University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
Gopher Men's Basketball In the Community
8/22/2022 1:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball, M.A.G.I.C.
Minnesota's first event was at the end of July with the Al Nolen Foundation where Jamison Battle, Dawson Garcia and Taurus Samuels stopped by for the Academy of Excellence event. The Academy of Excellence is a new summer program created with a focus on Basketball Fundamentals, (SEL) Social Emotional Learning, Financial Literacy, Social Justice, and Wellness & Nutrition. On the court skills and drills will be paired with informative classroom sessions. These sessions will be facilitated by professionals from each field. Scholars will also be provided breakfast and lunch every day, with the hot food truck visiting once a week.
Named after the founder, Al Nolen was a member of the Gopher men's basketball team from 2008-11, where he played in 98 career games, including 67 starts and amassed 595 points, 205 steals and 394 assists. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business and Marketing. After graduation, Nolen was drafted by and played in the NBA G-League, completing his professional basketball career in Germany and the Czech Republic.
Special thank you to @GopherMBB for stopping by the Academy of Excellence program. You made a huge impression on our scholars and the community. We can't thank you enough and now they will be Gopher fans for life.#skiumah #GoGophers pic.twitter.com/p98EKNgwem
— alnolenfdn (@alnolenfdn) August 2, 2022
The Academy of Excellence class of 2022 pic.twitter.com/q6Gx4vV6Vr
— alnolenfdn (@alnolenfdn) August 12, 2022
The Gophers also participated in the annual Create A Memory event. Founded in 1989, Create a Memory is a non-profit charitable event providing the children of local Minneapolis/St. Paul youth service agencies, ages 7-13, the unique opportunity to play baseball at Target Field. The event includes 10 baseball-related events in which the children get to run the bases, enjoy pizza, hot dogs, pop and ice cream, meet local celebrities and special guests and enjoy an exciting evening at Target Field. Create A Memory was held at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome from 1989 to 2009 and since moved to Target Field in 2010 to continue the tradition. The Create A Memory events included wiffleball, baseball clinic, radar toss, kickball, softball, home run derby, tour of Target Field and autograph table with local athletes and celebrities. Coach Johnson as well a majority of the Gopher men's basketball team as well as Gopher women's hockey were in attendance.