Nompumelelo Moyo
They say home is where the heart is, so the phrase rings true for the 25 year old Montreal born Oklahoma City Thunder forward, Luguentz ‘Lu’ Dort. Dort went back to his old ‘hood’ on Saturday 15 June, to unveil the two refurbished basketball courts at Parc Saint- Laurent in Montreal Nord. The project was made possible by the collaboration of the Maison Dort Foundation, Canada Basketball, Buckets and Borders, and the City of Montreal.
Dort, who was born and raised in Montreal North holds the park with great sentimental and significant value and he described the event as a flashback of memories of his childhood when he played on those courts with hope and dreams of becoming a star player. His dream did come true and now he is the beacon of hope to the young children in the Montreal North community.
He especially hoped young people would also be inspired by his story and believe in themselves undeterred by their circumstances, stating that Montreal Nord made him the person he is today and he was grateful for that.
Amongst the crowd that attended was hopeful eight year old MJ Osse ,a die- hard fan who even wore Dort’s no. 5 jersey. Osse also stated that he was inspired by Dort and had dreams of becoming a professional basketball player.
The unveiling event included a skills competition, free youth programming, a game featuring athletics from Hoop Queens and Lu Dort Elite Teams and Dort got to interact with the youth.
Local artist Olivier Lwamamwa designed the courts in collaboration with Dort and the youth group playing a part in choosing the colors for the court. Lwamamwa is a multi-disciplinary artist who specialises in apparel and sneaker design. He is known for his use of vibrant colours and that was translated on the work on the courts.
He stated that the artwork was to celebrate Dort as a local hero. And he also wanted the space to give children hope and a place to call home with the understanding that something good can come out from Montreal Nord.
Michael Bartlett, President and CEO of Canada Basketball stated that Dort is an inspiration to the youth in Canada who dream about representing the country on international platfroms. He also said bringing the court art project to life will create a positive impact on the growth and popularity of basketball.
The Canada Basketball and Maizon Dort Foundation presented UNIFIED Assist Program grants to two grass root basketball organisations. Trevor Williams Kids Foundation which provides basketball skill program for new comers and Digital moments which teaches youth skills on social learning data and digital literacy were recipients of these grants. This will the second project after Winnipeng Park was refurbished last year.
Dort will be representing Canada at the Olympics in Paris this summer and his community could not be any prouder of him. May his story and those of many others inspire the young people to reach their full potential.
