The Grand Rapids Danger Plays B-Ball With A Heart
At a young age, Grand Rapids native Allen Durham fell in love with the game of basketball. He says he hasn't looked back since.
Durham attended Wyoming Park High School and went on to play for Grace Bible College for three and a half years, leading them to three National Championships. He has since gone on to play in Romania, Finland, Israel, France, Uruguay and the Philippines.
Now, Allen Durham is the Owner and President of the Grand Rapids Danger Basketball team.
The Danger was founded in July of 2015, and in that year qualified for their first playoff.
The team recently finished with a trip to the North American Basketball League Championship Series. Although they didn't walk away with the NABL Crown, they did receive the NABL Community Service Leader award.
Allen's personal trademark is his passion for giving back to the community and youth. He is mentoring his players on the importance of giving back.
Aligning themselves with the owner's vision, in that tradition, the team recently worked with Gilda's Club to help with Laugh Fest and plan to spend time with the children in the Grand Rapids Public School District.
Giving back is what led Angel Bunn to her position as the Chief Financial Officer for the team. Bunn was hired while she was volunteering. Bunn said, "I met the owner Allen Durham through his mother, Monica, who I formed a women's group with a few years ago."
Bunn volunteered at the Danger games at the concession stand, tickets or whatever they needed done. "This year I was asked to be in the front office, so I came in as President and CFO," she said.
Robert Kautman is the General Manager and Matt Can is the Assistant Coach.
Head Coach Scott Soldan decided interview for the last year's coach was fired.
"I was talking to our assistant coach who told me about the coaching job be available, so I interviewed for it and things have been going well," said Soldan. "The toughest part for me is transitioning from player to coach and being in that leadership role."
The four players that interviewed with the Grand Rapids Times yesterday all worked hard to be a part of the team after hearing about it.
Trent Hopson, also from Grand Rapids, attended Ottawa Hills and Creston High School, but graduated from Kalamazoo Central High School.
"My mother went to Central State University and I went to Kalamazoo Valley Community College and then spent a couple of months playing in Spain to earn a contract," said Hopson. "But my son had just been born and what they were offering me was not enough to sustain my life and provide for my son, so I fortunately heard about the Grand Rapids Danger and I hit the gym for three to four months straight with the goal of making the team." He is in his second season.
Drake Harris attended East Kentwood until the end of his sophomore year, but graduated from Caledonia High School.
"I sat out for a year or two and ended playing for Lancing Community College for a couple of years," he said. "I came home and worked for a while, but I played in Gus Maker tournaments. He added, "I felt like I had a lot of talent left so I got into the gym more, and I heard about the Danger and decided to try out for the team."
Bryce Saxton, originally from South Bend, Indiana, graduated from high school in Cassopolis, Michigan and then attended Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan.
"Just like these guys, I heard about the Danger and I wanted to be a part of it so I worked hard on my game, tried out and now here I am," he said.
Danger player Jimmie Harvey Jr. III, born and raised in Grand Rapids, has been on the team for three years. Harvey was playing for a team in Lansing, Michigan when he decided to try to play with the team in Grand Rapids.
"My main goal is to play ball overseas, as everyone else on the Danger team looks forward to doing."
The Danger will play their next home game on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Grace Christian University, located at 1011 Aldon St SW, against the Detroit Cobras at 5:00pm.
In an effort to support the homeless, the team is asking fans to bring donations of toiletries or canned foods.
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