New Albion basketball courts go from dream to reality

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – High school boys and girls basketball players cheer after Albion Mayor Angel Javier Jr. and Bounce for Bullard leader Susan Oschmann cut the ribbon for two new full-size basketball courts on Thursday.

Oschmann led a fundraising effort and the push the past two years for the new courts. The previous court was back further in the park and the surface wasn’t level with asphalt heaving in sports. The hoops were missing nets and were seldom used.

Oschmann pushed for the project not long after moving to Albion from Kendall. She wanted kids, including her grandchildren, to have a place to shoot basketballs with friends.

She recruited her friend since childhood, Roosevelt Bouie, to help raise money and build support for the project. Bouie was a big star at Syracuse University and he helped secure $40,000 in funding from the James and Juli Boeheim Foundation.

The village and Bounce for Bullard so far have raised $98,000 for the project with another $10,000 in in-kind services.

The Albion school players were thrilled to try out the new courts on Thursday afternoon before a ribbon-cutting celebration at 5 p.m.

Nyla Gaylord, executive director for the Orleans County United Way, holds a photo of Roosevelt Bouie with the old courts.

Bouie credited Bullard Park for hosting many competitive basketball tournaments when he was a kid, helping to turn him into a formidable player.

Bouie is in the Syracuse University Hall of Fame and his number 50 has been retired by the Orange. He led the team to a record of 100-18 from 1977 to 1980. Bouie was a first-team All-BIG EAST Conference selection in 1979-80. He was picked in the second round of the 1980 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks. Bouie instead chose to play professionally in Europe for 13 seasons.

He has moved back to Kendall. The school retired his jersey in June 2012, the first one picked by Kendall with the recognition.

Bouie was a force for Kendall in the mid-1970s when the school won five straight sectional titles. Kendall had a record of 65-1 during his sophomore, junior and senior years, including 55 straight wins during one stretch.

Bouie said he traces his basketball origins to playing at Bullard.

“That’s where it all started for me,” he said in a previous interview.

He was part of several fundraisers for the new courts a Bullard with 3-on-3 tournaments and free throw shooting contests through portable hoops.

The Albion basketball players played for more than an hour on the courts on Thursday. The players helped raise money for the project through 3-on-3 tournaments the past two years.

Nyla Gaylord, the United Way executive director, said many in the community contributed to making the courts a success.

The United Way worked with village officials to support a new non-profit entity, the Greater Albion Community Recreation and Events Committee, to pursue grants and donations.

“If we as a community work together, look at what we can do,” Gaylord said. “But one person needs to be that spark.”

She credited Oschmann with being that spark to get the project started and for a continued push to get it done.

Oschmann said there is still more to do – about $50,000 is needed for more fencing as well as benches for spectators in a shaded area and working outdoor lights. But she said she is thrilled to see the courts in place and so many kids having fun playing on them.

Some key supporters for the project and recent improvements at Bullard Park include, from left: Orleans County Court Judge Sanford Church, Kim Remley, Terry Wilbert, Recreation director John Grillo, mayor Angel Javier Jr., Bernie Baldwin, Susan Oschmann, Chuck Nesbitt from Wendel, Nyla Gaylord, Zack Burgess, Jill Albertson and Ron Albertson.

Judge Church donated money to pay for two of the basketball hoops. Wilbert is part of the Albion United Methodist Church which donated $45,000 towards the project. The Wendel engineering firm did designs and renderings for the basketball courts that helped Albion pursue grant funding.

The Albion recreation committee and a Rebuild Bullard committee have been working for about a decade to upgrade the park. The new basketball courts follow a spray park, new amphitheater, pavilion with bathrooms, walking trail and disc golf course at Bullard.

Javier thanked the many volunteers who have been working to improve Bullard over the years.

“This is a very big investment in our community,” Javier said. “It’s amazing where we’re at with all the improvements at Bullard. I want to thank everyone involved. Every year we’re trying to make Bullard Park a little bit better.”

Grillo, the recreation director, said the courts will be used for clinics, leagues and camps.

“I think this is awesome,” Grillo said. “It is a good opportunity for the village recreation program moving forward.”