MANSFIELD — Marquis Sykes grew up on Mansfield’s outdoor basketball courts, playing with and against some of the city’s playground legends.
Mansfield Senior’s longtime basketball coach wanted to return to his roots.
Sykes and girls coach Sierra Hardin will host the Tyger Park Takeover, a day-long event scheduled for July 18. The basketball caravan will make stops at five city parks.
“Our generation, we were always playing in the parks for as long as I can remember all the way through college,” said Sykes, who scored 1,151 career points during his All-Ohio career at Senior High before becoming Morehead State’s career assists leader.
“We wanted to bring that piece back to the community and get the young people playing outside.”
Festivities tip off at Maple Park (10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.) before migrating to King Street Park (12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.), Johns Park (2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), John Todd Park (4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) and Prospect Park (6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.).
Pick-up games at outdoor parks have become increasingly rare. Players spend their summers traveling the AAU circuit and participating in camps, shootouts and summer leagues with their high school teams.
Something has been lost.
“There is a level of toughness that comes along with playing outdoor basketball,” Sykes said. “We want to bring some of those elements back to the community, while introducing basic fundamentals to young people.”
The event is free and open to boys and girls entering the third through 12th grade. Members of Senior High’s boys and girls basketball staffs along with current players will put participants through drills and coordinate games at each site.
“This is a chance to keep the community engaged with our programs,” Sykes sad. “We’re trying to give a little bit back to our community.”