a full schedule, can be found, here.
“It’s beautiful, you couldn’t ask for a better place for us to come here and play sports as well as, I think, it’s a great tool to recruit more kids to come here to the University of Syracuse,” Coleman said. “Leaders lead. And that’s what we’re doing: we’re leading by example.
