On March 26, the Tri City WELS Men’s Basketball League and Andrew Keller of Knockout Real Estate, will host the 8th Annual Celebrity All Star Game, an event that has raised over $20,000 for various organizations since 2014.
This year, local “celebrities” will team up on the basketball court to raise money for Carter Kits, an organization that develops and promotes an affordable means to address the comfort and security needs of children in crisis.
The event will bring in some familiar faces including former MSU standout Darien Harris, a former Spartan captain on the 2015 Big Ten Championship team that reached the College Football Playoff and streetball legend Posterboy, who made a name for himself on the infamous courts of Rucker Park, scoring him a spot on the AND1 Mixtape tour.
Also in the lineup, a few hometown favorites:
Tory Jackson is the boys basketball coach at Grand Blanc, currently on a 17-game winning streak as they head to districts on Wednesday. He played Division I basketball for four years at Notre Dame where he received the BIG EAST all-rookie team as a freshman in 2007 and BIG EAST Championship all-tournament team as a senior. He returned to Saginaw to coach at Buena Vista High School for one season where he won a district title.
Maurice Jones, a star basketball player at Arthur Hill, led the Lumberjacks to the 2010 Class A quarterfinals. Jones continued his basketball career at the University of Southern California and Northwood, where he holds the record for the most points in a game at home (41 pts against Lake Superior State in 2016). He went pro in 2016, signing with the Windsor Express (National Basketball League of Canada).
Terrance Roberson was a standout at Buena Vista and one of the best high school basketball players, leading B.V. to two state titles. He captured All-State honors three straight seasons and is only one of four players in the nation to be named to the Parade All-America team three times. He attended Fresno State University where he averaged double figures three consecutive years, and went on to play professionally in the CBA, NBA and internationally.
Jenny Ryan led Saginaw Nouvel to back-to-back Class C state championships in 2006 and 2008 before heading to the University of Michigan from 2010-2013 where she helped U-M to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012 and 2013. She graduated as Michigan’s all-time leader in games (130) and minutes played (4,558), along with ranking second in assists (489).
Julian Taylor became the Saginaw High’s boys basketball coach in 2012. That same season, he led the Trojans to a Class A state title with a record of 25-2. Taylor himself played for Saginaw High before landing at SVSU where he held the SVSU record for 3-pointers. As SHS coach he’s collected several district and regional titles, with a few quarterfinal appearances.
Blair White is an all-around athlete who played football, basketball and baseball at Nouvel High School. In 2005, White walked on the MSU football team as a freshman and earned First-team Academic All-America honors and Academic All-Big Ten Honors all four years of his college career. He went on to play two seasons in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts.
The event will take place at Michigan Lutheran Seminary, 2777 Hardin St. in Saginaw. Tipoff is 5:00 pm. Adult general admission is $10, student price is $5.00 and 14 and under get in free. Tickets can be purchased on the event’s website.
