So you think you got game? Legendary streetballers come to Dillon for good cause

Nick Hilbourn, staff



Published: July 17, 2008

Forget wine tastings and silent auctions, Dillon resident Kenneth Smith is approaching fundraising from a slightly different angle: streetball.
Kenneth is raising money for his daughter, Kendra, by way of the New York-based Hustle Up Streetball Team. The money is going toward funds to support a singing tour for Kendra, a local gospel talent.
The reason behind
the cause
Kenneth first discovered Kendra’s talent while working on a song at the piano. “I had a problem with a song ... and she started singing,” he said. Kendra helped her father finish the song, and Kenneth started to sing in local churches.
This past April she released an album of gospel songs.
He wanted to take Kendra on a small tour along the East Coast, but he ran into funding problems and began looking for fundraising ideas. His answer came in the form of an orange rubber ball.
“I have a friend that lives in Columbia, (and) I told her about Kendra (needing) money to perform,” he said. “She was one of the representatives for (a streetball team). She said, ‘What do you think about bringing them in and making money for the both of us?’”
A team called Hustle Up Streetball was born.
Streetball legends
Actively touring since 2004, the Hustle Up Streetball team travels the nation as well as the world, playing local streetball teams and often recruiting those players who have shown considerable skill to join them on tour.
Players are selected at each location,

explained Hustle Up team member “Spyda,” and then the best are chosen to join the team on tour.
Along with playing basketball, Hustle Up Streetball players devote time to every city they visit.
The concept, said Spyda, is to go into a neighborhood and spend time getting to know the people there. The players might, he explained, “go to a local park and have a barbecue and play ball.” The idea, he noted, is to introduce themselves to community members and talk to the local players they’ll be competing against.
‘We’re looking ...
for your A game’
The Sunday event will feature the Hustle Up team versus the Dillon All-Stars with a half-time performance by Kendra and an autograph session following the game.
“It’s a fast paced game,” said Spyda, and a few local players might be selected to join the team on their next tour.
“We’re looking not for your B game, but your A game,” he said, speaking to the players in Dillon. “We want the best people
in the city (and) if they can
kill us (on the court),
then kill us.”