Thanks to one man’s vision high school students can now relieve their stress and celebrate their hard work. After all the finals, projects and proms, what better way to end the school year than with a celebrity basketball game held at your high school?
The Annual Hollywood Hoops “Celebrity Basketball Game” featuring recording artist/model, Don Benjamin, took place May 26 at Leuzinger High School. The night was more than about basketball. It was a celebration. From the live performances and special guests, it was the place to be.
Founder and Creator of Hollywood Hoops, Jude Thomas, shared what sparked his inspiration for such an event.
Pictured: Model, Don Benjamin; Recording Artist, Joe Moses; Harlem Globe Trotter, Chris Staples; Drumline Actor, Rome Flynn; Singer, Anthony Lewis; Pro Ball Player, Gary Rodger; Recording Artist, Anthony Starr; Wild’N Out Model, Brittney Elena; Singer, Kalin White; Instagram Famous, A-Town; Web Video Star, Yulema Ramirez
“It is a celebration. All the kids want to celebrate for their hard work throughout the school year. I think I picked the right person-Don Benjamin-to celebrate that. It is just a big celebration the same way graduation is. So, we gave a celebrity game to the school to celebrate that,” said Thomas.
Hollywood Hoops is known for their celebrity basketball games and is a wonderful fund-raising opportunity to help schools such as Leuzinger. To raise money, pre-sale tickets were sold for $7 and tickets were sold at the door for $12. The game sold out.
Hollywood Hoops had a dance and shooting competitions for the kids to win prizes such as SavvySox apparel and after the game, fans were able to meet celebrities such as Recording Artist/Model, Don Benjamin; Web Video Star, Yulema Ramirez; Instagram famous, WelvenDaGreat; Drumline star, Rome Flynn and Singing duo, CurlyFryz, just to name a few.
Don Benjamin shared why he wanted to work side-by-side with Thomas.
“Hollywizzle (Jude Thomas) and I partnered up a while ago. We have been doing two of these every year. We organize it to give back to the schools and do something for the kids,” said Benjamin.
Thomas came up with the name Hollywood Hoops from being nicknamed, “Hollywizzle.” Hollywizzle was his street ball entertainer name and he was raised in Hollywood, California. Since Hollywood is known for having many celebrities, Hollywood Hoops was born after adding celebrities to the basketball games. He has been hosting Hollywood Hoops games since 2002. Originally, Hollywood Hoops were only for street ball games and eventually grew into celebrity games around 2010.
“I would go to a local park, get a DJ, two teams and promote it. I like urban and music so I found a way to combine the two. Eventually, I blended in the celebrities as my name got bigger and started meeting celebrities,” said Thomas.
Thomas has been hosting the “Celebrity Basketball Game at Leuzinger High School for the last four years and plans to continue helping kids and schools around Los Angeles. If your high school needs to raise money you can schedule a fundraising basketball game with Hollywood Hoops by emailing hollywoodbasketball@gmail.com.
For more information regarding Hollywood Hoops, go to www.hollywoodhoopslive.com or follow them on social media @hollywoodhoops.
I am a recent graduate from the University of Central Missouri. I majored in Digital Media Production with an emphasis in news. My aspiration is to become a television Journalist.
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