Every Tuesday and Thursday night during the summer months the gymnasiums at Thomas Worthington and Worthington Kilbourne High Schools are filled with current and former Ohio State basketball players showcasing their talents in the Worthington Summer League.
Over the past 20 years, spectators have seen high-quality players such as Jimmy Jackson, Perry Carter, Antonio Daniels, Jamaal Brown and Scoonie Penn dominate the league. Players choose to participate because of the prime location in Central Ohio and the league’s reputation, according to Mike Burgdorfer, summer league coordinator.
Burgdorfer credited Jimmy Jackson with helping to sustain the league’s popularity and continuously attracting the biggest basketball names in Ohio. “Jackson helped to get the league in motion,” he said.
Neshaun Coleman, former OSU basketball player, remembers his start in the Worthington League, playing for Kroger with the likes of Jackson, Dennis Hopson, OSU’s all-time leading scorer, and Jermaine Tate in 1995.
After six years in the league, Coleman said he continues to participate because of his love of basketball: “I still love the game and I love to play against former teammates.”
Coleman currently plays for Buckeye Corner, coached by former Buckeye point guard Scoonie Penn. Penn not only leads the team from a coaching standpoint, he is also the star of the team.
Burgdorfer said each coach is in charge of finding players and sponsors. However, each team is allowed to have only two current OSU players on it because of NCAA regulations.
The average attendance for this summer has been about 800 to 1,000 spectators a night. Burgdorfer said the DSW Shoe Warehouse team has drawn huge crowds. The team consists of the three incoming OSU freshmen, Matt Sylvester, Brandon Fuss-Cheatham and Terence Dials as well as current players Brian Brown and Velimir Radinovic and former Buckeye, Michael Redd.
Coleman said it is great to play against some of the younger players: “A lot of times the younger guys think that just because you are not playing everyday like them, that you have lost it. So I have to show them nothing has really changed.”
People can catch any of the league’s remaining games on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Games times are 6:30 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 9 p.m. The finals are July 31. Games move to Worthington Kilbourne High School on July 17.
