While this season has been anything but easy for the Alabama men’s basketball team, it has still served as a point of inspiration for one fan.
Alabama head coach Anthony Grant traded his normal dress shoes for basketball shoes during Saturday’s 66-65 overtime loss to Georgia to honor Luke Kelly, a 5-year-old fan of the team who died last Thursday from cancer.
The sneakers worn by Grant read “In Memory of Luke Kelly, 01/27/10 – 02/19/15” on the white soles of the shoes, sending a message to Kelly’s family who were in attendance. Kelly had met the basketball team before and had attended the team’s win over Auburn on Jan. 24. His family was hoping to make it to another game but Grant said he “took a turn for the worse,” according to AL.com.
Kelly’s funeral was held at Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, Ala. on Saturday, meaning that Grant and his team were unable to attend. But Grant said wearing the shoes and inviting Kelly’s family to the game was a fitting tribute for the 5-year-old who had become close to the team.
“I just wanted to let them know that even though we couldn’t be there at the funeral, that we were there in spirit with them and we wanted to make sure we honored their son and his memory, and maybe put a smile on their faces in a difficult time,” Grant said.
In an effort raise Diabetes awareness, the Alabama men’s basketball team is also planning a “Blue Out” Tuesday night against South Carolina. Fans are asked to wear blue, the cause’s official color. Grant and the men’s basketball team aligned themselves with the Tuscaloosa County Diabetes Coalition, Sanofi US, the University Medical Center, Novo Nordisk and others to raise diabetes awareness in conjunction with the game, per 247Sports.
