Al Horford, with the aid of a national bank in his native Dominican Republic, launched an ambitious initiative last summer.
The Celtics center’s goal was to spread the seeds of basketball and give youngsters in cities like his hometown of Puerto Plata a better chance to not only play the game, but to have a chance at playing it in the United States.
As such, the initiative covered everything from constructing and repairing basketball courts, to paying for scholarships that would cover the cost of high school for four Dominican students in the U.S.
But when Hurricane Maria swept through the Caribbean in September, devastating large parts of the Dominican Republic as well as Puerto Rico, the initiative changed, with 10 houses currently undder reconstruction.
“Right now they’re in the process of building houses,” Horford said of how his focus with Banco Popular has changed since the hurricane.
“It stopped (the initiative) completely,” he said. “We were refurbishing some basketball courts over there. Once hurricane season is over, then we’ll finish the courts. Then they’ll resume with their activities.”
Hurricane Maria had an even more pulverizing effect in Puerto Rico and the tiny island nation of Domenica — the latter suffering almost complete devastation.
But in Dominican coastal communities including Puerto Plata, the flooding and destruction of property was equally harsh.
According to the country’s Emergency Operations Center, the hurricane destroyed 110 homes, damaged 570 and flooded 3,723.
Part of the issue, according to the organization Oxfam, is that many of the homes in coastal communities were constructed with low-quality building materials, leaving those areas particularly vulnerable to hurricanes.
And Maria was no ordinary hurricane.
“There was actually a lot of damage. It gets overshadowed a little bit with some of the bigger things that happened in Puerto Rico and Houston, Florida,” Horford said. “But there were a lot of people who lost their homes, a lot of flooding. There’s a big need for help right now.
“We’re doing our part. We’ve already been helping to do some rebuilding of houses. We need people to help in any way they can down there. Food, clothing, even help to rebuild houses. There’s definitely a lot of damage. Especially in the region I’m from.”
And like the most accomplished athletes from the islands, an extra degree of responsibility, celebrity and national pride comes with the job.
Boston sports fans have most recently seen that dynamic at play with the new Red Sox manager, Alex Cora.
“You take a lot of pride,” Horford said when asked about Cora’s status in Puerto Rico. “It’s really important for me to make a lot of difference over there. There’s a lot of need. There’s a lot of need without the hurricane. We always make sure we find ways to come together and make an impact.”
One idea has been to give young Dominican basketball players a chance at what Horford experienced as an adolescent. His father was Tito Horford, the first Dominican to play in the NBA. As a result, Horford moved from Puerto Plata to Lansing, Mich., and it was there, at Grand Ledge High School, that he developed into a major Division 1 prospect.
“That was huge for me. I was very fortunate because my dad was here,” Horford said. “My transition was easier, living with my mom in the Dominican and coming to live with my dad. Huge for me. That’s when my whole career changed.”
Horford’s goal now is to change many more lives.
This week’s C’s timeline
Tomorrow, at Dallas, 8:30 p.m. — Danny Ainge got the player he most wanted — Jayson Tatum — in June’s draft. But another who went to the Mavericks with the ninth pick, point guard Dennis Smith Jr., was also high on the list for the Celtics president of basketball operations. Heralded by LeBron James, Smith has turned heads early. The Celtics get to find out in person.
Wednesday, at Miami, 7:30 p.m. — The new wrinkle in this season’s schedule appears to be sending teams to the same location twice within two or three weeks. The Celtics thus make their second visit to Miami in three weeks, this time, barring another injury, with Hassan Whiteside on the floor.
Friday, vs. Orlando, 7:30 p.m. — Way back on Nov. 8, the Celtics won their fifth straight game, and won it handily, against this young, improving Magic team.
Wuith stumping from Counting Crows' Adam Duritz, Jaylen future flung open
Jaylen Brown (left) made the most of his short time at the University of California, forging an unlikely friendship with Adam Duritz, singer for Counting Crows. Duritz has been so impressed by the Celtics forward’s intellect and interests, he recently tweeted that Brown should forget about basketball and run for the U.S. Senate. Or do both, like Bill Bradley.
Right now, it’s merely a kernel in the back of his mind, but, at the age of 21, Brown won’t rule out anything, including politics.
“I mean, who knows? To be honest, when Adam said that, that was just probably his opinion. We’ve never talked about politics before,” Brown said. “That was just him maybe feeling I should do that. People say I should do that all the time, but I haven’t put too much thought into it to be honest. Right now, I’m just focused on this win streak and trying to keep it up.”
“Right now, I’m focused on the season, focused on basketball. That’s where everything that I feel like I’m all in on basketball. But there’s other stuff that I could probably be — just being comfortable telling people what I like to do. Part of me trying to change the narrative that a basketball player can only be a basketball player.
“It’s changing a lot now, you’ve got basketball players who are rappers like Dame Lillard, basketball players on tech, with technology, and all the upstart stuff with (Steph) Curry, Andre Iguodala, so it’s becoming more comfortable and acceptable in society for an athlete or someone else to have other endeavors and I just want to be a part of trying to change that notion that like if I’m just a basketball player, that’s all I can ever be and things like I can’t be taken serious in another atmosphere like I’m a human being just like anybody else.”
