ROCKINGHAM — The gymnasium at Richmond Senior High School was filled with competitive spirit Saturday to remember a former student-athlete.
The third annual “Jalen’s Jamboree” was held in honor of Jalen David, a Raider basketball player who passed away in August 2020.
At the time of his passing, he was a junior at Richmond and had been part of the boys basketball program since his freshman year.
Again leading the efforts of the fundraising event, Arthur Gilliam, a teacher at Richmond, orchestrated the jamboree to raise money for the Jalen A. David Scholarship Foundation.
The total amount raised this year hadn’t been totaled at the time of, but community members donated money upon entry and a 50-50 raffle was also held. All of the proceeds from the concession stand were all donated to the scholarship.
The Jalen A. David Scholarship Foundation is awarded annually to a Richmond student who has at least a 2.5 GPA and plans to attend a two or four-year college or university.
This recipient of the scholarship will be named at the school’s Academic Awards Banquet later this spring.
“I’m going to assume that everybody in here knew Jalen and knew who he was,” Gilliam said as he addressed the hundreds of spectators. “And if you didn’t, he was an amazing young man that we lost way too soon.
“This evening is a moment to remember him and his memory,” he added. “Everything that we do tonight is for Jalen and his scholarship.”
A pair of player-alumni games, officiated by coaches Teddy Moseley, Donald Pettigrew and Taneika Reader, provided the evening’s entertainment.
Former players of both programs played the current members of the Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams. The games were made up of two 20-minute halves with a running clock.
In the Lady Raiders’ game, it was the Richmond team that held on for a 42-29 win over the alumni. Tied at 12 points at halftime, the Lady Raiders used their bench to outscore an alumni team with no subs.
Shortly afterward, the Raider alumni team overcame a three-point halftime deficit to defeat the current Raider players 101-96. Due to numbers, Paul McNeil Jr. and Jamarion Wall played for the alumni team.
Below are photos of Sunday’s games, taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar. Photos also contributed by Jordyn Pillar.
Editor’s Note: Sports editor Kyle Pillar participated in the Raider basketball game.
