The 1st Open Run
| August 12, 2008
In the middle of this past weekend’s Nike Global Challenge – which pitted three teams of America’s best high school talent against five international squad from Canada, Serbia, Senegal, Puerto Rico and Lithuania – Ballers Network hosted its first-ever Open Run. In front of many of the Global Challenge participants, a host of college and high school athletes from the Northwest area turned out to run at the Liberty HS gym (Hillsboro, Ore.) for two solid hours.
With games constantly going on two courts, the turnout was star-studded, highlighted by University of Oregon junior guard Tajuan Porter and U of Washington incoming freshman guard Isaiah Thomas, who drove all the way from Seattle to play. Josh Tarver (Oregon State), Dominic Waters (Portland State), Joey McConnell (Oregon State), Omari Johnson (Oregon State) and Austin Kilpatrick (Idaho State) were also among those getting in on the run, along wirh some local high school players and a couple women’s college and high schoolers who came out to play with the D-1 collegians.
The rivalries that you see on display during the college season played themselves out even in the offseason: UW vs. UO, the Beavers vs. the Ducks, and Portland State — always looking for respect just on the local level — going up against the Oregon and Oregon State guys.
When it was over, Porter was already promising to bring his entire Ducks team next time around, and Thomas said the same for his UW teammates. “I didn’t come all this way just to lose,” Thomas said. “This is serious.”
All photos by Kelly Kline
