CRESTVIEW — The Bulldog Basketball Alumni Game in Memory of Ken Rogers is scheduled for Sept. 12.
The game, which honors the legacy of the longtime Crestview boys basketball coach who died in May, is a fundraiser for the boys and girls basketball teams and the flag football team.
All former girls and boys basketball letter winners are invited to play. A $10 donation to the program is requested, but Matt Sanders — CHS's flag football coach and an assistant coach with the football and girls basketball teams, who is helping coordinate the event — said no former player will be turned away if they can't donate.
Sanders said the idea for an alumni game has bounced around for a few years.
“We came up with idea a couple of years ago, me and Coach (Kathy) Combest (Crestview’s girls basketball and volleyball coach), but there was really no plan,” Sanders said. “So me and Coach Combest sat down and figured out the logistics of it.
“When Coach Rogers passed away, we figured it was a great opportunity to honor him and bring some of his players back and people that have known him throughout the years and honor him.”
Although Sanders, a 2008 CHS grad, is too young to have played for Rogers, he became acquainted with the coach as a youngster watching games in the stands.
“When my dad (Jay Sanders) coached with his son, Kenny, he (Ken Rogers) was at every single basketball game I was at,” Sanders said. “He was always a presence in the stands. He was always a guy everybody looked to.
“He would always sit behind the bench. That’s a lot of respect you have when a coach like him sitting behind you. I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘That’s where I want to be one day.’”
The format and logistics of how the game will be played are still being worked out, but Sanders pointed out that even the oldest former Bulldogs could get on the floor and shoot a 3-point basket.
The biggest name to play Crestview basketball is former National Basketball Association star Tom Hammonds, a member of the 1985 state championship team. Sanders said they are still trying to contact Hammonds in hopes that he will attend.
They are encouraging all members of the state championship team to attend if possible.
Sanders looks forward to a big night to honor Crestview’s basketball past while helping raise money for the present Bulldog teams.
“We are excited about it,” he said. “If you lettered (in basketball) at CHS, we would love to have you. We are going to have food and everything else.”
WHAT: Bulldog Basketball Alumni Game in Memory of Ken Rogers
WHEN: 6 p.m. Sept. 12
WHERE: Crestview High School gym
COST: $10 for participants, Spectator cost TBA
NOTES: Game is open to all former CHS boys and girls basketball letter winners. Those wishing to playshould arrive at 5:30 p.m. For more information go see Bulldog Basketball Alumni Game in Memory of Ken Rogers on Facebok
UPCOMING
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview High basketball alumni game to honor Ken Rogers