Ubuntu On Full Display In Hoops 4 Hope's Inaugural 3-On-3 Tournament In East Hampton

Just prior to the start of the inaugural Hoops 4 Hope 3-on-3 basketball tournament at East Hampton High School on Saturday morning, the over 100 participants created a large circle on Coach Ed Petrie Court and one of the coordinators of the event, Levy Mwanza, made sure that everyone understood what ubuntu is all about.

Hoops 4 Hope is a nonprofit organization created by a pair of longtime East Hampton residents, in Anthony Allison and Mark Crandall, that, since 1995, has been working in underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe, providing young people there with the fundamentals and opportunities necessary to be happy, healthy and safe both emotionally and physically. The H4H model and curriculum are based around the seven tools of an ubuntu champion which are focus, sense of humor, self-awareness, responsibility, integrity, self-esteem and teamwork.

“It’s not just about the tournament, it’s about teaching life skills,” explained Mwanza, an East Hampton resident by way of Zimbabwe. “That’s what we do at Hoops 4 Hope. It doesn’t matter if you’re in Egypt, if you’re in Ukraine, if you’re in any country, the elements of the program are the same. We try and impart that in all of our work, whatever we do, and it really resonates in whatever program we are doing, even if it’s a tournament. Everybody who leaves here knows something new about our program.

“The ubuntu aspect of life, we want everybody to know and learn and figure out, how are people living in Africa with just about nothing, but yet they are happy?” he continued. “Of course, we are helping them there, but the people that are there, the only help they can give back is their way of life and living. We can’t afford to send any money to you, but we can afford to send you some of the tools that we use to be this happy. To bring back that happiness, that energy, even if you are miserable, try and pump energy into something so you don’t get too dark.”

H4H Founder Mark Crandall called the morning’s circle “the most powerful part of the day.”

“Levy Mwanza, our All-Star from Zimbabwe, led some life skills and really made everyone understand why we were here for the day in the aspects of the ubuntu,” he said. “And whether it’s our community or world, we’re all in this together despite our different hamlets here, or different regions and part of the world, everyone knew this was a fundraiser to support our program and the work we’re doing to all come together.”

Ubuntu was showcased in Saturday’s tournament with 27 teams and close to 200 people attending the first ever event. Through registration fees, donations and a silent auction, close to $12,000 was raised to help H4H continue its work, which is largely based in the United Sates, South Africa and Zimbabwe, but also works in Canada, Lithuania, Angola and Mozambique, Rwanda, Morocco and Japan.

There were two separate brackets competing at the tournament, a 13- to 17-year-old bracket and an 18-and-over bracket. “Larry Bottles,” the three-man team of Lawrence Edelstein, Ryan Essner and Nick Wiener, won the 18-and-over bracket, while “The Guardians of the Bog,” which included Jack Freel, Michael Locasio and Ben Zazula, won the 13- to 17-year-old bracket.

Edelstein, Essner and Wiener, all New York City residents who spend time in East Hampton, remarked how everything ran smoothly on Saturday and the competition was very good.

“They started the day talking about ubuntu, and I think that everyone did a pretty good job in encapsulating that throughout the day,” Wiener said. “I think there was pretty good sportsmanship. I think the kids’ side got a little chippier than the men’s side, and the men’s side was physical basketball. We had a lot of older dudes, but the guys running the show really put on a good performance. It was a really fun day, everything went smoothly.”

All three of the younger champions, Freel, Locasio and Zazula, are all local to East Hampton. Freel attended East Hampton High School last year, but has since moved back to New York City and will be attending his senior year there this fall. Locasio, a Springs resident, is a rising junior and Zazula, an East Hampton resident, is a rising senior at East Hampton. The trio all thought it was a very competitive tournament and said how all of the local rivalries between the school programs fueled some on-court trash talking. But at the end of the day, it all came back to ubuntu.

“Ubuntu, the idea of it, was all, like, unity,” Zazula said. “We’re all on the same team.

“Definitely makes you aware of how blessed we all are to be here,” Freel added.

Wiener really appreciated the energy that Mwanza brought into the circle in the morning.

“I had never met Levy before, but he’s f-----g awesome. He knows how to bring a lot of good energy to the game,” he said. “I didn’t know what the hell we were walking into. We had a 7:30 a.m. wake up and then we didn’t start until 9, so I had no idea if there was going to be good energy around here and he brought it.”

For Allison and Crandall, it meant a lot to both of them to have the tournament on their home court, where they won a number of games under the legendary Coach Petrie. But it was also important to show off their program’s basketball background. Mitch Kupchak, a Long Island native and former NBA player who is the current general manager of the Charlotte Hornets, was on hand Saturday and his son played some in the tournament. Another former NBA player, Kevin Grevey, also came down, along with East Hampton’s own Howard Wood.

“It’s important to show people that we actually have a basketball pedigree and that we’re using the game that we’re passionate about to help others,” Crandall explained. “I hope these guys understand the power of the game and how we sometimes take it for granted. You ask kids, what does it take to play sports these days? They’ll say perseverance, courage. But what about a basketball? What about an actual court? What about an actual coach? To be able to bring that empathy to it, make them understand it’s quite hard for us to get a basketball in Africa. Most of the kids there are playing barefoot.”

This is the first time that Allison, Crandall and H4H had ever done a competitive event as a fundraiser — they had, in the not-so-distance past, run clinics on the East End prior, but never a tournament. As such, the group learned a few things about how to improve the event going forward, such as maybe opening it up to three age groups rather than the two. But by all accounts, fun was had by all and both Allison and Crandall were appreciative of the support.

“We are so grateful for all the support we received from everyone who participated, signed up and donated to the first Hoops 4 Hope East End 3’s 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament,” executive director Anthony Allison said. “It wouldn’t have been possible without this amazing community and the tremendous support we received from the East Hampton High School. From the superintendent and the new athletic director to the custodians and the tech department, everyone was super helpful in pulling off this event.

“The community as a whole supported Hoops 4 Hope, our mission, the spirit of Ubuntu, and we’re incredibly grateful for everyone’s support and look forward to continuing our mission,” he continued. “Over 20 local businesses were kind enough to donate, and we couldn’t be more appreciative. A huge shout out to WordHampton for helping get the word out for us! It wouldn’t have been possible without this awesome community that we’re so honored to be a part of.”