Hundreds of Surrey teens benefit from basketball camps run by former Team Canada player

Emerson Murray’s professional basketball career took him around the world, but it is in a loud gymnasium in Surrey filled with teenagers working to refine their skills where he now finds his greatest sense of pride.

On a recent weekday morning, music blasted almost loud enough to drown out the squeaks of shoes rubbing against the glossy coat of the gym floor, while youth competed in teams and practice drills.

For the retired professional athlete, this is the environment he always dreamed of creating when he started Jumpshot Generosity, an organization that provides mentorship to at-risk or underserved youth through basketball.

With funding from the Singh Foundation, an organization that aims to give children equal access to local sports and recreation programs, Jumpshot Generosity runs basketball training camps for youth during breaks from school in Surrey.

The school district assists in finding students who could benefit from the program. The kids are then provided coaching, a meal, and a new pair of basketball shoes.

“A lot of them who show up don’t have proper footwear,” Murray said. “We’ll see kids show up in sandals or Crocs, they just don’t have anything else. Some kids, of course, do. But most don’t. A lot of the kids show up and they’re in, like, a size 6, but they’re actually a size 8, just busting out of their shoes.

“We have kids from every different walk of life and they’re just really grateful.”

Murray, 33, grew up in the Surrey school system in Fleetwood and can relate to many of the teens he now helps.

Some of them, he said, can’t believe they get to keep the shoes at the end of the camps, which can last from a day to several weeks.

Grade 8 student Ademurewa Adekunjo attended a camp in November at Panorama Ridge Secondary.

“I came to Canada and people don’t play basketball much there, in Nigeria. I started watching basketball and I asked my dad to buy me a basketball. After that, I just fell in love with it,” Adekunjo said.

The 13-year-old was thrilled to get a new pair of shoes, but more than anything, he said he wants to put in the work to get better.

“I’m playing hard and whenever I get the opportunity to play basketball, I never want to miss it,” he said.

Two of 40 volunteers who help make the camps happen, Mannat Sidhu, 15, and Gurmannat Gill, 16, say the best part is seeing everyone’s faces when they get handed a box of new shoes.

“It’s a very big blessing, especially because a lot of these kids can’t afford it or are less fortunate. I think it’s a great opportunity for them,” Sidhu said.

For Murray, athletics was always the plan, but he couldn’t have gotten here without the support of others, he said. Coming from a family of three children, there was always a lot going on. So, Murray’s high school coach stepped up to drive Murray to practices early in the morning.

“I’ve been super blessed in my life to go play places and play pro and play around the world, but a lot of those opportunities came from free experiences,” Murray said.

His father was a track coach in the Olympics in 1992 and 1996, making athletics almost a given for Murray. He went on to play on Team Canada U19, then college basketball before playing overseas in Georgia and Iran. His career concluded early, however, due to a series of injuries — a pelvic bone avulsion fracture, stress fractures, broken fingers, a broken nose three times, wrist injuries, and more.

“I was injured 2½ out of the four years of college. And then I dislocated my ankle in Iran, and that’s kind of when my career ended,” he said.

His final stint was playing in the National Basketball League of Canada in Toronto before retiring at 25.

After retiring, Murray first tested out running a training service for youth to get involved in basketball, but it didn’t feel right for him, he said.

“It was hard for me to make it my full-time thing, charging kids, because I had so many free opportunities. It was all coming out of pocket,” Murray said.

Through the camps that Murray runs every quarter, he has been able to supply about 800 pairs of basketball shoes in the past two years to youth in Surrey.

“Whether it be poverty line, behavioural issues — just lives that tend to be harder,” Murray said. “We try to target those kids that are deserving, that are just great kids, but they lack opportunity.”

smoman@postmedia.com

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