By Ashley Benkarski
NASHVILLE, TN — Fisk University men’s basketball coach and former NBA player Kenny Anderson has created the first-ever Coaches’ Corner Fundraising Gala to take place at the college’s Appleton room Oct. 25 with the reception beginning at 6 p.m.
Anderson said he’s excited to be able to give back to the university he now calls home as well as his former Georgia Tech coach Bobby Cremins, who is a lifetime honoree of the gala and who Anderson credits for much of his successful athletic career. Dr. Larry Glover, Fisk’s Athletics Director and former men’s basketball head coach, will also be honored at the event.
The other two-thirds of the “Lethal Weapon 3”–which consists of Anderson, Dennis Scott and Brian Oliver, former GT teammates who led the team to their first-ever Final Four ranking nearly three decades ago–will also be in attendance, with Scott acting as the gala’s master of ceremonies.
The gala will benefit the men’s basketball program and will feature a cocktail reception, dinner, live auction and meet-and-greet with celebrity guests.
Anderson just completed his first year as head coach and he’s on a mission to bring Fisk’s athletic department to greatness–even if it takes some time. “Fisk University is very important to me,” he said. “I want it to be one of the top [National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics] schools [ … ] in the country athletically, because we’re there academically.”
“I’m only 49 years old, so I feel I can do it,” he said. The 14-year NBA point guard looks to team chemistry as the key to the program’s upward trend, noting that he’s learned how to be a better coach from his players. “There’s more to it than just basketball [ … ] You’ve gotta carry yourself very well because the young kids are looking at you.”
With basketball season just around the corner, Anderson said he hoped to see the Nashville community come out and support the historic university’s basketball program not just at the gala but in the stands too.
The Bulldogs will face off against Martin Methodist Oct. 26 and Cumberland University Oct. 27 for their Jubilee Classic.
Call (615)329-8654 or visit https://connect.fisk.edu/mens-inaugural-basketball-banquet for more information about the gala and to purchase tickets.
