Tag: basketball

Nearly four years ago, Bears’ basketball star Tim Cooney, BSBA’14, had an idea to turn abandoned city lots into community basketball courts. He blogged about his dream right here on the Olin Blog:

My idea, Project Blacktop, is to turn empty unused lots in the city of St. Louis into basketball courts.  The idea is to beautify these empty lots with basketball courts which look nice and appealing when you drive by them.  The continuation of Project Blacktop is to host youth basketball clinics for neighborhood kids, and summer adult pickup basketball games and leagues.  The idea is for these courts to be active, positive spaces for the community.  The idea relies on the courts being used regularly and becoming positive spaces for community building events.

Cooney submitted his idea to Rally St. Louis, a new (at the time) online platform to crowdfund and support ideas to make St. Louis a better place. $10,000 and three years later, Cooney’s Project Blacktop is a reality. Watch video report on KMOV-TV here.

Congratulations to Tim on pursuing his hoop dreams and making St. Louis a better place. Tim Cooney is currently a district manager at Anheuser-Busch InBev in Syracuse, NY.

Related blog post.

Image: Courtesy of KMOV-TV

After a fine showing in the NBA D-League tryouts, Washington University in St. Louis graduate David Fatoki, BSBA ’15, will continue his basketball career in Spain.

Fatoki has signed a contract with UCAM Murcia II in the Spanish EBA league. Murcia II plays in the EBA League of Spain’s fourth division, and is the junior team of UCAM Murcia that competes in the Spanish ACB League (Liga Endesa).

3.5.2015–Washington University’s men’s basketball vs. DePauw in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.  Photo by James Byard/WUSTL Photos

“I’m thankful to have this opportunity arise, especially in the middle of the season. Coming into WashU, I never thought about professional basketball as a legitimate possibility. To have such an amazing opportunity come to fruition so quickly seems very surreal,” said Fatoki, who leaves for Spain on Wednesday. “I’ve received an incredible amount of support from my coaches, teammates, family, and co-workers about pursing this decision, and can’t wait to get back on the court in Spain with UCAM Murcia.”

Fatoki earned DIII News honorable-mention All-America honors after starting 26 games at point guard for the Bears last season, averaging 13.0 points per game. He led the conference and was fourth in NCAA Division III in assists per game (7.6), and was also first in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.19) and second in steals (1.9).

“I think that it is great that David is going to have the chance to continue his basketball career in Spain. After the type of year he had last year, it is only fitting that he has this opportunity,” said WashU head coach Mark Edwards. “We look forward to following his new career as a professional basketball player. I am confident that he will make the most of it.”

Melissa Gilkey, BSBA’15, announced in July that she will continue her basketball career in Denmark. Read related blog post.

Fatoki dished out seven or more assists in 16 of 26 games played, and ranks sixth on the WashU single-season list with 198 assists. A 2015 first-team all-University Athletic Association (UAA) selection, he was a two-time UAA Athlete of the Week and three-time D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection last season. Fatoki finished his career with 298 assists, ninth most in school history.

To follow Fatoki’s playing career in Spain, visit: http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Spain/UCAM_Murcia_II/17453. UCAM Murcia II is off to a 1-1 start, and hits the court Oct. 31 against Paterna.

Thanks to WashU Bear Sports for this article.

Melissa Gilkey, BSBA’15, a three-time All-American women’s basketball player for Wash U, is headed to Europe to play professionally this summer.

Gilkey will concentrate on basketball full time after graduation and look to sign with a professional team in June or July. She’ll then depart for international competition. Her performance at the April overseas combine — where she was the only Division III athlete and earned a selection as a top-20 prospect — has virtually assured her a spot on a European roster.

“Once I started playing, all the nerves went away,” Gilkey said. “It definitely was worth going down there. I didn’t know what to expect because there were some pretty prominent college players competing for a spot, too. But once you’re out there, you just shake off the nerves and play.”

Gilkey, who will earn a dual degree in economics and strategy and in marketing from Olin Business School, isn’t worried about the risk-return of going overseas to play basketball. When she is finished with her pro career, Gilkey will have a job waiting for her with a company called Protiviti, the global consulting firm she interned with last summer in San Francisco.

“When they assured me the job offer would be waiting for me, it was a no-brainer decision,” she said. “It’s an awesome opportunity to even have a job right out of college. To have an opportunity to pursue one of my dreams first — that’s amazing.”

Read entire story on the WU Commemncement site: Turning pro: Two WashU Bears about to embark on professional careers — on the court and on the field.

Washington University in St. Louis senior forward Matt Palucki, BSBA’15 & BS Engineering, was named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District Five Men’s Basketball First Team, as announced Feb. 5, 2015 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Matt Palucki is double majoring in Finance at Olin and Systems Science and Engineering.

Palucki, who earned the honor for the second-straight year, is the sixth Washington U. men’s basketball student-athlete to earn Academic All-District accolades multiple times in a career. A three-time Academic All-University Athletic Association (UAA) selection, he has a 3.70 grade point average while majoring in systems engineering and finance.

Palucki has started 17 of 18 games for the Bears, and is averaging 16.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. He has scored in double figures in all but two games, including a season-high 28 points vs. Trinity (Texas) Dec. 6 and vs. University of Rochester Jan. 18. Palucki has recorded seven double-doubles this season, and ranks first in the UAA in free-throw percentage (.889), fourth in scoring (16.5 ppg), fifth in rebounding (8.4 rpg) and ninth in three-pointers made (1.7).

With 18 points in a 90-72 win vs. then-No. 5 ranked Illinois Wesleyan University Dec. 13, Palucki became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 points in a career. Palucki is second in school history in free-throw percentage (.842), sixth in rebounds (672) and 18^th in scoring (1,129).

In order to be selected to an academic all-district team, a student-athlete must demonstrate success on the playing field and in the classroom, with academic and athletic achievements taken into consideration. The student-athlete must possess a minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA and be at least a sophomore in academic standing. Palucki will be eligible to be selected to the Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on Tuesday, Feb. 23.  – Bearsports.wustl.edu

Court side seats for the championship game in the NCAA tournament will be available tonight in the Frick Forum as Kentucky and U Conn meet in the final contest on the big screen.

“4Building. 1 Olin” mini basketballs will be tonight’s special souvenir. Appetizers, snacks, and beverages will be served.

Game time: 7:10p.m.