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The CJ2K League is known for playing its season during the summer when the season gets underway on Memorial Day weekend.
But for the first time in league history, it will be putting on an all-star game benefiting the Children’s Hospital Foundation on April 5, 2025.
The game features some of the best players to play on the “Concrete Jungle” during the summer in the CJ2K League along with some of the best talent in western Pennsylvania.
Co-founder and league overseer, Scott Alaksin, who was a big fan of the old-school all-star games in the city, is hoping to bring back that type of excitement to the area with the CJ2K Bigger Than Basketball Charity Game.
“The board was talking about doing a charity game and how the city of Pittsburgh misses the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. I love the all-star game that we do for the summer league season but we wanted to give some of the top players in the area a chance to play against each other,” Alaksin said.
When it came to picking a charity, the Children’s Hospital was an easy pick for the executive board to decide on as Alaksin and co-founder and league director Joe Kirschner each have ties with the hospital.
Both Alaksin and Kirschner have made a trip down to the Lawrenceville-based hospital before and once they stepped inside the facility, they saw firsthand how they help children. Years later, that experience led them to choose them as the charity to support.
Required Reading: Beaver County high school basketball summer league announces partnership with NBA team
“Joe Kirschner and myself made a trip down to Children’s Hospital and while you always hear about it, you don’t see the full impact of what they do until you are inside,” Alaksin said. “So when we got together to discuss what organization to support for the event, Children’s Hospital was a no-brainer. In the big picture we might only help a few families, but the impact that we hope to bring those families will be powerful.”
Both rosters featuring the Concrete Jungle (All-stars of the CJ2K League) and The World (WPIAL and Pittsburgh-based all-stars) came together quickly to feature several Division I prospects and stars at the high school level.
The players that have been asked to play have been extremely receptive to the charity game and are excited for the chance to face some great competition for a good cause.
“It has been great to see how much the players are excited to be involved with the event,” Alaksin said. “Outside of our players on the CJ2K team, Calvin Winfrey III and Zion Moore were big pieces in getting players across Pittsburgh to play and so social media. DJ Porter the son of Darelle Porter, the former Pitt basketball player, was also connected with different players which helped fill out both rosters.”
The league has partnered with the Wilson Group, the Shell M:7 Sports Pittsburgh complex, UPMC Sports Medicine and Aliquippa High School to put on the event.
The event will kick off at M:7 Sports Pittsburgh, which is the host location for the VIP media event where all players will receive complimentary game uniforms showcasing the Pittsburgh Condors and Pittsburgh Pipers former ABA teams from the 1960s and early 70s.
Players will get a chance to meet with their coaches and shoot around while talking to members of the media before heading over to Aliquippa High School for the games which the girls tip at 3 p.m. followed by the boys at 4:30 p.m.
When looking to find a gym to host a charity game, Malik Shegog was a big proponent of getting the game hosted at Aliquippa High School.
“I work for Pittsburgh area community schools,” Shegog said. “But in the evenings, I also manage the basketball games at Aliquippa for the media working their two jumbotrons that they put in. I ran the plan by the superintendent and athletic director to see if it would be something that they would want to support a charity game and they were in full support of it."
Along with the media event at M:7 Pittsburgh, fans will be treated to a unique experience while attending both games.
From Aliquippa’s Derek Redd playing the National Anthem on the saxophone to DJ Budro playing music during the games and Brandon Rossi as the public address announcer, Garcia hopes to bring the flare of the CJ2K Summer League to this event.
“We are an outdoor street ball league during the summer so we will showcase some of the things that we do as a league in this game,” Alaksin said. “From playing live music during games, for people that have not seen our games live, they will get to experience that. We will have a great National Anthem and the voice of the CJ2K League as the public address announcer. We also have other surprises as well that will be happening on the day of the event that fans should get excited about.”
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased for $12 for adults and $8 for students. The league has also set up an online site for donations with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: CJ2K to host all-star game benefiting Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Continue reading...
