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Columbus is a basketball town and 200Columbus the Bicentennial is proud to present a special basketball exhibition game during its Bicentennial celebration this summer. With the support of The Ohio State University, Ohio State Department of Athletics and the OSU Alumni Association, Ohio Homecoming’s “The Battle for Ohio” Celebrity Basketball Charity Challenge will take place at noon Saturday, July 7 in St. John Arena, the legendary and proud home of men’s and women’s Buckeye basketball until 1998.
The event will feature numerous professional athletes with Columbus and Cleveland ties, including former Buckeyes currently playing in the National Basketball Association and competing in U.S. and international professional leagues.
Players scheduled to represent Team Columbus include designated team captains Scoonie Penn and Evan Turner, both of whom are Buckeye letterwinners, along with Columbus native Samaki Walker. Cleveland native and Team Cleveland captain David Lighty will be joined by fellow Ohio State alum and Cleveland native Dallas Lauderdale, as well as 2011 NBA Draft No. 4 overall pick for the Cleveland Cavaliers Tristan Thompson. Additionally, former NBA players and Northeast Ohio natives Jawad Williams and Keith McLeod will headline the Team Cleveland lineup. ADDITIONAL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE CONFIRMED IN THE COMING WEEKS AND PLAYER PARTICIPATION IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE BECAUSE OF NBA SUMMER BASKETBALL OBLIGATIONS.
Buckeye legends and Ohio State alums Ron Stokes and Clark Kellogg will serve as head coaches of Team Columbus and Team Cleveland, respectively. Kellogg, a Cleveland native, is the lead college basketball analyst for CBS Sports. Stokes is the WBNS FM-91.1-1460 Radio expert analyst for Ohio State men’s basketball games.
“As we continue to celebrate our epic bicentennial year, we look forward to sharing this time with our friends from Cleveland and throughout the state of Ohio,” said Mayor Michael B. Coleman. “This basketball game is just one of the incredible events lined up for Ohio Homecoming and I can’t wait to cheer on ‘Team Columbus.”
“The Ohio State Department of Athletics is proud to partner with the Bicentennial and Ohio Homecoming on “The Battle for Ohio” charity basketball game,” Gene Smith, The Ohio State University Associate Vice President and Ohio State Director of Athletics, said. “We always value the opportunity to invest in our local community and this event can provide another avenue to supply the Ohio State LiFE Sports program with the necessary resources to operate effectively. Many of the athletes competing are former Buckeye student-athletes who have taken time out of their busy schedules to give back to the Columbus and Ohio State communities. We truly appreciate their, as well as all the participants’, commitment to paying it forward.”
General admission tickets are $15 for the public, $10 for OSU alumni, students with a valid student ID and groups of 10 or more. Tickets are $5 for youth 10 years or under and can be purchased at http://www.ohiohomecoming.com/col200. Proceeds from the game will include a $5,000 charitable donation from Ohio Homecoming on the winning teams’ behalf. Team Columbus will seek a win for the Ohio State Athletics’ LiFE Sports Initiative and Team Cleveland hopes to donate to the Greater Cleveland Fisher House Wounded Warriors program. Presented by NFL/Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver and Cleveland native Lee Evans, “The Battle for Ohio” is also sponsored by Verizon Wireless Zone, Li-Ning, Hotcards.com, the Greater Columbus Sports Commission and 200Columbus the Bicentennial.
Ohio Homecoming is a multiple-day festival that combines both socially conscious and entertaining fare to reinvigorate the citizens to aspire to greatness, and build civic pride. The 2012 Columbus Bicentennial edition of Ohio Homecoming will feature a day of service in collaboration with the city’s new recycling program, a community party and college fraternity & sorority step, an exhibition basketball game at St. John Arena between professional athletes from Columbus and Cleveland, and a concert featuring Sugarfoot’s “Ohio Players” in Bicentennial Park. For more information visit, http://www.ohiohomecoming.com/col200.
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