The West Campus outdoor basketball courts teemed with energy Saturday when 50 fifth graders took the courts. They were excited enough to be able to shoot some hoops with their new-found college friends - but when basketball stars Chris Duhon and Iciss Tillis appeared, chaos broke out.
One boy ran to give Tillis a kiss on the cheek and others waved pens to get their t-shirts autographed.
"I came out hopefully to do something positive for these kids," said Duhon, a junior. "This is a great program and I'm thankful to be a part of it."
The 3rd annual "Play with the Blue Devils Day" held Saturday was a philanthropy event co-sponsored by the fraternities Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Chi and Kappa Alpha Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha sororities.
Junior Mike Mitchell, an Alpha Phi Alpha member, said Duhon's presence was instrumental to the program's success.
"When [the kids] saw him, their faces just lit up," Mitchell said. "I think the kids enjoyed the competition [when playing with Duhon and Tillis]. A lot of them are really into basketball."
The program sought to do more than teach the kids a few new basketball moves, though. In addition to playing against the elementary school students, Tillis and Duhon spoke in two question and answer sessions.
Duhon talked about basketball, school and time management.
"He told the kids that it's instrumental for [them] to know that it's not about playing basketball all the time and that education is important," said Charelle Sanford, a junior and member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Tillis mirrored Duhon's approach by relating many of the student's questions about basketball to educational success and reminded the kids that even when you are a basketball player, "good grades are the number one thing," she said.
Many of the children, particularly the young girls, were excited that Tillis came to speak with them.
"She shows that girls can do anything boys can do," said Konstance Richmond, a fifth grader at George Watts Elementary School. "She inspires me to do good in school."
This is the first year that girls were invited to participate in the program, as well as the first year a female athlete came to speak.
"We decided to expand the program," said junior Damien Moore, one of the two co-chairs of the program and a member of Alpha Phi Alpha. "It's important [for girls to be involved], especially with the popularity that women's basketball is starting to get."
The event, which also included card-making for Duke Children's Hospital patients, was held not only to give local Durham elementary school students a chance to meet Duke's basketball players, but also to give the kids the opportunity to interact with other students from different schools.
"We're attempting to establish better relations and more interaction between private and public school children as they are virtually non-existent at the present time," sophomore Michael Stober, a Sigma Chi member, wrote in an e-mail.
While unity and interaction was a goal for the participants, the event also brought organizers from various greek organizations together.
"The event seemed like a good opportunity to bring together different groups on campus, to bring together the community and to just have fun," said Sigma Chi sophomore Chris Cox.
To ensure safety during the event four members of Duke's EMT team were present. With little to do since none of the kids were injured, the EMTs enjoyed spectating. One EMT, junior David Dyson, at first wanted to play basketball but later decided against the idea.
"I was afraid the little kids might beat me," he said.
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