But for the first time in league history, it will be putting on an all-star game benefiting the Children’s Hospital Foundation on April 5, 2025.
The game features some of the best players to play on the “Concrete Jungle” during the summer in the CJ2K League along with some of the best talent in western Pennsylvania.
Co-founder and league overseer, Scott Alaksin, who was a big fan of the old-school all-star games in the city, is hoping to bring back that type of excitement to the area with the CJ2K Bigger Than Basketball Charity Game.
“The board was talking about doing a charity game and how the city of Pittsburgh misses the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic. I love the all-star game that we do for the summer league season but we wanted to give some of the top players in the area a chance to play against each other,” Alaksin said.
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When it came to picking a charity, the Children’s Hospital was an easy pick for the executive board to decide on as Alaksin and co-founder and league director Joe Kirschner each have ties with the hospital.
Both Alaksin and Kirschner have made a trip down to the Lawrenceville-based hospital before and once they stepped inside the facility, they saw firsthand how they help children. Years later, that experience led them to choose them as the charity to support.
Required Reading: Beaver County high school basketball summer league announces partnership with NBA team
“Joe Kirschner and myself made a trip down to Children’s Hospital and while you always hear about it, you don’t see the full impact of what they do until you are inside,” Alaksin said. “So when we got together to discuss what organization to support for the event, Children’s Hospital was a no-brainer. In the big picture we might only help a few families, but the impact that we hope to bring those families will be powerful.”
Both rosters featuring the Concrete Jungle (All-stars of the CJ2K League) and The World (WPIAL and Pittsburgh-based all-stars) came together quickly to feature several Division I prospects and stars at the high school level.
The players that have been asked to play have been extremely receptive to the charity game and are excited for the chance to face some great competition for a good cause.
“It has been great to see how much the players are excited to be involved with the event,” Alaksin said. “Outside of our players on the CJ2K team, Calvin Winfrey III and Zion Moore were big pieces in getting players across Pittsburgh to play and so social media. DJ Porter the son of Darelle Porter, the former Pitt basketball player, was also connected with different players which helped fill out both rosters.”
The league has partnered with the Wilson Group, the Shell M:7 Sports Pittsburgh complex, UPMC Sports Medicine and Aliquippa High School to put on the event.
You must be registered for see images attach
The event will kick off at M:7 Sports Pittsburgh, which is the host location for the VIP media event where all players will receive complimentary game uniforms showcasing the Pittsburgh Condors and Pittsburgh Pipers former ABA teams from the 1960s and early 70s.
Players will get a chance to meet with their coaches and shoot around while talking to members of the media before heading over to Aliquippa High School for the games which the girls tip at 3 p.m. followed by the boys at 4:30 p.m.
When looking to find a gym to host a charity game, Malik Shegog was a big proponent of getting the game hosted at Aliquippa High School.
“I work for Pittsburgh area community schools,” Shegog said. “But in the evenings, I also manage the basketball games at Aliquippa for the media working their two jumbotrons that they put in. I ran the plan by the superintendent and athletic director to see if it would be something that they would want to support a charity game and they were in full support of it."
Along with the media event at M:7 Pittsburgh, fans will be treated to a unique experience while attending both games.
From Aliquippa’s Derek Redd playing the National Anthem on the saxophone to DJ Budro playing music during the games and Brandon Rossi as the public address announcer, Garcia hopes to bring the flare of the CJ2K Summer League to this event.
“We are an outdoor street ball league during the summer so we will showcase some of the things that we do as a league in this game,” Alaksin said. “From playing live music during games, for people that have not seen our games live, they will get to experience that. We will have a great National Anthem and the voice of the CJ2K League as the public address announcer. We also have other surprises as well that will be happening on the day of the event that fans should get excited about.”
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased for $12 for adults and $8 for students. The league has also set up an online site for donations with 100% of the proceeds going directly to the Children’s Hospital Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: CJ2K to host all-star game benefiting Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Continue reading...
