Without a doubt, my favorite part of the evening was watching a young man try all night long to sink a basket. A recent immigrant from Vietnam, standing all of 5 feet tall, there he was, at the free throw line, surrounded by a half dozen volunteers. The call was going out to put the balls away- it was a “now or never moment.” The volunteers were chanting – “go, go, go…” He bounced the ball once; then a second time. He raised the ball, then lowered it. All at once, with an underhand throw, the ball left his hands and rose … higher than the basket … framed squarely on the backboard … and bounced with a satisfying, rimless, swoosh down through the net. His audience roared with cheers and applause, and HE bounced, over and over again, with an enormous smile on his face. He couldn’t have been happier, and neither could we. He truly won the night.

For all their great efforts making such a fantastic evening possible, I’d like to thank Skyler Kamaka, John Jackson, Donilee McGinnis, all the volunteer assistants, and Concordia University. It was a genuinely great evening.